GPS goes wacky?

[+GCougar67]

I have noticed that when I put my GPS in pedestrain mode I get weird distance readings and it is making it difficult to pin point the location. it does not seem to atter if there are tres or building or nothing around. one example is it will show i am 40 feet the 5 feet and when i go in the direction ot get closer the distance will increase and then whe i go back to the original spot it the shows me farther away then before. Any body have an idea as to what is going on??

[+kunarion]

it will show i am 40 feet the 5 feet

That seems a little excessive with decent reception. Is it a car GPS? Is it possible that the antenna needs to be oriented differently? In a car, the GPSr is vertical, but when caching, might be held flat.

 

But even at 40 feet off, you're pretty close to GZ. It's time to begin searching for likely hiding spots, maybe have a hint on hand, and rely less on the GPSr. And once you're closer than 20 feet, the indication is definitely going to bounce around some. That's about the limit of expected accuracy.

[+GCougar67]

it will show i am 40 feet the 5 feet

That seems a little excessive with decent reception. Is it a car GPS? Is it possible that the antenna needs to be oriented differently? In a car, the GPSr is vertical, but when caching, might be held flat.

 

But even at 40 feet off, you're pretty close to GZ. It's time to begin searching for likely hiding spots, maybe have a hint on hand, and rely less on the GPSr. And once you're closer than 20 feet, the indication is definitely going to bounce around some. That's about the limit of expected accuracy.

 

Yes its a car Garmin Nuvi GPS that has a setting for pedestrian on it when walking/

[AZcachemeister]

You are using a unit that only needs to know if you are on or near the 30-40-50 foot wide road or not.

Many people around here mange to use them successfully, but I would recommend getting a hand-held unit designed to be used the way you are using it.

 

You can't expect jeweler's screwdriver precision from a framing hammer.

[jkettu]

Are you sure it is not trying to route you to the cache using any and all pedestrian-accessible roads nearby? There should be a separate setting somewhere which lets you select off-road (instead of shortest time or shortest distance).

[Keystone]

I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the GPS and Technology forum.

[+Trucker Lee]

Sounds like you are using an automotive type unit, recheck your settings. Also, some units are not set up for true accuracy simply because on a 30 foot wide road, it wasn't needed for the intended purpose.

 

If a hand-held unit, try calibrating the compass.