trouble with new garmin etrex h

[+luv2run12782]

Hey guys,

 

I'm new to geocaching and decided to grab a basic gps model, so I nabbed an etrex h yesterday. I took it for a spin today and found it to be very inaccurate. The coordinates on the site are nowhere close to the coordinates I get on my etrex h. Matter of fact, when using my TOM TOM to drive to the general area of the site, they match up pretty closely with the site coordinates.

 

I am wondering if this is a faulty unit or if I need to look into another option like getting the cable.

 

Thanks!

 

Chance

[+jmd65]

I'd try it on more than one site. On any given site, the person that hid the cache may have had an older, not very accurate GPSr, or there may have been power lines, tree cover, etc., that interfered with the signal.

 

All of which is more likely than a defective eTrex (which of course, is quite possible). Try it on a few more caches.

 

I don't know what you mean by "getting the cable."

Edited May 26, 2009 by jmd65

[Keystone]

Moving to proper forum.

[XC_Tracker]

Try marking some waypoints and navigate back to them later in the day or in a few days - one at work, one at home - something like that. Use the GPS on some known locations and test it that way.

[+julianh]

Hey guys,

 

I'm new to geocaching and decided to grab a basic gps model, so I nabbed an etrex h yesterday. I took it for a spin today and found it to be very inaccurate. The coordinates on the site are nowhere close to the coordinates I get on my etrex h. Matter of fact, when using my TOM TOM to drive to the general area of the site, they match up pretty closely with the site coordinates.

 

I am wondering if this is a faulty unit or if I need to look into another option like getting the cable.

 

Thanks!

 

Chance

Sounds like an issue with coordinate format - check that the site you are getting your waypoints from and your eTrex H are both using the same coordinate format. Common options include:

 

Degrees Minutes & Seconds: ddd mm ss.sss

Degrees & Decimal Minutes: ddd m.mmm

Decimal Degrees: ddd.ddddd

 

For example, 30 degrees 15 minutes 20 seconds is the same as 30 degrees 15.3333 minutes and is also the same as 30.255556 degrees.

 

Getting the cable will certainly help, because the coordinates will automatically be uploaded correctly, eliminating coordinate format confusion and typing errors.

 

Hope this helps.

[+BlueDeuce]

Could be coordinate format.

 

I am curious what you mean by nowhere close. Is that 30 feet, 80, 200 or more off?

[jmundinger]

As a couple of other folks have suggested, my initial thought that there is an issue with the coordinate format. If you have corrected that issue, search for a few benchmarks. The coordinates for those likely will be more accurate than the coordinates for a cache. Also, with a consumer grade unit, you shouldn't expect accuracy any better than 15 +/- ft. And, if the guy who hid the cache was also using a consumer grade unit, the coordinates for an "accurately" placed cache is also have a probable error of +/- 15 ft. So, you could be standing on top of a cache and your gps could say that it is 30 ft. away and still be spot on.

 

Getting the cable won't fix the problem unless it was a result of operator error with the data input.

Edited May 26, 2009 by jmundinger

[eaparks]

Verify that the Map Datum in the unit is set to WGS 84.

[+trplbogie]

I have also purchased the same unit for my granddaughter, but cannot get it set right. I use my sprint phone to cache and it is deadly accurate. I also have the computer cord to download direct. I have tried different settings and most of the time it will go a total different direction than my phone. Nor will it show how many feet away even remotely close.

 

If anyone can give a run down of how it needs to be set it would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

trplbogie