Colorado 400t Problem With Compass

[+bigorangetruck]

I seem to be having a problem with the compass readings. When I am traveling less then 5 mph the compass goes crazy and continues to point me in the wrong direction. I have looked through all the options on the unit. Is there any way to fix this?

[+bittsen]

I seem to be having a problem with the compass readings. When I am traveling less then 5 mph the compass goes crazy and continues to point me in the wrong direction. I have looked through all the options on the unit. Is there any way to fix this?

 

I have found that the Colorado 400T compass, thermometer, and altimiter are just about worthless.

 

Good luck. If you find a solution, please post it.

[+Walts Hunting]

Turn the compass off. Most people I know don't use it. It will show the correct heading/direction after you walk for a short distance.

[+ecanderson]

I seem to be having a problem with the compass readings. When I am traveling less then 5 mph the compass goes crazy and continues to point me in the wrong direction. I have looked through all the options on the unit. Is there any way to fix this?

It sounds like your compass is set for "auto". That means it will use GPS signals when you're moving fast enough that it can come up with a decent reading by noting your change in position. It also means that it uses the internal mag compass chip when you're moving slowly or not moving at all. So far, so good.

 

Now, have you calibrated the compass (perhaps page 10 of your Oregon manual), and are you holding the GPS level? While you're far enough away from the cache, it should give you a decent reading with those two things in mind. You'll find that from fresh batteries to nearly dead ones, you may have to calibrate again a couple of times. They seem to be rather voltage sensitive.

[+kentwoodkrew]

Calibrate often! I usually forget and end up cussing at my oregon until I finally remember.

[+sduck]

I think the 400t uses the same type of compass chip as the 60csx, which I used to own. I found it next to useless, and always had it turned off. The newer versions with the 3 axis compasses are much more user friendly.

[+northernpenguin]

If you're running an older Colorado, consider updating the firmware using Garmin Webupdater. The original firmware, was a little iffy when the compass was enabled and you were stopped. They tweaked the setting around the 2.70 firmware to be better behaved.

 

Also make sure you calibrate the compass every time you change your batteries.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Note too, that when close to GZ, any GPSr compass goes bonkers and becomes useless.

 

OP didn't specify close to or not.

[+northernpenguin]

Note too, that when close to GZ, any GPSr compass goes bonkers and becomes useless.

 

OP didn't specify close to or not.

 

That's more true for intertial compass than electronic compass. There's no reason that standing beside tupperware will cause an electronic compass to lose it's direction finding - well OK if the cache is on a hydro box maybe. An intertial compass works by your movement, which causes the crazyness we see and Garmeandering.

 

I have no problems with my Colorado 400t's compass, as long as it's calibrated (and held level - it's 2 axis). If it isn't calibrated then I'll frequently see issues like the map screen showing where I came from instead of where I'm going.

[+ecanderson]

Note too, that when close to GZ, any GPSr compass goes bonkers and becomes useless.

 

OP didn't specify close to or not.

 

That's more true for intertial compass than electronic compass. There's no reason that standing beside tupperware will cause an electronic compass to lose it's direction finding - well OK if the cache is on a hydro box maybe. An intertial compass works by your movement, which causes the crazyness we see and Garmeandering.

 

I have no problems with my Colorado 400t's compass, as long as it's calibrated (and held level - it's 2 axis). If it isn't calibrated then I'll frequently see issues like the map screen showing where I came from instead of where I'm going.

Don't mistake the ability of the compass to point north correctly with the inability of the red arrow to point to a cache when you're standing on top of it. I suspect it's the latter that's being discussed.

 

While using the mag compass, the firmware that drives your arrow uses a) your coordinate data, the coordinate data of the target, and c) the orientation in which you hold the GPS compared to north (that last bit is the 'compass' part of the equation) to point the arrow towards the cache. If you are too close, the delta between your coordinate position and that of the cache are too close and your own coordinate position is too variable (jumping around 0.001 or more) to resolve anything accurately.

 

This feature typically works best when you're out 30' or more out and drawing your line of sight from there. It can work in closer, but only if your EPE is very low (and real) and the cache was placed very well.

 

Apart from a rare few in-vehicle GPS units (e.g., the TomTom 9XX series), I don't know of a consumer unit that uses inertial tracking hardware -- and that's added to manage the situations when a vehicle travels in a canyon or under a bridge or in a tunnel and gets out of satellite coverage altogether.

 

You may be mistaking inertial tracking hardware with the way a handheld GPS will use the difference between two or more of your own positions to determine a direction of travel. That only works when you're moving, but isn't "inertial" guidance.

Edited January 27, 2010 by ecanderson

[+northernpenguin]

Apart from a rare few in-vehicle GPS units (e.g., the TomTom 9XX series), I don't know of a consumer unit that uses inertial tracking hardware -- and that's added to manage the situations when a vehicle travels in a canyon or under a bridge or in a tunnel and gets out of satellite coverage altogether.

 

You may be mistaking inertial tracking hardware with the way a handheld GPS will use the difference between two or more of your own positions to determine a direction of travel. That only works when you're moving, but isn't "inertial" guidance.

 

Yup, I got the terms mixed but the concept was pretty much the same. Proximity to a geocache doesn't affect the unit's ability to get an electronic compass reading, the EPE affects the unit's ability to determine it's position. Generally if the cache is less than 10 feet away you're best to put the GPS away and start looking for spots.

 

Having said that, the electronic compass on my Colorado performs admirably 95% of the time and points right at the cache -- as long as it's been calibrated, and I'm not near a large source of interference for the compass (big metal box, major electrical transmission line, etc)

[+Jeep4two]

One of the reasons I considered the Oregon (very similar to the Colorado) 300 and 400t was the electronic compass.

 

That said - my Oregon has proven pretty good when calibrated. In reading the forums it seems that most Colorado users and Oregon users that calibrate each time they go out (or change batteries) seem to be fairly happy.

 

Calibration is a must - and it doesn't require spinning like a tea cup in a circle and looking like you are having a seizure. I just hold the unit level and slowly rotate it in a full circle in my hand. I've had good results.

 

I do stay on top of the firmware updates as well. I'm always either running the latest official (that's proven reliable) or beta (that is also been tested and seems to be reliable). Old firmware/software can easily be the source of problems since Garmin has been pretty active in addressing issues lately.

 

Good luck,