Guest leeinmemphis Posted August 1, 2001 Share Posted August 1, 2001 Hey guys, This is my first post and have several (probably stupid) questions for people that have had experience with a gps. I bought the magellan 315 to use for hunting. That is going to be the primary purpose of the unit. Last night I went outside and set a landmark at the bottom of my driveway. I then went down the street and tried to get it to goto the landmark. It got me to within about 40 feet of it. Is there any adjustments to sensitivity that I can make in order to help it's accuracy? My salesman told me this thing would get me within 6 feet of my destination? What am I missing. I know these are probably stupid questions but I am worried that I have wasted my money on something that won't do me much good. I am primarily looking for it to be able to guide me into the woods in the mornings to my stands and getting to within 50' isn't gonna cut it. Do I need to go ahead and sell this unit and buy one that is more accurate or is there some aftermarket software that can be loaded to help? I don't mind buying some accessories as long as they'll make the unit usefull. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks. -Lee- Quote Link to comment
Guest AngstMonger Posted August 1, 2001 Share Posted August 1, 2001 Lee - I can't speak to the accuracy of your unit, although there are quite a few discussions in this and other threads comparing various units. I have a Garmin eTrex Summit myself (which I've been very pleased with), and it's not at all uncommon for me to get within 10 feet (and more often than not, less) of the caches I'm hunting. Accuracy can depend on several factors, including the number of birds your unit has locked, their configuration (changes constantly), and yes, probably the quality of the unit itself. Another factor may be simple patience... If when you reach a location you want to mark as a waypoint you'll let the unit settle for 5 minutes or so, you'll often get a more accurate fix. As I mentioned, there's a lot more information in a lot of other posts here by a lot of folks a lot smarter than me. Check them out. Quote Link to comment
Guest leeinmemphis Posted August 1, 2001 Share Posted August 1, 2001 ost what I find on trying to let it settle. -Lee- Quote Link to comment
Guest SteveL Posted August 1, 2001 Share Posted August 1, 2001 Repeatability is what your looking for, and you might get within 6? 10 to 20% of the time (my experience). No handheld unit is going to do any better, 10 meters is the ?error range? we all work in. Generally, it is better (5-6 meters), and occasionally within 1-2 meters, but that?s about all you?re going to get. The 315 has averaging, and if you stand still, things should improve. When setting your waypoints, try to let the unit average for 20 min. or more to get a good fix. But don?t expect to walk up within 6? of it every time. To do that, you need real-time corrections using a high-end GPS receiver, such as the units used for cartography. These come in backpacks and cost around ~$10,000. SteveL [This message has been edited by SteveL (edited 01 August 2001).] Quote Link to comment
Guest k2dave Posted August 1, 2001 Share Posted August 1, 2001 Don't forget about waas. If your unit has waas and a clear view of the waas sat. you should be able to get the 6-8 ft accuracy. without waas all you can hope for is 20 ft. Quote Link to comment
Guest leeinmemphis Posted August 1, 2001 Share Posted August 1, 2001 I'ld be happy with 20'. I don't know if there is a sensitivity setting or something that I may be missing. I don't see any info on waas but I'll check again in my users manual. Any other advice for a newbie? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks -Lee- Quote Link to comment
Guest Bob Bowter Posted August 1, 2001 Share Posted August 1, 2001 Sorry to break the news, but once you get in the woods the error could be even greater than 40 feet. Tree cover has a significant impact on GPS performance. Try to find an object near your tree stand that is easy to spot and take a bearing from that object to your tree stand. Some GPSR's perform better than others in the woods. For example, my III+ performs better than my Vista. ------------------ Quote Link to comment
Guest Ron Streeter Posted August 1, 2001 Share Posted August 1, 2001 Hey there... If we can get to within 20-50 feet and find a quart sized container that SOMEONE else has hidden, surely you can find YOUR OWN stand if you get that close. At least I think I could. ron Quote Link to comment
Guest leeinmemphis Posted August 2, 2001 Share Posted August 2, 2001 Sure you say that now. But the woods look completely different in the dark! You would think that you could walk up into it without any markers or anything but it's not that easy. Try it. I think you'll be surprised. -Lee- Quote Link to comment
Guest Ron Streeter Posted August 2, 2001 Share Posted August 2, 2001 You're right...but I didn't enter the darkness factor in...for me that's a non-issue...I can't get from one room in my house to the other in the dark ! Ron Quote Link to comment
Guest chrome Posted August 2, 2001 Share Posted August 2, 2001 Or you could just do what I do. I leave my wife in the tree stand all summer and then when fall comes, I go out and get fairly close to the area then yell Marco and she yells Polo and I eventually find her and send her home for the winter while I hunt. Quote Link to comment
Guest Vagabond Posted August 2, 2001 Share Posted August 2, 2001 Also make sure your unit is set to WGS84 before you start looking for any caches. Ive found 54 caches with an old Lowrance Global Nav. 212, and have been anywhere from dead on to over 50 feet away, most being within 10 feet. Also a compass will help to get your headings faster when you get close in.. Good Caching Quote Link to comment
Guest wizmedic Posted August 2, 2001 Share Posted August 2, 2001 My wife has the Magellan 315 and I have the Magellan Map330. I hate to say this, but my M330 is tons better than the wife's 315. When we both go looking for caches at the sametime, she is off almost 40-50 feet from where I am at. And my M330 is the closest of the two. Even in wooden area, hers has problems, and mine does a good job on getting me the closest. Not trying to put down the 315, it is a good unit. But with the M330 and without WAAS, it seems to get closer to a mark than the wife's 315. That is just my 2 cents.....cheers! Quote Link to comment
Guest Rubberhead Posted August 3, 2001 Share Posted August 3, 2001 leeinmemphis, I'm also a hunter. I just bought an eTrex Venturer. I got the unit because it was the cheapest handheld with WAAS. (It's also small enough to fit in a shirt pocket.) I consistantly get errors of less than 10 feet with the WAAS turned on, but I'm also on the East Coast and usually have a clear view of the east coast WAAS satellite. Quote Link to comment
Guest leeinmemphis Posted August 3, 2001 Share Posted August 3, 2001 upossed to be decent. Any help is appreciated. Thanks again guys. -Lee- Quote Link to comment
Guest Hard Slate Posted August 4, 2001 Share Posted August 4, 2001 The mag 315 does'nt have waas capabilities. Niether does the garmin III+,or 12xl. I just bought the etrex legend ,it has map and waas. I can't say I'm 100% satisfied yet,but it does have strong qualities.But poor reception, as I hear all the etrex line does. Quote Link to comment
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