Using a garmin in New Zealand

[laj001]

I took a Garmin I bought in the US to New Zealand to do some geocaching. However, it seems to be going very slow. I've let it load for a while but the compass does not come up. I figured switching countries would mess it up a little but it really does not seem to be working. Can anyone help?

[NordicMan]

Did you give it a chance to determine it's new home? Turn it on and put it somewhere outside for a few hours so it can update it's location database. Make sure it has clear view of the sky. After that if it still doesn't behave, let us know.

[+John Drake]

Please let us know which Garmin model you are using.

 

It will normally take some time for the GPS to readjust when you travel long distances. eTrexes and other similar devices even have an option to set when the device first tries to acquire satellites in a completely new area.

 

But don't worry: I have used my eTrex in Europe, North America, and South America without a problem.

 

Cheers.

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

It should only take half an hour under open sky. What model do you have? On older units you can choose Menu from the satellite screen and New Location, then narrow things down on the map, which will speed it up.

[gpsbjorn]

You can help the process quite a bit by manually telling it where you are, I forget the exact procedure but I think it's off the Sat page. You basically pan the map to close to where you are and let it figure the rest.

 

This of course does assume you have a basemap that can help you with this. In '05 me and the mrs went to NZ and I used a 60CSx to record the bike rides on the north and south islands without difficulty, so your Garmin *will* certainly work well enough there.

[laj001]

Hey everyone thanks for the help! I left it on for a while and then I did scroll across the map to plug in my new location. It took some time but it's working great now! I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something wrong with the gps itself.

 

Thanks again!

[+ceeG]

Glad to hear Don't forget to check out our free auto-routing maps while you're here, far more up to date and accurate than the official ones and you can't beat the price LOL. I think there's even a topo version !

 

http://gwprojects.org/forum/index.php

 

Cheers

Gary