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Odd offset problem with Garmin eTrex Legend Cx

BadSquirrel
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BadSquirrel

+BadSquirrel

Posted
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Posted

Care to elaborate?

Sorry...forum didn't post correctly.

 

Here's an odd one...I have been experiencing offsets at exactly 089 degrees for the past 6 months or so. They started being consistent 25' or so, and are now consistently 50-55'.

 

What I am saying, is given a known point (specifically a survey monument), I will "Go To" it, and when I the GPSr says I am right on top of it (say 6' accuracy, 0 ft away) the actual monument will be 51' away at a bearing of 271.

 

Also, any track log I download and pipe to Google Earth shows me 50' to the east of the trail, or driving on the sidewalk. This isn't just typical GPSr "noise", since it is consistently off on the same line of bearing.

 

The problem will spontaneously resolve itself in the field sometimes, or not. Or on startup, will be accurate, then manifest the problem. Or will start up with the offset. Very odd.

 

I've checked datum, as this sounds like a datum error. It's WGS84, no problem. I've done a full reset as well. I've also updated all software and firmware. Still no joy.

 

My unit's 2 years old, so I'm calling Garmin, but I understand if they tell me to go away since I'm out of warranty. It seems to me like a firmware problem.

 

Anyone heard of anything like this?

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hogrod

+hogrod

Posted
Posted

Allot of people have experienced this in the past with the Legend CX, Vista CX, & Venture CX. you may find some older forum posts on here about the subject.

 

If I remember correctly(I no loner own my Vista CX) there was a couple older Unit software versions that worked well, but some of the newer updates seem to have this problem.

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Timpat

+Timpat

Posted
Posted

Several friends have the Legend Cx and that 45 ft offset was a constant occurrence exactly as you describe. Is it a coincidence that this 45 ft is 0.010 min of longitude (at mid-latitudes) we wondered? We never got an answer from Garmin but suspect it has to do with the GPS chipset or firmware. The offset is always in the same direction. Wish I could provide a solution. Perhaps try different firmware versions till you see better results? Go Here for a catalog of firmware versions.

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gbatt

+gbatt

Posted
Posted

I am having this same exact problem. I just picked up my CX from an REI garage sale for $30 and was hoping to use it for logging MTB trails and Geocaching. I read through the long thread from a couple years ago about this problem and thought one of the firmware patches fixed it, I want to say it was 2.7 or 2.8. I did all the recommended steps and am on on firmware ver 3.10 right now, but I am still having the offset issue. Has anyone had any luck with these at all?

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Team Zinger

+Team Zinger

Posted
Posted

I've had my CX for over 2 years now and never had a problem until I used the Garmin webUpdater back in March to upgade my CX and that's when this same exact problem started for me. A couple of weeks ago I installed 3.10 on my unit but it made no difference at all. Last night I went back to 2.80 but I'm thinking I will have to go back farther than that. I sure wish I could remember what version I had before March. I'll keep my eyes on this topic and post anything else I come across. Thanks to everyone who has posted their input so far.

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GPSlug

+GPSlug

Posted
Posted

There are some very interesting numbers in there. I have a theory, but I'd like to see more information first. Does anyone have a link to the older threads? I'm having a hard time finding them. Was it always a constant east/west offset?

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gbatt

+gbatt

Posted
Posted (edited)

Heres the main, long thread from a few years ago that I read through last week. I havent seen any others on this issue besides this thread in the Groundspeak forums.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=134219

 

EDIT: Looks like it's firmware version 2.60 that seemed to fix the issues for most of the folks in the previous post. I wonder if I roll back to 2.60 if it will resolve the issue for me. I really don't really want to stay on 2.60 since there have been alot of improvements and enhancements since then, but maybe if I "step" upgrade each patch It may stay ok if 2.60 fixes it. Who knows? Guess I'll try it and see.

Edited by gbatt
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Team Zinger

+Team Zinger

Posted
Posted

Well, 2.80 did no good for me. I went out and found 3 caches this morning using both of my units and the Legend CX was off 40ft east on the very 1st cache. I also hid some caches with another cacher this afternoon and it was having it's fits then also. My next step is to go back to 2.60 and I'll post what I come up with there.

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pxpaulx

pxpaulx

Posted
Posted

Just an update for anyone still watching. Since going back to version 2.60 I have found 27 caches and it seems to be working fine. :D I'm back to feeling much more comfortable with it but still keeping my fingers crossed. :)

 

bought a used one of the etrex legend Cx's online this week and just got it. I've already noticed this problem, how do I do a hard reset? I thought I found out how, by hold page and the joystick button down, then pressing power, however this brings up a page with a bunch of system information, and I don't know where to go from here.

 

2nd, the old owner registered the unit, so now I can't; has anyone else had this problem? I assume I'll have to give the support line a call.

 

Finally (yes, #3!) it is not being recognized as a usb device. yay! No software was included, and trying to download mapsource is fruitless (says i dont have an older version installed, then quits). Running the webupdater didn't recognize it either (along with trying to add the USB drivers with the garmin program). I tried two cables and two pcs with the same results - it is also just data transfer, as it is showing as being powered when plugged into the USB.

