GPS interference

[+Offe]

On this mountain there is several radio towers and they must have interfered with my GPS because I could not get a consitent reading of the location. 6 readings all aprox. 80 meters apart...

Any experience with such problems?

 

I'll think I'll marke the rock-face with "GC->" and leave a description: "10 steps right ahead and 4 left"

Is marking the rock-face with a chisel "aproved" by GS?

 

Or should I get the average of my readings and leave it with that?

I'll try to get the position with another GPS to se if it's readings are a bit more precise.

 

Best regards

Ove Halseth

[+trainlove]

Defacing public or private property is just about the first thing listed as a no-no in the guidelines for placing a cache. http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx

 

There's nothing that any radio towers on any mountaintop can do to interfeer with GPS, your GPS must have been having it's own problems that day. If it's a Magellan than that's understandable, but I've known some cachers with 2 Garmin 60CSx's to have trouble at the same time, so there are sometimes satellite issues. That was last July and was a WAAS satellite switchover I mention in my webpage http://ray.jerome.jobs.googlepages.com/majormagellanproblem

another of my web pages gives hints on getting good readings from a Magellan, http://ray.jerome.jobs.googlepages.com/gpshints

 

Just try again and again to get the readings for your spot. But if you can't then perhaps all cachers after your cache will also not be able to...

[+StarBrand]

Probably not interference at that location. Something called multi-path errors seems more likely. Not much you can do about that. Average your multiple readings and mention the problem in your description. DO NOT deface any manmade or natural object.

[+Dave_W6DPS]

On this mountain there is several radio towers and they must have interfered with my GPS because I could not get a consitent reading of the location. 6 readings all aprox. 80 meters apart...

Any experience with such problems?

...

 

Such problems are quite common, and usually have nothing to do with local radio interference.

 

Try this some time:

 

1. Put fresh batteries in your GPSr.

 

2. Go to a location where you can safely set it down overnight. (I use a bird bath in my back yard.)

 

3. Turn it on and let it lock.

 

4. Wait 15 minutes, then clear the track log.

 

5. Set the GPSr down and restart the track log.

 

6. Let it set and track for at least 6 to 8 hours--longer is better, up until the batteries discharge.

 

7. Stop the track log and upload it to you computer.

 

It is common for the GPSr to record movement around a rough circle up to 100 meters in diameter. Mine once recorded moving spontaneously fom California to Oregon, about 1400 Kilo-Meters!

 

Try taking the same waypoint again on a different day, or even a few hours later, and you may get very different results. This is all completely normal. Especially outside the continental USA or when not using WAAS/EGNOS.

 

Dave_W6DPS