marrymeflyfree Posted April 7, 2005 Share Posted April 7, 2005 Hi there! I'm new to geocaching, and to using GPS equipment - so please forgive me if this question is very green! Boyfriend has given me an old GPS unit of his. It seems to work, but takes ages to capture a signal. I travel frequently with my job and want to be able to geocache all over the place - but the time it takes to figure out where I am is proving to be prohibitive as I usually only have a day in each city. Is there anything I can do to speed up the process, so that I may get on with the day's trek? BF has suggested sitting the unit outside with no obstructions, and then walking around with it a bit to figure out the direction in which I'm moving. Even with that, it still was unable to get my location after several hours. Any advice? Would a newer unit be more expeditious? This is a Garmin, with the marking "GPS 38" - I have no idea how old it is. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment
+Cardinal Red Posted April 7, 2005 Share Posted April 7, 2005 As noted in the information below quoted off a Web Page: As a Single Channel Receiver the Garmin 38 can NOT compete with modern equipment. If you want better performance you will need a modern 12 Channel Parallel Receiver. The GPS38 became quite a popular receiver following its release in February 1996. It was seen as a lower cost replacement for the GPS40, with improved software. The '38 was retired from the market by Garmin in 2000. As a single channel receiver it could no longer compete with the many multi-channel receivers which became available at reasonable prices. Garmin GPS 38 iNFORMATION Quote Link to comment
marrymeflyfree Posted April 7, 2005 Author Share Posted April 7, 2005 Thanks for the info! BF gave this old one to me, being helpful - but I think I'll learn more about the machines and all that if I have to buy one. As it is now, learning to use this one has been trial and error since he's long lost the manual. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment
+Sputnik 57 Posted April 7, 2005 Share Posted April 7, 2005 (edited) If you'd like, you can download the manual here. Edit: The specs say that to autolocate in a new location, the unit needs about 7.5 minutes. On my old GPS 12, which is similar, but a 12 channel receiver, you could go through a menu to tell the unit where you are (country, city and state). It took a while, but not 7.5 minutes. Once you gave it the location, it usually got a lock in under a minute. BTW, I love your user name! Edited April 7, 2005 by Sputnik 57 Quote Link to comment
+IVxIV Posted April 7, 2005 Share Posted April 7, 2005 Hello & welcome to Geocaching marrymeflyfree (you work for the airlines eh? ) ==> click here <== for an owners manual for your GPS38. It appears the manual for the GPS12 is the same for yours. The good news is you now have a manual for your GPS. But the bad news is, even with it, the GPS38 is better suited to use as a paperweight, it'll drive you NUTS trying to Geocache with it More good news though! Prices of entry level GPSr's are very good nowdays, and even the most BASIC model will work infinitely better than your GPS38. Typically you shouldn't wait more than about a minute for a GPSr to lock onto enough satellites to give you a position. Have fun researching Quote Link to comment
Neo_Geo Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 I have the perfect solution: ditch that "El Cheapo" BF and marry ME! I'll buy you a shiny, new GPSMAP 76C! Well, actually, that plan is a bit flawed. I'd have a hard time explaining another marriage to my wife. I really don't think she'd go for it. Still, I think there are other cachers here who would be willing to extend the same offer though. Quote Link to comment
+ritzvin Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 Is there somewhere you can tell it the approximate coordinates when you get to the new city. At least on my meridian color, you initialize it and tell it your approximate location (state and/or approx coords if known) to make the process quicker. Quote Link to comment
+Sputnik 57 Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 Is there somewhere you can tell it the approximate coordinates when you get to the new city. At least on my meridian color, you initialize it and tell it your approximate location (state and/or approx coords if known) to make the process quicker. page 7 and 8 (adobe pages 11 and 12) of the Owner's Manual. Quote Link to comment
n9pgjmike Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 Hey marrymeflyfree, sounds like your boyfriend is just that! How sneaky. I think you might want to consider a boyfriend with a little more bank$$. He gave you junk while he got the new one. Go out and get yourself a Magellan (best brand by the way...tried others) Sport track pro...under $200 online, or a sport track pro topo ( like mine) about $258 online. Unlike your boyfriend, you wont be disapointed. ...just havin a bit o fun here ... Quote Link to comment
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