+The Chaos Crew Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Hi everyone, I have an Oregon 450 which is now coming up for a couple of years old. Over the past few months it has appeared to be decidedly less accurate than it used to be, often struggling to settle on ground zero at all (ie can’t get under 15 feet and keeps jumping around), and even when it does seem confident that it has brought us to the right place, it can be 30 feet or more off (whereas it used to be pretty much spot on most of the time) On the plus side, it has certainly made us better geocachers, as now we only really trust it to get us within the rough locale of the cache, and we have to use our eyes and our spideysense more I did wonder if maybe I was just imagining the decline in performance, but the matter was proven to me last week carrying out a maintenance run on one of my own caches, where I know that the co-ordinates used to take me right to it, as I tested them out at the time of placement and also at subsequent maintenance visits. This time it was pointing a full 50 feet away. So – the question is – is there anything I can do to fix this? Is it just an age thing that I have to put up with? (I hope not as it’s not THAT old and it cost a lot of cash , and I can’t really afford to replace it right now!) Does it need to go back to Garmin for a service? All suggestions gratefully received…. Quote Link to comment
+mpilchfamily Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I doubt its even an issue with the unit itself. It could be a reception issue in your area. Weather does have an effect on the sat signal. Not to mention power lines and cell towers can cause interference. A new tower near you or one that has had a new antenna aray installed could be causing interference and your accuracy issues. Could be any number of things causing the issue. Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) 30 feet off is reasonable. It may seem better on some days than others. The Oregons aren't known as the best for accuracy, although mine will be perfect occasionally. I'm thinking yours is fine. You could look at a couple of settings (try it with or without WAAS, for example), but if you've not touched any settings, its probably best to leave them alone. There are a lot of things in the news lately about stuff that may affect GPS, and maybe it will improve over time. Sometimes I'll just hold still for a while, or set the unit down or hang it from a branch, and let it settle out. Edited October 12, 2011 by kunarion Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Updated the software, or using the original supplied when new? Quote Link to comment
+The Chaos Crew Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 30 feet off is reasonable. It may seem better on some days than others. The Oregons aren't known as the best for accuracy, although mine will be perfect occasionally. I'm thinking yours is fine. You could look at a couple of settings (try it with or without WAAS, for example), but if you've not touched any settings, its probably best to leave them alone. There are a lot of things in the news lately about stuff that may affect GPS, and maybe it will improve over time. Sometimes I'll just hold still for a while, or set the unit down or hang it from a branch, and let it settle out. It definitely is VERY noticeably not as good as it used to be though, especially the compass jumping around all over the place - and this has only happened in the last 2 months or so. It's not even a gradual degradation of performance, it's quite a sudden drop. Definitely seems to me like something is not right with it Quote Link to comment
+The Chaos Crew Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 Updated the software, or using the original supplied when new? I've updated it twice, but not for a while - the drop in performance didn't come after a software change. Maybe I ought to try upgrading to whatever the latest version is.... Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I've updated it twice, but not for a while - the drop in performance didn't come after a software change. Maybe I ought to try upgrading to whatever the latest version is.... That's a great idea! I'm a little behind in updates myself (due to that being kind of a pain). One or two previous updates had some glitches in them. Quote Link to comment
+The Chaos Crew Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 I doubt its even an issue with the unit itself. It could be a reception issue in your area. Weather does have an effect on the sat signal. Not to mention power lines and cell towers can cause interference. A new tower near you or one that has had a new antenna aray installed could be causing interference and your accuracy issues. Could be any number of things causing the issue. good theory - but we are having the same problem all over the place (we travel about the country quite a lot) and we haven't changed any settings. the only thing we have done differently recently is switch from rechargeable to disposable batteries - as my kids have stolen all my rechargeables for their games console handsets and I haven't bought a new batch yet. Battery life is considerably shorter than with my old rechargeables. Do you think that could be the cause?? (grasping at straws a little...) I do do the calibration thing whenever it asks which is (annoyingly) often. Quote Link to comment
+mpilchfamily Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I doubt a battery change would cause it. If anything the the disposable batteries will supply better power then the rechargeable unless they are very cheap. Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 the only thing we have done differently recently is switch from rechargeable to disposable batteries - as my kids have stolen all my rechargeables for their games console handsets and I haven't bought a new batch yet. Battery life is considerably shorter than with my old rechargeables. Do you think that could be the cause?? (grasping at straws a little...) I do do the calibration thing whenever it asks which is (annoyingly) often. I'd expect alkalines to be an improvement over rechargeables. My 450 was pretty much always as you describe -- all over the place, loose compass, with occasionally great readings. I've since upgraded to a 550. Same thing. But it's just a tool to get you in the ballpark. Once you arrive, it's time to play ball. So to speak. Quote Link to comment
