Etrex not all that sensitive?

[Guest dmdeitz]

I had a Magellan GPS 310 for our first cache hunt yesterday and it worked pretty good. But I wanted the thousandths, so I was told the etrex (yellow) was the way to go. I got that and did our 2nd hunt today. I think the trees were a little thicker, but not dramatically. I kept getting 'weak signal' messages and it took an unfun amount of time to find the cache.

 

And in the car - yesterday I was comparing the 310's speed to my speedometer, no problem. Today, I had to hold the etrex up to the window. Looking at the signal strength of each satellite on the etrex, I get maybe 3 strong signals when I was standing in a baseball field sized open area, in the center. Yesterday, the 310 woudl talk of tracking 5-9 satellites (not sure how strong the signals were for all of them though!

 

I've read a bunch of threads about the etrex and am really confused on moving up again to the 315. Any thoughts?!

[Guest Prime Suspect]

It's pretty much meaningless, unless you're doing them side by side. Remember that the satellite configuration is constantly changing. The constellation you get today is completely different from the one you will get at the same time tomorrow.

 

Speaking generally, I've found that my eTrex Vista is far more sensitive than my GPSII+. It grabs signals where the II+ could find none, and locks in much quicker.

 

[This message has been edited by Prime Suspect (edited 24 July 2001).]

[Guest navdog]

The Etrex and similar units that use a patch antenna work better at picking up a signal overhead. The magellan units have a quadrifiller antenna and are better able to pick up signals near the horizon. I have a magellan unit and my friend has an older magellan 4000XL with a patch antenna, so we have been able to compare signals at the same time in the rigs we drive and confirm what I have read about the two types of antennas.Thats why the magellan you have may seem to work better farther into the vehicle from the dashboard

 

 

[This message has been edited by navdog (edited 24 July 2001).]

[Guest k2dave]

[speaking generally, I've found that my eTrex Vista is far more sensitive than my GPSII+. It grabs signals where the II+ could find none, and locks in much quicker.]

 

That's funny because all i've heard on this board is how the III+ is so much better at maintaining a lock then internal patch antennia types

[Guest Rubberhead]

I have an eTrex Mariner. I've gotten accuracy readings of 6 feet from within my house. I'm happy.

[Guest Iron Chef]

d (which isn't good). The antenna is the only complaint that I have ever had about my eTrex, if you dont count the cheesy antenna then it is a first rate unit with everything you could ever want (don't forget that this does not include the antenna). Just my thoughts.

 

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-Iron Chef

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agefive.com/geocache/ ~ Fe-26

Lets Drive Fast and Eat Cheese!

[Guest gstrong1]

I get great readings on my eTrex Vista in my house also.Unfortunatly, no one has placed a cache there, YET. My wife might though, just to see me for a bit! . But when on a cache hunt, which usually involves some overhead tree cover, I don't care if there is 30 waas satellites out there, my III Plus without waas, puts to shame the high end eTrex Vista with waas! I use the eTrex sometimes when on the road or if someone has placed a cache in the middle of a soccer field,but other than that, it usually stays at home.The Vistas' size does make it a handy unit to through in your suit coat pocket when going places like wedding receptions,etc. . Hey! While they're cutting the cake, you might as well see if there's any caches nearby!! .-Gimpy-

 

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Gary "Gimpy" Strong

Rochester,NY

[Guest gstrong1]

I get great readings on my eTrex Vista in my house also.Unfortunatly, no one has placed a cache there, YET. My wife might though, just to see me for a bit! . But when on a cache hunt, which usually involves some overhead tree cover, I don't care if there is 30 waas satellites out there, my III Plus without waas, puts to shame the high end eTrex Vista with waas! I use the eTrex sometimes when on the road or if someone has placed a cache in the middle of a soccer field,but other than that, it usually stays at home.The Vistas' size does make it a handy unit to through in your suit coat pocket when going places like wedding receptions,etc. . Hey! While they're cutting the cake, you might as well see if there's any caches nearby!! .-Gimpy-

 

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Gary "Gimpy" Strong

Rochester,NY

[Guest dmdeitz]

RUBBERHEAD SAID:

I have an eTrex Mariner. I've gotten accuracy readings of 6 feet from within my house. I'm happy.

 

I left my yellow etrex out side on my deck, with a 'pretty' clear sky for 1 hour. I looked later and it had strong signals from 6? satellites. But the best accuracy it offered was something like 15'. I've haven't seen anything lower than that... how do you get down to 6'? WAAS?

[Guest Rubberhead]

I'm sorry. Yes, I had the WAAS turned on and was receiving a strong signal from satellite #35 (the east coast WAAS satellite).

 

I am not a serious Geocacher. I am a hunter, fisherman and hiker. But, the eTrex works well in the thick woods.

[Guest Clanggedin]

I have both a Magellan GPS 300 and an eTrex Summit.

 

If I turn on both of them on in my house I can't pick up any satellites on the Magellan and the eTrex will pick up 8 or 9 satellites.

 

I also get much closer readings on my eTrex. I went geocaching on Sunday with my brother (he used the Magellan) and while the eTrex lead me straight to the cache the Magellan sent my brother about 25 feet away from me.

 

We have never not found a cache using the Magellan, but the eTrex had been much better. I don't lose my signel in the car with the eTrex between the seats. We have to hold the Magellan out the window to get continuous reception.

[Guest AngstMonger]

I've been extremely pleased with my Summit. Have had it in relatively heavy cover several times and gotten readings as close as 4 feet. Of course, that reading changes as I wander around looking for a cache, and if anything, I've found that I need to trust the initial reading (i.e., when I "arrive" at the destination), because 9 times out of 10, that's had me within 10 feet or so. This is the only unit I've got (except for a 6-year-old Trimble ScoutMaster -- no comparison), so I guess my experience may not be much help.

[Guest Bob Bowter]

I have both a Vista and III+. The III+, without a doubt, performs better under tree cover. That's not to say the Vista does not work in the woods, it just requires a bit more attention to the satellite page to keep it locked. Most of the caches I have found were with the Vista and when I'm out with only one unit, it's usually the Vista. Like canoes, there is no perfect one for all situations. I hiked and paddled many miles before I bought my first GPSR and had no problem staying found, so an occasional loss of lock with my Vista is not a big deal.

[Guest dmdeitz]

WOW!!!! So dramatically different answers / performance from the same models. Any thoughts on why that is? Is there that much variation in production quality? Yeah, depending on the satellites overhead, maybe location in the US, etc... but there is very little concensus on this. I would think that wouldn't be the case.

[Guest Charlym]

Just got back from Boston on vacation. I was hoping to use my E-trek legend to back trac my touring around the city on foot, but it would not lock on sats. Very disapointed with this unit!! Also expensive paperweight in the woods. Anyone else have this problem in the big cities?

[Guest Charlym]

Just got back from Boston on vacation. I was hoping to use my E-trek legend to back trac my touring around the city on foot, but it would not lock on sats. Very disapointed with this unit!! Also expensive paperweight in the woods. Anyone else have this problem in the big cities?

[Guest morganw]

I took my MAP76 on a 12-mile trek through some moderate to heavy tree cover (some areas with almost no unobscured sky) and my unit only lost reception once or twice. These two times were basically because my arm was tired of holding it upright and the unit reacquired within 3 seconds of returning to a good position.

 

However, I did find it losing lock quite frequently driving through the gorges on the way to the trail. Probably would not be a problem if I had an external antenna.