Triton 2000 WAAS Issue (?)

[+hdarpini]

I received my new Magellan Triton 2000 yesterday and have been putting it through its paces, learning the controls, etc. The biggest issue I'm having with it is accuracy. I took it out for a walk a couple of times and went on a geocache this afternoon, and the only times I had the three-meter accuracy WAAS offers was a couple of times for a split second it hit 6 feet, and once 3 feet. Otherwise, I've been in the mid 20s to mid-50s. I went for a two-mile walk tonight and was consistently at 16-18 feet accuracy. Not encouraging.

 

I used to get WAAS-grade accuracy much more frequently from my eTrex Legend, so I wondered if I had somehow disabled WAAS, like I could on my Legend, or it whether it came disabled by default, but there doesn't seem to be a setting for that. Or maybe it takes a while for a new unit to "burn in" before it starts to have consistent, reliable results. It's otherwise good at pulling in a signal; I can even acquire a fix in my basement sometimes. Any suggestions you have would be appreciated.

[+cterres]

WAAS can't be disabled for the Triton, but the accuracy for those units is pretty good, so maybe you need a little more warmup.

Did you install the latest (and last) software update?

In addition you should place the Triton (like every new GPS) for 15-30 minutes under the open sky, maybe in your garden. But only once.

 

16-18 feet acc. is a good result.

Maybe your older Garmin Legend can do this too, but compare it by walking under tree canopy. If there is no Tree or some larger buildings near your testing area, a newer gpsr wouldn't be more accurate. (for example: deserts, lakes, sea, high mountains)

[+hdarpini]

WAAS can't be disabled for the Triton, but the accuracy for those units is pretty good, so maybe you need a little more warmup.

Did you install the latest (and last) software update?

In addition you should place the Triton (like every new GPS) for 15-30 minutes under the open sky, maybe in your garden. But only once.

 

16-18 feet acc. is a good result.

Maybe your older Garmin Legend can do this too, but compare it by walking under tree canopy. If there is no Tree or some larger buildings near your testing area, a newer gpsr wouldn't be more accurate. (for example: deserts, lakes, sea, high mountains)

 

Yes, the first thing I did was install the latest update via VantagePoint. I didn't, however, let the GPS sit under the open sky for a half hour. I'll try that (I hope it isn't too late for it to do any good). My Legend was used when I bought it, so it may have been much more "seasoned" and therefore was more accurate They should tell you that kind of stuff in the manual, but the Triton's manual is woefully deficient in many areas.

[xyzee]

My 1500 is a little slower in getting WAAS, then most of my other receivers, and I'm in the open, no trees, etc. Usually when it shows 18ft acc, the GPS 60 might show 5 ft, the Meridian 10 ft, but all show the same, or very close to, lat/lon fix, which is what I'm after. Each unit seems to have a different way to display what it thinks is it's accuracy is.

[+hdarpini]

My 1500 is a little slower in getting WAAS, then most of my other receivers, and I'm in the open, no trees, etc. Usually when it shows 18ft acc, the GPS 60 might show 5 ft, the Meridian 10 ft, but all show the same, or very close to, lat/lon fix, which is what I'm after. Each unit seems to have a different way to display what it thinks is it's accuracy is.

 

Thatnks for the info. Maybe I should concentrate on the lat/lon rather than accuracy when hunting down a cache. I actually did this once and it worked out okay.

 

How can you tell if WAAS is kicking in? In describing the satellite status screen, the manual says "The numbers indicate the GPS satellite ID while “W” indicates WAAS." Which numbers is it referring to, the ones on the satellite icons or the ones on the colored bars? So far, I haven't seen Ws on either.

[+Prime Suspect]

Yes, the first thing I did was install the latest update via VantagePoint. I didn't, however, let the GPS sit under the open sky for a half hour. I'll try that (I hope it isn't too late for it to do any good).

It's never too late. And despite the weird warning in that post, there's no reason you can't do this more than once. Your unit will pull in new almanac data if it needs it. Otherwise it won't. Either way, no harm done.

[+cterres]

There should be a satellite in the list with a "W" instead of a number.

This is how the Triton displays a WAAS-Signal.

The Tritons are truly slow in getting a WAAS fix, but with 9+ birds in the sky, you really don't need WAAS. This will bring you maybe 3-4 ft. more, but the geocache might be 5 ft. off too.

[+phild31]

I don't worry about WAAS readings or exactly how accurate my triton is at the cache gz.

If you are getting 9 feet accuracy you are talking about an 18 foot diameter circle to search.

Plus who knows how accurate the cache hider was while placing it?

After using 3 Garmins, 4 Magellans and a DeLorme GPSr I have found the Triton 2000 to be as or more accurate than any.

 

The bottom line - the GPSr will get you close, then trust you're geosense.

[+Deadelm]

.The bottom line - the GPSr will get you close, then trust you're geosense.

[+hdarpini]

Yes, the first thing I did was install the latest update via VantagePoint. I didn't, however, let the GPS sit under the open sky for a half hour. I'll try that (I hope it isn't too late for it to do any good).

It's never too late. And despite the weird warning in that post, there's no reason you can't do this more than once. Your unit will pull in new almanac data if it needs it. Otherwise it won't. Either way, no harm done.

 

Does the Triton series handle almanac data? If so, that make's yet one more thing not mentioned in the manual or on the Magellan site, as far as I know. You'd think they'd want to advertise that and make up a fancy name for it, like Garmin did with HotFix.

[+cterres]

Sure it does, this is part of the SiRF software.

The SiRF firmware is modified by Magellan, so it's a slightly better version of SiRF's "Instant Fix II". The Magellan software is optimized for more accuracy, so some SiRFstar-III receivers might be faster, but not much.