60cs "wandering Compass"

[+mrsr71]

When I get close to a geocach (+ - 15 feet), the electronic compass starts to wonder all over the place? Has anyone else had this experience? Do I have a problem?

 

Thanks...MRSR71

[+YuccaPatrol]

When you are right on top of the cache, you should look away from your GPS and start looking for the cache. I have the same 60CS and when I am at the cache site, the accuracy display may be +/- 25 feet. Because the GPS drifts around a bit depending on the current accuracy, it will point this way and that way because the coordinates shift slightly even when standing still.

[+mrsr71]

Because the GPS drifts around a bit depending on the current accuracy, it will point this way and that way because the coordinates shift slightly even when standing still.

Thanks - but why does it do this only at the destination coordinates? It doesn't do it while on approach to the cache

MRSR71

[+Imajika]

I have owned a Legend and I currently use a 60cs. Both GPS units will start to freak out a bit when the distance to the cache gets below 20 feet or so. My friends with other types of GPS units say that theirs also do the same thing. When I get closer than 20 feet, I typically put the GPS in my pocket and search using my eyes.

 

Also, are you calibrating your compass every time you change your batteries?

[robertlipe]

It isn't the compass that''s wandering; it's the GPSs concept of your location. If you consider your location to be a "cloud" represented somewhere within a radius of, say, 30 feet you see it's not a big deal when you're 500 feet from the cache - it's still "that a way". When you're 20 feet away and it's jittering around 30 feet, the compass jitters to reflect this.

 

Variations of this are why the 60 will sometimes report you're moving 2 miles an hour when you've been standing still for 3 minutes.

[+Mazellan_Trailblazer]

Its because its a garmin!!!! lol My SporTrack map dosn't do it. I cache with a friend that has a 60cs and somtimes he is about 30 ft off from where I am searching for the cache. Not all the time.

 

MT

[+as77]

Its because its a garmin!!!! lol My SporTrack map dosn't do it. I cache with a friend that has a 60cs and somtimes he is about 30 ft off from where I am searching for the cache.

That's because the cache owner had a Magellan, too, which was 30ft off when he placed the cache, therefore the coordinates are inaccurate. The Garmin takes your friend to the actual coordinates, while you are 30ft off but the cache is there.

[+Night Stalker]

It does not have anything to do with brand. I have a magellan and a Garmin. When they get close to a cache the needle will start to wander. I suspect this has something to do with the EPE. If you are within 15 feet of a cache and the EPE is 20 feet the GPS isn't really sure where you are in relation to the cache. If you are that close its time to start looking around instead of at your GPS anyway.

[DaJeep]

As most have explained, it all has to do with the concept of where "here" and "there" are. When "here" and "there" are a significant distance apart, it is obvious as to what direction you need to go to get "there".

 

However, in the case of the GPS receiver, both the location of "HERE" and that of "THERE" can vary by the accuracy of the unit AT THAT TIME. So, if the accuracy of the device used by the hider was about 30 feet, and the accuracy of the device used by the seeker is also roughly 30 feet, you could potentially be as much as 60 feet off with combined worst case conditions.

 

Now, to make matters worse, atmospheric and radio propagation situations are not at all stable and change every moment. So the physical location of "HERE" and the calculated location of "THERE" are actually in motion at all times. Even when you stand still. This 'motion' is simply the errors shifting ever so slightly withing the accuracy of the unit. One moment it could be 10 feet in front of you, the next 12 feet behind you, etc.

 

This is why as you close in on a location, the data your device is providing is mostly meaningless. The errors on both the "Here" and the "There" are overlapping and causing the device to seem confused.

 

A good way to deal with this is to walk away from the confusion zone in several directions a few hundred feet and see where the arrow is pointing. Then, using the various different readings, find a common point that they seem to be pointing and go look there.

 

You may still have a 20' circle or so to search, but it should be close enough. Knowing what you are looking for can help - Is it small? Then the possibilities are much larger than if it is large.

 

another way to think about what is happening is to try this:

 

Hold your hand out in a "thumb's up" position. Now, keeping your arm held out in front of you, close one eye and try to place your thumb right up under an object at least 50-100 feet away. You will find that you can get very close, but in the end your thumb will be bouncing ever so slightly and never rest cleanly at the bottom of the object. This is exactly the same type of thing the GPS is doing. Instead of muscles and bones of the arm causing the error, it is the atmosphere and other slight disruptions.

 

Hope that helps.

[+Keykeeper]

The wandering needle happened to me only a couple of times. I found that if I have it recalculate, it stops the needle movement. Also try holding the compass level when tracking off road. That might help.

[+Mazellan_Trailblazer]

90% of the time I will have a Waas signal so my error is next to nil.

 

On the other hand, the geocaching functions of the Garmins are superior to that of Magellan witch leaves all the Magellan’s in the dust. "Come on Magellan get with it". If the price were to drop drastically on the 60cs I might consider converting but it wont anytime soon. Also the automatic routing feature is awesome too. The main problem with it is my friend’s sense of where he is and direction to go is warped. Meaning that if he doesn’t have a waypoint in his gps and it tells him where to go he doesn’t know how to get there. lol (He will admit to this freely) I have witnessed it in many occasions. He says that it kind of takes the fun out of the hunt. I tend to agree somewhat. But, if you where in another state and had know idea where you were that feature would come in handy. Other than that, I wouldn't use it for caching. One thing I have discussed with my friend was a possible feature would be, when you are routing and when you get close to the cache you need to manually tell the gps you are going of road. Our idea is that when you get within .10 of a mile to the cache it will automatically switch to of road. That would make the ease out of the manual switching.