+JohnRomola Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I've used a Delorme PN40 for 5 years, until it crashed a week ago. So I bought a Garmin eTrex 20 and ir seems to work fine. Except that in wooded areas it seems to lose satellite much quicker than my PN40. Is there a difference in sensitivity between different units? Are there GPSes that have better satellite capabilities than others? == John Quote Link to comment
Fangamon Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Etrex 20 crashes OFF constantly in the city taking the longest times to get back any satellites. A good back unit if you have nothing else but don't bet your life on it! Great on the water but hopeless in the city! Quote Link to comment
Forkeye Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 My Etrex 30 receives sat. signals just fine in thick mountainous terrain or in the city. Havent tried it downtown around skyscrapers in the concrete jungle yet. Surely the 20 & 30 have the same receiver. The map being slow to pan is my only complaint which the 20 would also have. Quote Link to comment
+northernpenguin Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 The map being slow to pan is my only complaint which the 20 would also have. That's basically how they achieve the very long battery life. Low resolution screen and less powerful processing chip. If am doing a lot of panning out at low zoom levels (county, province), i tend to turn off complex maps (like topo) first and knock the detail down a bit until I'm done. Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Etrex 20 crashes OFF constantly in the city taking the longest times to get back any satellites. A good back unit if you have nothing else but don't bet your life on it! Great on the water but hopeless in the city! Since you have no experience geocaching I'm wondering if you even own a GPS. I have noticed you always like to post contrarian points of view. Is that to engage folks in discussions or just to disparage the unit currently under discussion. Quote Link to comment
Fangamon Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 (edited) Since you have no experience geocaching I'm wondering if you even own a GPS. I'm a pilot. ~ Edited July 11, 2014 by Odourless Quote Link to comment
+GeoTrekker26 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Since you have no experience geocaching I'm wondering if you even own a GPS. I'm a pilot. LOL Quote Link to comment
+northernpenguin Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 1405009601[/url]' post='5400956']Etrex 20 crashes OFF constantly in the city taking the longest times to get back any satellites. A good back unit if you have nothing else but don't bet your life on it! Great on the water but hopeless in the city! eTrex 30 owner here. Living in small, remote town called Toronto, Canada.... Only 5 million or so residents here so likely not a good sample for "City" use.My GPSr doesn't seem to have any issues when I visit the "downtown". Suggest updating or switching maps, the one you are using likely has some bad data. I use City Navigator on mine. Quote Link to comment
+northernpenguin Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 1405053366[/url]' post='5401164']1405049436[/url]' post='5401150']1405029526[/url]' post='5401075']Since you have no experience geocaching I'm wondering if you even own a GPS. I'm a pilot. LOL Visual Flight Rules? Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 1405009601[/url]' post='5400956']Etrex 20 crashes OFF constantly in the city taking the longest times to get back any satellites. A good back unit if you have nothing else but don't bet your life on it! Great on the water but hopeless in the city! eTrex 30 owner here. Living in small, remote town called Toronto, Canada.... Only 5 million or so residents here so likely not a good sample for "City" use.My GPSr doesn't seem to have any issues when I visit the "downtown". Suggest updating or switching maps, the one you are using likely has some bad data. I use City Navigator on mine. No, most of us that own eTrex 20/30s are quite happy with them. The smelly one, that does not geocache, apparently has a beef with Garmin and takes delite in basing their products, especially the eTrexs. He probably bought one and found out it was not suitable to navigate a plane with. Quote Link to comment
+MartyBartfast Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I can't compare to the Delorme, but I don't remember a single occurence of my Etrex30 losing it's lock under trees. I also use it a lot in London, and I don't remember it losing lock there either, indeed I was once in a train tunnel under a tower block and it still had a fix! it must have been getting reflected signals from the tunnel entrance. It will also get a fix indoors at home. As sussamb says enable GLONASS, and you have more satellites to chose from. Quote Link to comment
+northernpenguin Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I can't compare to the Delorme, but I don't remember a single occurence of my Etrex30 losing it's lock under trees. I also use it a lot in London, and I don't remember it losing lock there either, indeed I was once in a train tunnel under a tower block and it still had a fix! it must have been getting reflected signals from the tunnel entrance. It will also get a fix indoors at home. As sussamb says enable GLONASS, and you have more satellites to chose from. Yup, that's been my experience too. I had a Colorado 400t, now THAT one would lose it's mind from time to time but my eTrex 30 has been pretty solid since the day I got it. I mainly use it for urban geocaching and - this is what I got it for - multi-day backcountry adventures where I spent a lot of time in trees, canyons and in terrain that is generally hostile to consumer electronics. I have not a single complaint about it and look forward to unleashing the Adirondacks upon it next week. But first I have to get through Toronto with it in order to find the bridge to the USA. Somehow, I'm not that concerned about getting lost. At all. Side note - I've got 4500 caches loaded up all along the route and another 45,000 POIs representing every single active cache in Ontario as well, and the unit is holding up just fine. +1 to the GLONASS comment, I noticed a definite increase in locking ability and accuracy with that enabled. Quote Link to comment
Fangamon Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) No, most of us that own eTrex 20/30s are quite happy with them. The smelly one, that does not geocache, apparently has a beef with Garmin and takes delite in basing their products, especially the eTrexs. He probably bought one and found out it was not suitable to navigate a plane with. Actually I bought a Etrex 20 especially because the 30 does not work inside the metal monocoque fuselage of an aircraft. The Etrex 20 still works quite well for air navigation but only as a backup... My portable navigation GPS is the Garmin 695 but for bushwalking it's too large but for the plane it's designed for it! Not many geocaches up where I work and play but if I find one in the sky you will be the first to tell... Edited July 12, 2014 by robertlipe Personal attack and profanity removed. Quote Link to comment
Fangamon Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) Photoshop Why would I bother? Here's a bigger photo from another plane... ~ Edited July 12, 2014 by Odourless Quote Link to comment
+andyakashrek Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Sky really that colour,with the white fadeout? Looks like a brochure advertisement. Quote Link to comment
Fangamon Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) Sky really that colour,with the white fadeout? Looks like a brochure advertisement. clouds... ~ Edited July 12, 2014 by Odourless Quote Link to comment
+JBnW Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Photoshop Why would I bother? Here's a bigger photo from another plane... ~ Funny you should mention that....Ram Mount, 4th and 5th photos from the top. Quote Link to comment
Fangamon Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 (edited) Busted :laughing: A troll and a fantasist maybe LOL, neither. Keep digging... ~ Edited July 12, 2014 by Odourless Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Actually I bought a Etrex 20 especially because the 30 does not work inside the metal monocoque fuselage of an aircraft. The Etrex 20 still works quite well for air navigation but only as a backup... Some expert you are. They both have the same receiver. Quote Link to comment
insig Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 The barometric altimeter on the 30 doesnt report the correct elevation when you are in a pressurized cabin, which is why he got the 20. Quote Link to comment
robertlipe Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Moderator Note. This thread, like many lately, has veered wildly off topic and bordering on abusive. Please keep all replies on topic, helpful, and refrain from personal attacks. When you see something naughty or abusive, please report it and let the volunteer moderators handle it. Engaging in one-to-one combat only brings the thread further off topic. Thank you. Quote Link to comment
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