Gps Acting Up

[+fly46]

I've a question.

I went caching and my GPSr was just so not being right. For a while (at least 600+ feet) it wasn't showing any movement on the screen at all, and I even took off on a dead run with it and the speed kept showing zero.

Retraced my steps for quite a bit and then took a few steps in a different direction and it started kinda working again, although the cords that it took me to were a little bit off from any possible hiding spot.

 

Anyway, I know there was a massive cloud above most of the county, and I'm sure that could be part of the problem that I was at about 40 feet for accuracy (normally, I can get under 25), but I'm wondering... When an electronic like a GPS gets low on batteries, can that affect their perfomance and cause the problem I had yesterday?

[+Renegade Knight]

I have heard it can but have never had a performance issue do to batteres (other than the GPS dying at a cache).

 

Cloud cover is also a non issue. However a GPS can act up for no particularly good reason. A while back Night Stalker and I were caching in the snow and his for no reason we could figure showed him heading off at about 5mph while we were standing still. His GPS took a few hours to stop doing things like that before it was back to normal.

 

There are a few stories in these forums about goofy things like that.

[+fly46]

My gps didn't die at the cache, it just didn't work for about 10 minutes. When it (maybe) started working again, I got to an area that, per the clue, looked like it shoudl be right, but never found the cache..

 

Oh well. Part of any activity that relies on electronics is the understanding that those electronics may not work... I was just curious about it.

Thanks.

[+SixDogTeam]

Dense cloud cover CAN affect signal aquisition/maintenance. So can dense forest canopy. Weak batteries can cause the receiver to operate eratically. When the batteries in my receiver get lower than 60%, I replace them.

[+globalgirl]

Speaking of batteries... noobie here w/ a gazillion questions, many no doubt utterly dumb , but nonetheless...

 

I too have noticed my gps (Magellan SporTrak Map) acting a bit squirrely and then come to find out, the batteries were near finished. I've been using a bunch of very cheap akalines I bought at a dollar store about 6 months ago, and clearly you get what you pay for. Then again... the gps is so new, perhaps it just drains batteries like crazy.

 

Now I DO have good recharable batteries that I use for my digital camera. But these are NiMH and the specs in my gps manual says it takes AA akaline.

 

Question(s) is/are:

 

1. Can I use NiMH and

 

2. Does it matter if they're rechargables?

[adampierson]

Now I DO have good recharable batteries that I use for my digital camera. But these are NiMH and the specs in my gps manual says it takes AA akaline.

 

Question(s) is/are:

 

1. Can I use NiMH and

 

2. Does it matter if they're rechargables?

1) Yes, you can use NiMH.

2) Yes, it matters. Basically they don't last quite as long as Alkalines. But they are cheaper to use. Get NiMH that are at least 2000mAh.

[+JohnnyVegas]

Cloud cover is not going to effect the reception of your GPS. Week batteries can be a problem, I have had this problem when the batteries in my GPS are run down, when I put a new pair in the problem is gone.

[+SixDogTeam]

Dense cloud cover can affect reception.

[+Robespierre]

You posted on Friday the 13th. I'm thinkin.....

 

Just this last set of batteries, my Vista acted more like the basic Etrex for awhile, and then the batteries died completely .16 from a cache. I'm thinkin' that all batteries may not always act the same. New batteries, problem fixed.

[the federation]

Low batteries are definetly a problem with Magellan Meridan series and I to have accuracy problems on extremly cloudy days.

[+globalgirl]

Thanks adampierson - yes I have 2300 mAh.

 

And though they might not last quite as long alkaline (though surely longer than these cheapo dollar store jobbies), g-knows a $20 recharger is a good investment. Otherwise, with the gps, the digital camera, etc. shoot - I'd need an HMO plan for BATTERIES!

[+fly46]

I too have noticed my gps (Magellan SporTrak Map) acting a bit squirrely and then come to find out, the batteries were near finished. I've been using a bunch of very cheap akalines I bought at a dollar store about 6 months ago, and clearly you get what you pay for. Then again... the gps is so new, perhaps it just drains batteries like crazy.

I've noticed they drain cheap batteries like nothing.

I put in generic ones and get about 2 hours of battery time out of them. And I've tried this in a 2+ year old GPS and a <2 week old one as well, both different models. And different brands of batteries.

 

But then again, the way to save money on batteries - use whatever in your GPS (or any other battery draining product), then when they quit working in your GPS, save them to use for clocks, remote controlls, etc... Stuff that uses batteries but can use the same one forever.

 

 

[note... I may have posted on friday the 13th, but the issue happened on thursday the 12th. ]

[koz]

i'm suprised no one mentioned prime suspect: ghosts in the machine!

[+TeamK-9]

I find that when my GPS is running low on batteries signal aquisition is bad. For example, if I just turn on my GPS and the batteries aren't very good and charged up, then maybe it will only let me acquire 8 of 12 satellites or even 4...

 

But yah, my GPS definately works crappier when the batteries are dying...