+The Chaos Crew Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 the only thing we have done differently recently is switch from rechargeable to disposable batteries - as my kids have stolen all my rechargeables for their games console handsets and I haven't bought a new batch yet. Battery life is considerably shorter than with my old rechargeables. Do you think that could be the cause?? (grasping at straws a little...) I do do the calibration thing whenever it asks which is (annoyingly) often. I'd expect alkalines to be an improvement over rechargeables. My 450 was pretty much always as you describe -- all over the place, loose compass, with occasionally great readings. I've since upgraded to a 550. Same thing. But it's just a tool to get you in the ballpark. Once you arrive, it's time to play ball. So to speak. my rechargeables are really good ones though - they last about twice as much as standard alkaline batteries. I need to steal them back from my kids as for the GPS - I wouldn't mind if it had always been like this, but it used to perform considerably better, I just want it to behave like it did before.... hmmmm .... will try the software update thing and hope for the best! it's more of a hindrance than a help sometimes at the moment. Quote Link to comment
+cadtenchy Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 are there not days when there are more satellites to see, than there are other days? I've noticed on my 62S, some days it will say 10ft err over an entire route, another day say mostly 18-20ft over exact same route, even with apparently same weather. Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Definitely seems to me like something is not right with it What is your reported error radius now when you are having issues, and what did it used to be when it was behaving well? Quote Link to comment
+The Chaos Crew Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 Definitely seems to me like something is not right with it What is your reported error radius now when you are having issues, and what did it used to be when it was behaving well? not sure I would have to check. Will have a look next time we are out with it. I know everyone is saying it's just behaving normally, but it honestly isn't, compared to how it used to be, there is a marked degradation in performance. Quote Link to comment
gitarmac Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Hmmm, I got one of the oregons on sale, and soon after I got an astro 320, which is supposed to be based on the 62. I had read a lot of reviews that stated the oregon is slightly less accurate than other models but so far I've been very impressed! I've used it side by side with the astro and the astro sometimes will jump around when the oregon remains stable. Wierd considering the astro has that fancy schmancy helix antenna. Do you have another unit to compare it with? Maybe a friend has one? I wouldn't worry as much about the shift in waypoints. Mine varies quite a bit from day to day. Even my tracks will shift. I've had better performance with my eneloop rechargables then with alkaline batteries. I use a nice charger, it makes a differance. The other rechargables have given sporatic results. Sometimes they won't work fresh off the charger, even with a confirmed full charge?!?!? I don't know enough about this kind of thing to come up with a theory but I assume it has something to do with the way the unit sense them. Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I know everyone is saying it's just behaving normally, but it honestly isn't, compared to how it used to be, there is a marked degradation in performance. My 550T has always been working as you describe, and my 450 before that. I never had the good fortune of consistently phenomenal accuracy. But I have noticed a difference, using lithium batteries for the first time this weekend. The Oregon locks onto satellites in a few seconds on power-up. This is strange, since it always previously required a minute or two to do that. It's probably nothing, but I thought I'd ask: Did you change your battery setting to match the installed battery type? I don't know how it affects operation, but it keeps everything tidy to set it for whatever batteries you currently use. Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) I know everyone is saying it's just behaving normally, but it honestly isn't, compared to how it used to be, there is a marked degradation in performance. My 550T has always been working as you describe, and my 450 before that. I never had the good fortune of consistently phenomenal accuracy. I do sympathize with you, since I've also seen my Oregon inaccurate way beyond reason, and I'm all like, "is this a defect -- is it broken now?!" And then most of the time, it's not so bad, with a perfectly dead-on consistent reading now and then. But I have noticed a difference, using lithium batteries for the first time this weekend: the Oregon locks onto satellites in a few seconds on power-up. This is strange, since it always previously required a minute or two to do that. It's probably nothing, but I thought I'd ask: Did you change your battery setting to match the installed battery type? I don't know how it affects operation, but it keeps everything tidy to set it for whatever batteries you currently use. Edited October 14, 2011 by kunarion Quote Link to comment
+The Chaos Crew Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 Am overjoyed to report that, following an upgrade to the latest version of the software (to version 5.10) last Friday, I have been using my Oregon a lot at the weekend and it's been absolutely spot on! (so it can't be the batteries as I've still not got any new rechargeables) It's back to how it used to behave from new, the whole family have noticed the difference. We only had to check two hints all weekend (one in an urban area where we wanted to find it quick to avoid arousing suspicion, and one where the co-ords were spot on and we had already checked and written off the hidey hole, it was just that the cache was tucked away in there in a clever and unusual fashion so we had overlooked it the first time) Compare that to recent months where we have had to really rely on hints as the GPS was so off. Brilliant, so happy Quote Link to comment
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