checking accuracy of a GPS unit

[Guest startracker1]

I was wondering how you check the accuracy of a GPS unit. is it good to go right out of the box, or is there some form of set-up required?

 

Trevor

[Guest Moun10Bike]

the unit where it is when you turn it on (usually by selecting a country/state/province from a list or panning to the right spot on the map in mapping units).

[Guest ericdb1]

Concerning the GPS accuracy. I have only hunted four caches (wife and I just getting started) and on two of them the coordinates given were not really close to those where the cache was found. Also on one of these hunts the online log reflects that other hunters found the same descripancy as I did. Not that we all found the same coordiantes, but we all hit within a closer range than the ones listed. Is this normal?

[Guest logscaler]

I found a link in here somewhere that took me to the N.G.S.( National Geodetic Survey )site and downloaded a location to one of their monuments. The only thing is they use NAD 83 so you will have to convert the info.

my Mag. 315 was only off by 9-10 feet in elevation and right on for Log. and Lat. Close enough for what I want/need.

[Guest syclone]

Found a very interesting thing today. I had been using a Garmin 45 (slow, 1 channel at a time, no good under trees) and switched to a basic etrex. I found that while moving, even inside my SUV, it tracked beautifully. But, when I was trying to come back to a waypoint that I had set ( the front steps of my house) it was all over the place and couldn't resolve any distance closer than about 50 ft.

 

Just on a hunch, I reset the unit from battery save to normal. Suddenly, I was getting to about 3-4 feet from the waypoint (indicated), actually about 15 feet (measured). This is pretty good.

 

I'm sure that this has been mentioned before, but I couldn't find any reference in a search, so I just thought I would relate my experience.

[Guest Scout]

I took a reading of the same site on three different days and came up with three answers, which defined three points of a triangle. The sides of the triangle were 22 ft, 43 ft, and 50 ft. When hunting for a cache, I don't count on accuracy better than that. When hiding a cache, I average the answers and hope for the best.

 

[This message has been edited by Scout (edited 10 May 2001).]

[Guest bunkerdave]

I have noticed my Mag. Map300 getting more accurate over time. I went to a cache on Saturday at 40 N 113 W (yes, EXACTLY) and my receiver read: 40.00.000 N, 113.00.000 W whe I set it on top of the cache. It was truly a beautiful thing. Some times when I am traveling, I notice the track on my nav screen getting a ways off the road I am traveling, but I think that is a function of the map data, not the receiver accuracy.