3 Axis Compass. Worth It On The Explorist 600?

[+hurdygurdies]

I am trying to determine whether to buy a Magellan Explorist 500 or 600. The altimeter/barometer features hold no interest for me; however the compass aspect is clouding my decision.

 

I would be using it for geocaching and infrequent car-based road trips, so although the points I have read about having a regular compass for safety are valid I do not consider them applying to me as I will not be using the GPS anywhere that I could not put it away and find my way back to the car. This email about purchasing a GPS and whether the added luxury of the electronic compass is worth the extra $ for me or other users like me.

 

The only GPS I have used (all of a half dozen times in the last week) is a Magellan Map 330. Using the Map 330 has been adequate thus far, however zeroing in on coordinates has been a little frustrating. Besides not being able to zoom in for more detail, the inaccuracy of the map orientation without constantly moving at a decent clip really prohibits us from getting more accurate than about a 30 foot diameter without watching the lat/long numbers instead of the map which is not near as fun.

 

Questions (assuming I had a 500 or 600):

 

This is really the most important question. I have heard people say a couple of feet without the compass, and others say the compass is worthless b/c you have to keep it perfectly level and can not walk with it on, etc...

Assuming I was stationary facing 180 degrees from how the gps says I am currently oriented how far do I have to travel to get an accurate bearing (correct orientation) with and with the compass enabled on the 600?

 

What kind of accuracy should I be able to achieve using maps to find a waypoint?

 

What kind of accuracy should I be able to achieve using lat/long?

 

Can you have the compass turn on when your speed is slow and off when fast?

 

Can you turn the altimeter and barometer off and just have the compass on?

 

Any word on battery life differences if the compass is on all the time?

 

Any drawbacks besides price and battery life to having the compass?

[+embra]

I bought the Platinum when getting a Meridian because it was only $20 more. I've found the electronic compass useful enough that I've ordered and am impatiently waiting for the 600. I tend to think that if you get it, you'll like it; if you don't you won't miss it. I do appreciate not having to hold another thing in my hand like an analog compass.

 

This is really the most important question. I have heard people say a couple of feet without the compass, and others say the compass is worthless b/c you have to keep it perfectly level and can not walk with it on, etc...

Assuming I was stationary facing 180 degrees from how the gps says I am currently oriented how far do I have to travel to get an accurate bearing (correct orientation) with and with the compass enabled on the 600?

 

I interpret this question to be about the difference between the electronic compass and the compass display based upon GPS signal. I usually find 2 or 3 steps sufficient for the GPS signal to yield a bearing. If you have a 3-axis compass, like in the Platinum or the 600, you need not have the unit level (if you get close to vertical, the reading becomes unreliable). If the magnetic compass is activated, it will respond to a turn without any lateral movement.

 

What kind of accuracy should I be able to achieve using maps to find a waypoint?

 

Poor, I would guess within hundreds of feet if you're lucky.

 

What kind of accuracy should I be able to achieve using lat/long?

 

Do you mean using a GPS? 10 to 30 feet or so (I'm not sure I understand what you are asking here). Bear in mind that your error may need to be added to the error of the person who read the original coords...or, they may cancel each other out.

 

Can you have the compass turn on when your speed is slow and off when fast?

 

Magellans don't do this. I think Garmins do; it's a nice feature.

 

Can you turn the altimeter and barometer off and just have the compass on?

 

Any word on battery life differences if the compass is on all the time?

 

Any drawbacks besides price and battery life to having the compass?

 

(Tired of quoting) I don't think we know yet how the 600 handles the altimeter/barometer features in conjunction with the compass. Likewise on battery life with compass use...in the Plat, the compass might take away a half-hour of batttery life per cycle. I never worried about it. Aside from price and battery life, I don't see it as hurting anything...if you don't want to use it, it can be deactivated and ignored.

[OrezzerO]

Thanks for the response!

 

QUOTE

What kind of accuracy should I be able to achieve using maps to find a waypoint?

 

I really meant using the maps on the GPS, not a paper map.

 

QUOTE

What kind of accuracy should I be able to achieve using lat/long?

 

Here I meant watching the lat/long numbers on the GPS versus the map on the GPs.

[+embra]

Oh, well those all amount to about the same thing. With the map, you can zoom in close enough to get a good sense of your relative distance and bearing from the target waypoint. Some prefer to do it that way. Fewer prefer to use lat/long readings...it works fairly well if you thing geometrically, but otherwise you have to walk a lot of right angles. I would suggest diplaying a distance to waypoint field in any screen you end up using, so you have a numerical report of that datum of interest.

 

Personally, I find the compass easiest because it points directly where the GPSr thinks I should go. Because readings can get a little erratic sometimes when you are very close, I find it helpful to triangulate a couple of bearings from 75 feet or so away to identify the prime search spot. THe compass and a distance field make this easy to do.