Did I waste my money?

[+JustJackMN]

I'm very new to caching. I bought a Garmin ETrex Venture HC and so far the caches I have found I did better without the GPS than with it. On one of them, the GPS had me so far out of the way it was just silly. I found the ones I did by using the previous logs and the little map included in the Cache discription.

[+StarBrand]

That is a very fine Geocaching GPS.

 

Make certain in the setup that the datum is set for wgs-84 and the format for decimal minutes DDD MM.mmm

That is how coordinates are reported on the website.

[+StarBrand]

.......also - just out of curiosity - how exactly far is "so far out is was silly"?

[+NeoCult]

i have the same unit and it works great for me with no problems, make sure you use what StarBrand said

 

The HC is a really good machine

[+Chrysalides]

I'm very new to caching. I bought a Garmin ETrex Venture HC and so far the caches I have found I did better without the GPS than with it. On one of them, the GPS had me so far out of the way it was just silly. I found the ones I did by using the previous logs and the little map included in the Cache discription.

My experience with this GPSr has been pretty good. Occasionally it would point to the wrong spot initially, and I would need to move away then walk back to GZ, but most of the time it is very accurate. Tree cover, tall buildings, etc. all affect accuracy.

 

I find it helpful to set one of the rectangular displays above the compass to "accuracy". And don't wait until you're at GZ before searching - look at the compass arrow and distance indicator, and try to figure out what are the likely hiding spots when you're 100 ft away or more, while you're still walking at a reasonable speed.

 

And, finally, remember that the coordinates are only as accurate as the cache owner's GPSr and the conditions the day he / she took the reading.

 

So, check what StarBrand suggested (it should be the default setting - I didn't have to change mine).

[+JustJackMN]

Would that be the same as hddd mm.mmm?

[+StarBrand]

....

I find it helpful to set one of the rectangular displays above the compass to "accuracy". And don't wait until you're at GZ before searching - look at the compass arrow and distance indicator, and try to figure out what are the likely hiding spots when you're 100 ft away or more, while you're still walking at a reasonable speed.

...

No such field - it is actually EPE (Estimated Position Error) and it is just that - an estimate. Even then it only has a confidence level of around 60%. Read it something like "I think the current reading might be about xx feet from the true location about 60% of the time under the current sat signal strength and sat geometry." If the unit really could calculate any kind of accurate accuracy reading - then it would also correct for it.

 

Point being - the average accuracy of these handheld units averages around 20 - 25 feet. So be prepared to search an area up to 50 foot away from where your units says ground zero is. Most of the time you find the cache within 15 feet or so but do be prepared to widen the search.

[+Stripes]

When I use the map setting, I do better than when I use the compass setting.

[+9Key]

Would that be the same as hddd mm.mmm?

Yes. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the "h" is for hemisphere.

 

And no, you did not waste your money. Your GPS can be used for a great many other things than geocaching. For example I took a road trip from Dallas to Austin a couple of weeks ago and I used it to find and route me to my hotel and my favorite restaurant.

[+Chrysalides]

....

I find it helpful to set one of the rectangular displays above the compass to "accuracy".

...

No such field - it is actually EPE (Estimated Position Error) and it is just that - an estimate. Even then it only has a confidence level of around 60%. Read it something like "I think the current reading might be about xx feet from the true location about 60% of the time under the current sat signal strength and sat geometry." If the unit really could calculate any kind of accurate accuracy reading - then it would also correct for it.

Thanks for the correct term - I've always wondered what is the correct term for that field. And you're absolutely right that it is only an estimate - I should have pointed it out. However, I'd like to mention that on the Venture HC, the display field does say "Accuracy".

[+Prime Suspect]

Would that be the same as hddd mm.mmm?

If you bought the unit brand new, it will have the correct settings right out of the box. If you bought a used unit, there's no telling what changes the previous owner may have made. There's a button sequence you can use that will return the unit to its factory settings. Google is your friend.

[+iamsuperb]

Remember that you have to be moving for it to work. Once you stop, at least on my unit, the numbers start going all over the place. I start looking ahead as i am walking toward the cache, then i kind of walk big circles and look at the arrow (compass screen) to get a good idea about where to look. I am new too, so i hope this helps.

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

I'm very new to caching. I bought a Garmin ETrex Venture HC and so far the caches I have found I did better without the GPS than with it. On one of them, the GPS had me so far out of the way it was just silly. I found the ones I did by using the previous logs and the little map included in the Cache discription.

 

Love, love, LOVE my new little Venture! Don't give up on it yet!

[+Knight2000]

I cant seem to find the link now but there is a tip for getting better accuracy out of any gps. You walk in a cloverleaf pattern. I wish i could find the darn link... It was in a geocacher online magazine i think...

[+Chrysalides]

I cant seem to find the link now but there is a tip for getting better accuracy out of any gps. You walk in a cloverleaf pattern. I wish i could find the darn link... It was in a geocacher online magazine i think...

You're not pulling our legs, right? It's already past April 1st I hope you can find that article too. Although it probably won't be too useful for urban hides - I'm already walking like a drunken bee as it is...

[+Singletree Expedition]

I cant seem to find the link now but there is a tip for getting better accuracy out of any gps. You walk in a cloverleaf pattern. I wish i could find the darn link... It was in a geocacher online magazine i think...

You're not pulling our legs, right? It's already past April 1st I hope you can find that article too. Although it probably won't be too useful for urban hides - I'm already walking like a drunken bee as it is...

That pattern is a good method for manually averaging coordinates when hiding a cache. Mark a point. Walk away and come back. Mark another point. Walk in different directions (a cloverleaf or drunken bee pattern) until you get 6 to 12 points. Then average those coordinates using real math.

 

It doesn't improve the accuracy of the GPS, but does improve the precision of the marked coordinates. And speaking from experience, it can often reveal an even better hiding place then you originally intended.