Does Cold Affect Your Gpsr?

[+reveritt]

I have a Garmin GPS 45, which is a few years old, but works well. Today, as I drove around with the unit on my dash, I got the usual marginal reception. When I got out of the car, reception improved, as usual. Within 10-20 minutes, however, I would lose signal strength on all satellites. It happened four times in four different locations. It's pretty chilly here in historic Rhode Island today, and I'm thinking that the Garmin stopped functioning when it chilled down to ambient temperature. After I got back in the car, it would take a while before I would see signal strength again. Anyone else ever seen this?

 

This sport is so new that I'm betting that this is the first winter of geocaching for many of us.

[+OurWoods]

Yes.

 

I went caching a day or so ago and it was about 9 out. The GPS batteries die quick quick quick if you are holding it outstretched in your hand, I keep it in my pocket and pull it out every once in a while to check direction. The longer it is out (and I even have it in a neoprene case) the screens slow down and dont appear to change as fast, when you switch from screen to the other it takes a while to catch up. The cold definetly effects the GPS in that way.

 

I use Magellan though (ST Map and MeriPlat.) The actual sattelite signal was never effected, it gets good reception in the winter because there are no leaves on the trees. Of course the snow clouds seem to never leave.

[+º]

I was in Davos (Switzerland) last week and I had a Garmin etrex with me. The GPSr had an internal temperature of -16°C and it worked except for a very slow display quite perfect.

[+wildearth2001]

you might want to do a search in the forums for cold gps or something like that, there has been several threads about this in the past month, I have had batteries go dead on me at low temp but never my gps

[+sept1c_tank]

Not being a geek, I suspect the problem is the cold batteries, not the GPS device itself. I have experienced similiar problems with bicycle headlamps, flashlights, cameras, etc.

[+Cache Viking]

I have had good performance with my GPS and Digital Camera in cold climates by using Lithium batteries. Not sure if it is the Batteries or not but the life I get out of them has me using nothing else.

[+radioscout]

The display of the GPSMap 76s is becoming slower and looks more dark in the cold. The usable capacity of my NiCD accumulators decreses. I keep the spare accus in my pocket to keep them warm and try to do the same with the GPSr as often as possible.

[+wildearth2001]

Not being a geek, I suspect the problem is the cold batteries, not the GPS device itself. I have experienced similiar problems with bicycle headlamps, flashlights, cameras, etc.

yep, I really do think its the bateries, they can freez(well the stuff inside can) but coper wire and silicone boards can't because (from a science standpoint anyway) they are already frozen. My cd players always go dead on me when I go camping in subfreezing weather

[Stealthbob]

I just finised my first cache hunt today at -27 c...damm thing froze. I had to keep putting it in a warm place(edit). Not only do the batts give up the screen gets really dimm. I did not find the cache...had my dog and she was not happy 'bout her paws. I will return.

[+reveritt]

Wow--thanks for all the quick responses. In spite of the concensus, I don't think it's my batteries, because the battery level indicator stayed high. I use NiMH rechargeables. The display seems OK--just no signal.

 

As for the effect of cold on semiconductors--unlike conductors (metals) which conduct electricity better as they get colder, semiconductors conduct better as they get warmer. This can cause a condition caused thermal runaway: the more heat, the more current, and the more current, the more heat (completely off-topic, I know, but I'm an engineer and can't help myself).

 

I will search the forums and see what I can come up with. I will also try to contact the manfacturer, who will of course tell me that I need to buy the latest-n-greatest.

[+rover-r-us]

i keep mine in my gps pocket until i have to use.it helps.

[+shawhh]

at below freezing temps the display on my gpsmap 76s will sometimes go blank. i can warm it with the palm of my hand and it comes right up! i even sent it to garmin to check it out and they said it was working properly and that the screen could freeze. trying to keep it shielded in my hand now to keep it usable while out in the cold. working so far. -harry

[Major Catastrophe]

Both the batteries and the LCD display will perform worse in very cold conditions. The batteries can't deliver their rated capacity and may experience an early and cold death, while the LCD may get very sluggish, lose contrast or simply refuse to work. The "LC" in LCD means "liquid crystal" and LCDs really do rely on the molecules in the liquid layer rearranging themselves depending on the electrical stimulus. When it gets real cold, the liquid thickens, just like motor oil...

[+Lone Duck]

Yep, it's the LCD that really slows down the unit. The calculations done by processor still happen just as quickly when it's cold, but the chilled display takes a bit. Try this out: place your hand on the cold display for a few minutes so that it warms up. You'll see that it responds faster even though the rest of the unit is cold.

 

The batteries really don't factor into the speed here. It takes a minumal level of power for the unit to operate. Go below that level and the unit shuts off. The batteries deliver a constant rate of power until they weaken below the current rating need for the unit to operate. Being cold, that could happen sooner than it would with "room temerature" batteries.

[+jbar]

I've been out in 3 Degree weather. The GPS 76s is accurate but the display appears to slow down in the cold, but so do I.

[+cacheKidds]

Had some cold battery woes today while rehiding an adopted cache.

[+bob393]

My eTrex works fine except the batteries hate the cold. Just carry extras in your shirt pocket.

[+maleki]

LCD on our MeriGreen was going fast late this afternoon as temp dropped below about 15F. Was getting tough to read - a quick warmup in car and it was ready by the time we got to next and last cache.

 

First time all year - I remember it happening last year a few times.

[+nincehelser]

It's the batteries. Some of it could be the LCD display, but the batteries are the bigger factor.

 

Batteries operate via a chemical reaction. When they get cold, this reaction slows down. You may get the required voltage at a cold temp, but when your GPS really demands juice, the chemical reaction can't keep up the current supply demand. Thus it seems "dead". Warm the batteries and it should be fine.

 

Temp does impact the LCD, but this is usually cosmetic. The internal electronics may be chugging along at full speed, but the display can't keep up. So it may *look* slow, but the internals are functioning normally. My problem is usually the LCD getting too hot, not too cold.

 

But if the the whole unit is cold, both LCD and batts are likely cold, so you get a double whammy. However, changing the batts for warm ones will usually rememdy the problem alone.

 

The type of battery chemistry is important, too. Some work better than others in colder temps (e.g. lithiums).

 

George

Edited January 25, 2004 by nincehelser

[+Volwrath]

I was out in 25 deg F weather and my Legend slowed to a halt on NiMH batteries. Wish Id put in Alkaline since they are supposed to be better 'cold' batteries. Still found all the caches, but just took longer..

[Swagger]

In the owner's manual for the GPS 45, it states that the temperature range for the unit is 5-158F (-15-70C). I don't know what the temperature was where you were, but if you're outside that range, then according to Garmin you can't expect it to work properly.

[Roswell.fr]

Yesterday, I've been geocaching with 2 friends who have a Legend, I have a Sportrak Map, the temperature was -27 C (-16.6 F) when we started and even if it's way out of the official temperature range, our units were just slower to redraw the screen. I personnally use Nickel Metal Hybride batteries and has never had any issue with them.