+OtterFan Posted October 14, 2002 Share Posted October 14, 2002 OK, all you hearty midwesterners...how does cold winter weather affect your handheld GPS unit? I'm mostly wondering how the displays perform when the temperature gets to zero or below. A guy can always dress warmer, but if the gear's not up to it...luckily, my paintball gun works better than most opponent's in sub-freezing weather! Are there any tricks to keeping the GPS healthy in the cold? I suppose a hand warmer in your pocket (with the GPSr) would keep it warm, but I doubt my Legend would keep sat locks in that environment... Just curious... Jesse --------------- I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure... Quote Link to comment
Cholo Posted October 14, 2002 Share Posted October 14, 2002 You're in Minnesota, why do you need a GPSr to go ice fishing? Quote Link to comment
+kbraband Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 This will be my third winter for geocaching activity. I love it. No bugs. No poison ivy. No 90 degree temps. Good reception. My GPS unit works fine in the cold, although the rechargable batteries don't last nearly as long as they do on hot days. Bring a couple extra sets batteries along and keep them warm in your pocket. Quote Link to comment
umc Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 I've used my GM100 for the past four years ice fishing with no problems. The batteries do not last nearly as long like mentioned but other than that its been fine. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Coming Around, New Owner Of a Garmin GPS V Received on 10-03-02 Quote Link to comment
+Lone Duck Posted October 31, 2002 Share Posted October 31, 2002 I've learned early on that when my GPS unit gets real cold, the response time of the display slows down. And if it's REALLY cold (Like left out overnight) then the display may not show at all. http://www.netwalk.com/~jporter/picto2.gif Quote Link to comment
+Arpy Posted November 4, 2002 Share Posted November 4, 2002 Sometimes it helps to rub your unit... Spare batteries are a must! Also keep the spares on your person so they stay warm & charged. Quote Link to comment
+Runaround Posted November 7, 2002 Share Posted November 7, 2002 Other than the display slowing down a little, no real problems. But the unit has to have time to get really cold before I see a noticable difference. The best solution around the battery problem is to use lithiums. They are not affected by the cold. Now where did I park my car??????? Quote Link to comment
+Markwell Posted November 7, 2002 Share Posted November 7, 2002 I went out caching last President's day and followed in the footsteps of some sasquatch or yeti on my way to the Great Village of the Maramek Cache, only to find TourEZ standing at the final marker. On this particular hunt, it was a joy (and kinda spooky) to follow in footsteps in freshly made snow. The cache instructions give you a VERY specific route to take, so by the second waypoint, I knew I was following a cacher. Since it had snowed the night before, and there was another car parked at the prescribed parking spot, I knew I wasn't far behind him. Markwell Chicago Geocaching "Therapy is expensive but bubble wrap is free." Quote Link to comment
+trippy1976 Posted November 11, 2002 Share Posted November 11, 2002 Some of Michigan's heartiest have a Traverse City Winter Convergence planned. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=42866 I'm still deciding how hearty I am -------- trippy1976 - Team KKF2A Quote Link to comment
+Rusty & Libby Posted November 12, 2002 Share Posted November 12, 2002 Based on personal experience winter caching is a mixed bag. The GPSr display is a bit slow but the reception is increased without tree cover. Problem is that most of the caches were hidden when there was tree cover so the actual coords are not as important as the hiders coordinates. The biggest problem is that not very many caches are hidden in a 'winter friendly' way. The easy cache lying under a bush becomes just another clump of snow under a dozen bushes. The trade off is that if there is other cacher activity you can just follow tracks and leave your GPSr in the car. Look for the yellow arrow pointing to the cache[] We had about a 50% success rate in previous winters but since I absolutely hate winter we don't get out that often. Another plus is that if you get a good snow melt the caches stick out like a sore thumb. Rusty... -------------------------------------------------- Friends don't let friends cache locationless! Rusty & Libby's Geocache Page Michigan Geocaching Organization Quote Link to comment
+Ed Rad Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 Tried my first caches in the snow on Thanksgiving day. It does make it more challenging but it also can be frustrating. Variety is good so I'll take the cold winter days along with the hot, humid bug filled summer days. As long as I'm caching, life is good! Quote Link to comment
+jonsom Posted December 9, 2002 Share Posted December 9, 2002 I have been out caching in between 0 and 10 degrees F and the batteries do not last very long at all. Be sure to bring multiple sets of batteries, keep them warm and when you change them, dont throw them out, I have been able to reuse them after they are warmed back up. The display does slow down too, but there are no mosquito's to deal with and so far no snow to mention either. Quote Link to comment
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