+Violet7110 Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 I have replaced my Magellan explorist GC with my Samsung Galaxy s4. I am using the C:goe app and my problem is it seem as if I cannot get within 20-25ft of a cache. Should I upgrade apps to the geocache official one or is this what I should expect with a smart phone. My Magellan explorist didn't seem to have the same distance problem. I like I smart phone the option to cache anywhere is great. But not finding a caches is starting to get aggravating. Quote Link to comment
+wmpastor Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Could you describe the problem better? Do you mean that it's always inaccurate? Or do you mean the readings get "jumpy" when you're close to GZ? If the 2nd, then keep walking around. GPSrs don't like it when you're standing still. Quote Link to comment
+BlackRose67 Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 The apps won't really help...it's the GPS chip in the smartphone. The S4 has a Broadcom chip in it that supports both GPS and GLONASS, so it should be quite accurate, assuming the coordinates for the caches you are looking for are also accurate. Quote Link to comment
+Violet7110 Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 Could you describe the problem better? Do you mean that it's always inaccurate? Or do you mean the readings get "jumpy" when you're close to GZ? If the 2nd, then keep walking around. GPSrs don't like it when you're standing still. Sorry, I will be more clear.. the inaccuracy is that the Smartphone only gets me within 25 ft. of the cache. I can be standing on a known cache I found and the smartphone will say I am still 25 ft. away. sometime 45 ft. plus away. I used it today and if it was not for being easy to see my phone would have had me running around no where close to it. My wife suggested to buy a dedicated unit again and compare the accuracy Quote Link to comment
+wmpastor Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Could you describe the problem better? Do you mean that it's always inaccurate? Or do you mean the readings get "jumpy" when you're close to GZ? If the 2nd, then keep walking around. GPSrs don't like it when you're standing still. Sorry, I will be more clear.. the inaccuracy is that the Smartphone only gets me within 25 ft. of the cache. I can be standing on a known cache I found and the smartphone will say I am still 25 ft. away. sometime 45 ft. plus away. I used it today and if it was not for being easy to see my phone would have had me running around no where close to it. My wife suggested to buy a dedicated unit again and compare the accuracy Very odd - the S3 never gives me that type of problem. Quote Link to comment
+TotemLake Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Could you describe the problem better? Do you mean that it's always inaccurate? Or do you mean the readings get "jumpy" when you're close to GZ? If the 2nd, then keep walking around. GPSrs don't like it when you're standing still. Sorry, I will be more clear.. the inaccuracy is that the Smartphone only gets me within 25 ft. of the cache. I can be standing on a known cache I found and the smartphone will say I am still 25 ft. away. sometime 45 ft. plus away. I used it today and if it was not for being easy to see my phone would have had me running around no where close to it. My wife suggested to buy a dedicated unit again and compare the accuracy Of course you are making the assumption the provided coordinates are accurate to 0.0. Not all caches are placed with precision. If you want to test true accuracy, use coordinates for a known benchmark monument. Typically it's a little metal surveyor's disk about 4 inches in diameter. It's usually in a small covered utility hole in the ground. Quote Link to comment
+Walts Hunting Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 My S4 when I test it with cgeo is dead on but i mostly use the gs app. Quote Link to comment
+baloo&bd Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 What everyone has said to this point is spot on. You might tey to use GPS Status, which is a standalone as well as an add in program to C:GEO (and a lot of other apps). After installing it, when you select navigation from c:geo, select radar and see how it works. Other than that, along with what has been stated previously, it would most likely be hardware not app. Do you have someone you know with an S4 you can compare to? Quote Link to comment
+A.T.Hiker Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 (edited) I have the S4 but haven't yet tried geocaching with it. I've noticed some issues related to the way it records speed. Sometimes, it's always registering a speed of between 1-2 mph, sometimes higher, even when standing perfectly still in a clear view for several minutes. Only way to get the speed to return to zero is to reboot the phone. I've also noticed that the speed resolution seems to be limited to somewhere around 0.5 mph on the apps that register speed in tenths. All of the GPS apps I've used on the S4 exhibit the same behavior leading me to wonder about an underlying hardware/software problem. I wonder if this could be factoring in to your reported accuracy issues. Try rebooting your phone when you have the accuracy issue. Edited March 22, 2014 by A.T.Hiker Quote Link to comment
+ShaunEM Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Go get the app "GPS Status". For my S4 it improves GPS operation for me on my phone. I can't say mine has ever had the problem you are describing though. Perhaps you were in a bad area for GPS signal. Woods, Big City buildings, etc.. Also, if you still have the GC, I would recommend using that for trail geocaching. Dropping your GC in a river would cause some words to be said. Dropping your S4 in a river would probably cause a whole new set of adult only words. Shaun Quote Link to comment
+hofy67 Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I use the that app on my Motorola M phone and the accuracy is dead on with the Delorme PN-30 right next to it. My wife has a Samsung S4 but we have yet to install the app and try it. I may have to try it tomorrow. Quote Link to comment
+hofy67 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 I use the that app on my Motorola M phone and the accuracy is dead on with the Delorme PN-30 right next to it. My wife has a Samsung S4 but we have yet to install the app and try it. I may have to try it tomorrow. Took my wife's S4 my Moto M and the Delorme PN-30 for a little walk to the nearest cache today. All 3 are within a couple of feet of each other. Quote Link to comment
rubutfb Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I have same problem, hopefully this thread can solve the problem Quote Link to comment
+svaughn23 Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I would suggest rebooting the S4 when having this problem. I was running a iphone 4s and it was about 40 feet off where I thought it should be. Rebooted the phone and it came back on saying I was 7 feet away. It was a well hidden cache and because of the gps on the phone I walked by it at least 7 times. Quote Link to comment
Mr.Burns Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 "GPS Status" form the play store is the best app to calibrate GPS signal on phone. My S4 is dead on. Quote Link to comment
+splashy Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 (edited) Unless you have a faulty (gps chip) phone, it's not the Galaxy, the newer Galaxy's (after 2 and up) are very usable for geocaching. Standing still might make the gps jumpy, that's with all gps'es, sometimes you don't see this because some models 'glue' the cursor on the screen softwarewise. The receiver will have a minimum error of about 7 feet, as will the hider, therefore an error of about 15 feet is not rare. Edited May 17, 2014 by splashy Quote Link to comment
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