Accuracy of GPS

[+CacheBandicoots315]

Is there a way to improve the accuracy of your GPS unit? I use a GPSMap 60CsX and I can never get more accurate than 18-20ft. I have tried recalibrating, and choosing a new location, but still no matter how many satellites it picks up I can still not get more accurate than 18-20 feet.

 

Wondering if updating/upgrading the firmware makes any difference?

 

Thanks

Jeff

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Is there a way to improve the accuracy of your GPS unit? I use a GPSMap 60CsX and I can never get more accurate than 18-20ft. I have tried recalibrating, and choosing a new location, but still no matter how many satellites it picks up I can still not get more accurate than 18-20 feet.

 

Wondering if updating/upgrading the firmware makes any difference?

 

Thanks

Jeff

That's about as good as it gets.

 

On the other hand I found a couple thousand caches using a 60CSx, so it isn't bad!

[+chachi44089]

What AlabamaRambler says is right on.I might get lucky sometimes and get less feet,and other times much more.A lot depends on location,obstructions,weather,time of day.And sometimes more than one of those factors at the same time.Makes the search more fun

[+pppingme]

The Garmin 60csx has a very good reputation, and is considered to be better than some of Garmins newest units (Oregon, Dakota) in terms of accuracy.

 

There are a couple things you can do.

 

Make sure battery saver mode is not on (this does degrade accuracy)

Make sure WAAS is on

And biggest of all, remember that any accuracy reported by the gps is its way of saying that might be a worse case scenario of how far off it could be, and is only an estimate.

 

The correct term is EPE or Estimated Positional Error.

 

GPS's work by triangulating where you are compared to the sat's are, and if the math doesn't come out perfect, the gps will boost that number. This is why your gps will report really bad accuracy when in a down town type area or on a covered steel bridge, because the signal is bouncing and the gps receives that bounced signal and it just doesn't line up mathematically. (Search multi-path error to learn more about this).

[+dfx]

most consumer GPS chips are rated at 6 meters (19 feet) accuracy under good conditions, which they will report as DOP = 1.0. they use some modern features to improve on this slightly, but it won't get better than 4-5 meters. of course those numbers are only theoretical and the reported position may well be more accurate than that, but in other cases the position error may be higher than the reported value too.

[+briansnat]

First 18-20 feet is certainly within the specs of the unit, but how do you know that it is only accurate to 18-20 feet? If you are going by the EPE provided by the unit, be aware that is only an estimate and not necessarily the actual accuracy. It may well be more accurate than what the EPE suggests (or less).

 

The best EPE I've ever seen on my 60CSX was 6 ft. That was on a treeless mountain top. Usually it's 15-30 feet but as I mentioned before that number is not necessarily true indicator of the accuracy.

[+debaere]

 

The best EPE I've ever seen on my 60CSX was 6 ft. That was on a treeless mountain top. Usually it's 15-30 feet but as I mentioned before that number is not necessarily true indicator of the accuracy.

 

The worst consistent accuracy I saw on my 60CSx was 500ft, but I was in an airplane going almost 500mph at the time

 

In normal conditions (i.e. standing still on the ground in relatively open conditions), my best is 9ft, and my average is 14ft.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

 

The best EPE I've ever seen on my 60CSX was 6 ft. That was on a treeless mountain top. Usually it's 15-30 feet but as I mentioned before that number is not necessarily true indicator of the accuracy.

 

The worst consistent accuracy I saw on my 60CSx was 500ft, but I was in an airplane going almost 500mph at the time

 

In normal conditions (i.e. standing still on the ground in relatively open conditions), my best is 9ft, and my average is 14ft.

I never measured accuracy - when my 60CSx said I was ~20' I put it in my pocket and used my eyes.

 

I usually find the cache while my buddies are still chasing their GPS around in circles!

[+Wooden Cyclist]

I do most of my caching with my BlackBerry. On most days the best I get is 27' acccuracy. That may sound bad, but I found about 800 caches in one year using it, so its close enough for me.

[+dfx]

I do most of my caching with my BlackBerry. On most days the best I get is 27' acccuracy. That may sound bad, but I found about 800 caches in one year using it, so its close enough for me.

most of the time, the question isn't so much about how many you found, but rather how many you didn't find