 

So, am I SOL with this thing or what? Is mapsource an avenue to upgrade/downgrade the firmware? Otherwise, where can I get version 2.6? It seems without being able to use mapsource it is missing alot of capability...and I'm not going to put up with constantly being off by 30 feet (walked around my neighborhood and it is exactly 30 feet, or so, off consistently). I bought this primarily for phototagging, so this just won't cut it. geocaching i could live with it, but not for that consistent innaccuracy for tagging my photos.

 

HELP!!!! :D

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TheRedArmy

+TheRedArmy

Posted
Posted (edited)

i've noticed i'm off about 9m on most caches recently. i was also running the newest software on my unit.

 

i've just switched back to 2.60, and we'll see how that goes.

 

when i first got my unit (about a month ago), i remember it being bang on, i was always right on top of the cache, but the last few days i've really noticed it being off anywhere from 6-9m most times. that's quite a bit, considering the accuracy shows 3m.

 

i'll try 2.60 and post my results after my next outting.

 

so i'm now running SOFTWARE 2.60 and GPS SW version 2.80

Edited by brucered
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pxpaulx

pxpaulx

Posted
Posted

Is mapsource an avenue to upgrade/downgrade the firmware?

HELP!!!! :)

pxpaulx, you can download MapSource is you don't have it Here.

 

Thanks for the link - maybe I didn't say in my post (too long to go over again!) but I did try and install the mapsource file from the garmin link that webpage referred to. I opened the file, accepted the license agreement, and then get an error during the install that no previous mapsource version is found - clicking ok terminates the install. I re-downloaded the file just to make sure it wasn't corrupted, and had the same result.

 

More troubling is the fact that both the webupdater on garmin's site as well as their downloadable usb driver install program both did not detect the unit when it is plugged into any of my usb ports (like i said earlier, i tried 2 cables and 2 computers, and it is just not connecting). It does show the gps is receiving power from the usb port, but no device communication is occurring. I think I will have to take it up with garmin on monday (i can wait as long as their support staff is as good as i've read it is!). Hopefully I won't have to send it back to the seller, I definitely don't want to get into that situation!

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pxpaulx

pxpaulx

Posted
Posted

i've noticed i'm off about 9m on most caches recently. i was also running the newest software on my unit.

 

i've just switched back to 2.60, and we'll see how that goes.

 

when i first got my unit (about a month ago), i remember it being bang on, i was always right on top of the cache, but the last few days i've really noticed it being off anywhere from 6-9m most times. that's quite a bit, considering the accuracy shows 3m.

 

i'll try 2.60 and post my results after my next outting.

 

so i'm now running SOFTWARE 2.60 and GPS SW version 2.80

 

Well, we went to minnehaha falls and my initial reaction was probably alittle much. For the most part it was relatively on - though I can see certain points where the unit is registering slightly more to the west from where we would have been, its usually within about 10 feet so I can't complain about that. after checking the route I'm pretty satisfied overall. unfortunately I don't think I saved the file properly to the microSD card, as it doesn't appear to have kept the timestamps (which I wanted to try out some geotagging of my photos). But, tomorrow is another day!

 

Make sure and post your results with the 2.60 firmware!

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coggins

+coggins

Posted
Posted

Is mapsource an avenue to upgrade/downgrade the firmware?

HELP!!!! :)

pxpaulx, you can download MapSource is you don't have it Here.

 

Thanks for the link - maybe I didn't say in my post (too long to go over again!) but I did try and install the mapsource file from the garmin link that webpage referred to. I opened the file, accepted the license agreement, and then get an error during the install that no previous mapsource version is found - clicking ok terminates the install. I re-downloaded the file just to make sure it wasn't corrupted, and had the same result.

You missed step #1: Download and install Garmin Training Center

 

The update doesn't work unless you do that as you have seen.

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pxpaulx

pxpaulx

Posted
Posted

You missed step #1: Download and install Garmin Training Center

 

The update doesn't work unless you do that as you have seen.

 

Haha, I read that and was like why do I need that?! So, that is installed. Now the trick is going to be getting this thing to be recognized as a usb device. I still think I am going to end up sending it back to the seller and getting one somewhere else (maybe the forum classified). Hopefully garmin can help me out tomorrow, we shall see. Thanks for letting me know I should follow all the steps in a link next time! :)

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thepublixeye

+thepublixeye

Posted
Posted

We have the exact problem with our legend cx, and would like to try to download the 2.6 version. Is that still working for anyone? Where do I find this download? Can someone please link me to the other versions? I tried the link above, but it no longer works.

 

Thanks so much for your help in advance.

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thepublixeye

+thepublixeye

Posted
Posted

Allot of people have experienced this in the past with the Legend CX, Vista CX, & Venture CX. you may find some older forum posts on here about the subject.

 

If I remember correctly(I no loner own my Vista CX) there was a couple older Unit software versions that worked well, but some of the newer updates seem to have this problem.

 

 

*** Do you know how I can download the older 2.6 version on my extrex legend cx? I can't seem to figure it out.

 

Thanks for helping me.

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