SporTrak Pro and hiding caches question

[Ruprex]

Hmmm, I'm a bit embarrassed that my cords were off on a cache I placed. How do I avoid such tragedy?

 

I'm using a New SporTrak Pro with the latest firmware (don't have the exact number but it is the latest). I planted a cache on a clear night sky. I had my unit off for a while then turned it on directly over the site. I let it get about 6 or 7 sats and let it sit for about 2 minutes before I logged the coords. I had WAAS enabled while doing so. I was in a bit of a hurry as security patrol was giving me the eye.

 

I also noticed a similar experience the last cache I planted for a family outing. I locked in and saved the coords. Then I did a goto and I was 25 feet off..... What the heck, over? I love this SporTrak for the hunt but it's getting me a bit uneasy for the hide.

 

Have you any suggestions for a newbie like myself? I sure would like to plant caches without being corrected on my coords...

 

Thanks a bunch!

 

God was my co-pilot but we crashed in the mountains and I had to eat him.

[+Cachetrotters]

It could take five minutes or more to get a REAL good fix. Stand back and drink something warm, or cool, depending on your location . But I don't think I would worry about twenty feet. GOTO five or six times and see what you get.

 

don

[+Groundhound]

I read at this site where WAAS corrections can take 5-10 min to load. Under the circumstances you described, you may not have given enough time for WAAS to be applied.

[Ruprex]

I assumed as much... I wonder if I should turn WAAS off if it's not getting a WAAS satelite???

 

quote:

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Originally posted by Groundhound:

I read at http://www.gpsinformation.org/dale/dgps.htm site where WAAS corrections can take 5-10 min to load. Under the circumstances you described, you may not have given enough time for WAAS to be applied.

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*Your produce alone was worth the visit*

[+Night Stalker]

I found that if I put it down on the site as (long as its clear), and walked away so I don't effect the satellite coverage it works fine. Of course I usually wait for about 5 minutes before I set it. That is I do unless its -10 and blowing then my internal clock counts a lot faster.

[+SteveL]

The Sportrak Pro look to be a very accurate GPS. See the part in Italics - this is probably the problem. From Joe Mehaffey and Jack Yeazel's GPS Information website, SportTrack Pro Review

 

quote:

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Receiver Accuracy and Sensitivity:

The Sportrak Pro GPS appears to represent a significant step forward in WAAS enhanced GPS position accuracy. In experiments the Pro was able to achieve 95% confidence accuracy of less than one meter on two out of the three tests we made in the open. It also achieved its specification accuracy of 3 meters 95% of the time under moderate tree cover on all tests. No other consumer handheld GPS we have reviewed has achieved this accuracy.

 

Other tests show that this stationary accuracy is not achieved at the expense of position lag at highway speeds or in overshoot on sharp turns. We consider the Sportrak Pro to be the most accurate consumer GPS receiver that we have reviewed. Magellan Engineers have confirmed that our results are consistent with their data though they do not GUARANTEE accuracy to the level we have experienced in our review unit. Subjective evaluation of the sensitivity would be that it's above average. The most dramatic results of the Pro's performance was under moderate tree cover. Magellan seems to have overcome this general problem with hand-held receivers as can be seen in these plots (HERE). Dynamic accuracy wasn't as good as the GPSmap 76, because the Pro records fewer automatic trackpoints as seen (HERE).

 

WAAS:

The last graphic is an example of accuracy immediately after turn on explaining why 10 minutes is needed to acquire all the WAAS corrections before starting the recordings. In the Atlanta area, all Magellans we have reviewed can receive corrections from the AOR-East geosynchronous European EGNOS satellite. The units are permanently in the WAAS mode which can't (easily) be switched off. This will be a problem for users far outside the WAAS and EGNOS correction areas. For example, users in Australia have reported significant position errors introduced by receiving the POR satellite's WAAS corrections.

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Patience Grasshopper...

 

SteveL

 

Wherever you go, there you are.