GPSR's Are they supposed to be this slow?

[rickntheboys]

We picked up our first GPS this weekend and found 4 caches. We're having a great time but are wondering - are the GPS receiver supposed to be this slow? Ours takes around 2-3 minutes to find the satellites at startup and seems to go searching for them whenever we breath on it or get anywhere near a tree (we haven't even started going in the woods).

 

Are our expectations too high, is this normal or are there others that are "faster"?

 

Thanks for helping the newbe

 

rickntheboys

[+briansnat]

When you first turn it on, your best bet is to go to a field and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes. It should be easier for it to find the sats after that. When I first bought my GPS, I couldn't get a lock sitting in front of my house. Then I drove down to the local ballfield and put the unit on the pitchers rubber and it worked great afterwards.

 

If you've driven a significant distance, then it could take a few minutes to get a lock, and also if you turn it on under trees.

 

Turn it on where you have a clear view of the sky and walk into the woods and you'll experience a quicker lock.

 

2-3 minutes isn't unheard of when turning it on. but not the norm either.

 

"Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry

[+SkolVikings]

In town, my Garmin eTrex takes a good minute or two to aquire enough satellites to start navigating, and a minute or two more to really get the accuracy rate down around 20 feet or so.

 

I've only gone out to find two caches, but I turn the GPS on in the car when I leave my house, and place it on the dash. That way I get to track my entire trip, and when I show up to the cache site, the unit already has locked in on the satellites pretty good.

 

The unit is supposed to run for 22 hours on one set of batteries, and after much playing around in town and a solid 7 hours straight of GeoCaching last weekend without turning the unit off, I'm inclined to believe it. So just turn the unit on when you leave the house, and bring some extra batteries just in case.

 

That's what I'm going to do on my future GeoCaching outings.

[+EraSeek]

A lot has to do with which GPS you have. What model is it? For instance, you need to hold some verticle and others horizontal.

 

(Oh Snat! Please change that avatar!)

 

 

"See the wonderous works of Providence! The uncertainty of human things!" Geo.Washington

[Jeremy]

Think of your GPS unit as a bloodhound. It takes a few minutes for it to pick up the "scent"

 

Also, GPS satellites only broadcast at the same strength as a 100 watt bulb, so it sometimes takes a while to get a decent lock. If you want to retain your lock better, try GPS units with external antennas, like the Garmin V.

 

Jeremy Irish

Groundspeak - The Language of Location

[+Bilder]

One thing I have started to do is to turn on my GPS and set it on top of my car when I arrive at a cache site.

 

By the time I get my pack out and put on, the GPS is locked and ready for action.

 

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I have never been lost. Been awful confused for a few days, but never lost!

[rickntheboys]

Thanks for the replies! We picked up one of the Cobra GPS100 units and was getting ready to take it back. Sounds like it's working as intended. I've been doing all the no-nos you pointed out... turning it on right on and standing right up against the house, etc.

 

Thanks again

 

Rick

[+TEAM 360]

I have a MeriPlat and get a lock in under 30 seconds 99% of the time. then again, being in AZ might help, with wide open spaces and clear skies all the time.

[+Renegade Knight]

I've noticed if I'm driving around it takes longer, probably from the changing view of the sky and I navigate.

[Kerry.]

It's WAAS enabled and this could be having some effect but lets hope that's not the excuse.

 

Now based on the Cobra blub and the "Faster acquisition time" based on the 18 channels and the "Accelerated Satellite Acquisition Protocol" it's extremely slow.

 

Cobra's performance spec is apprx 10 seconds (warm), 35 seconds (cold) and approx 50 seconds (first time).

 

With all that big sounding technology, compared to other units that thing should start well under 60 seconds at any time.

 

Cheers, Kerry.

 

I never get lost everybody keeps telling me where to go

[+Shoebox]

You said that you start it up on one side of a house. This will cut off half of the available satellites to lock onto and it will take a little longer to find the minimum needed (in my case it takes 3 good satellite locks). I have the same trouble when I start it mounted to the vans front windshield, against a house window, in the woods or against the house. As others suggest, get out in the open a bit and let it have a bigger field of satellites to pick from.

[+BlueDeuce]

Originally posted by Bilder:

One thing I have started to do is to turn on my GPS and set it on top of my car when I arrive at a cache site.

 

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Setting a GPSr on a car reminded me: Once while getting ready to go caching, I placed my Vista on top of my car to get a good signal, dinked around for a few minutes, hopped in the car and drove 17 miles on a highway (I don't drive slow)

 

My heart sank when I realized that I had done. I cringed my way out of the car and there it was still on the roof! Thank God for the luggage rack to keep it from sliding back.

 

I'm absent-minded enough to do it again, so I always do a pre-flight check of all my equipment before driving off.

[+DBleess]

How to avoid having to put it on the roof:

 

Rechargable batteries and/or cig lighter adapter so you're less worried about leaving it on all the time and it has more time enroute to acquire.

 

External antenna w magnetic mount to roof or on dashboard so you can keep the GPS in your lap or on a dash mount.

 

SA / PP-ASEL-I

[Mushtang]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jeremy:

GPS satellites only broadcast at the same strength as a 100 watt bulb

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Holy smokes!!! I had no idea they were that weak. I've always wondered why cell phones and radios work indoors and in the woods but GPSrs wouldn't (or wouldn't very well). That certainly explains it.

 

I've researched some on the web about the GPS system but haven't found a good source for the reasoning behind some of the design. Jeremy, do you have you any idea why they're so weak? It seems like the military would want to be able to navigate in the jungles as well, not just guide rockets in the air. (I'm assuming you've had a little more exposure to the GPS system than us newbies. Heh heh heh.)

 

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"A noble spirit embiggins the smallest man." - Jebediah Springfield

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