+rezz and buddy Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 I was closing in on a cache when my GPS unit indicated that I was within 25 ft of my mark. Standing still I observed my GPS display moving, showing the mark moving away and the distance indicator kept increasing from 25 ft to over 40 ft. I had new batteries and the compass was calibrated. What was going on??? Quote Link to comment
+rdw Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 What was going on???? You just got an introduction to the reality of GPS. And if it only varied from 25-40 ft, that isn't bad. The GPS knows where it is only to a certain accuracy and precision. It knows exactly where the point you are going to is because you told it, but the distance changes because where the GPS thinks it is changes. If it could take you exactly to a point, geocaching would not be much of a challenge. rdw Quote Link to comment
+rdw Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 What was going on???? You just got an introduction to the reality of GPS. And if it only varied from 25-40 ft, that isn't bad. The GPS knows where it is only to a certain accuracy and precision. It knows exactly where the point you are going to is because you told it, but the distance changes because where the GPS thinks it is changes. If it could take you exactly to a point, geocaching would not be much of a challenge. rdw Quote Link to comment
ighorsey Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 I'm not really an expert on this, but some units have auto-averaging, which make the units think that they are still moving at a certain velocity, even though you might be standing still. I have seen this happen on my unit, generally when you are down to the last 100ft or so, and are moving around slowly trying to locate the cache. I think this where the 'drunken bee dance' phrase came from. I'm sure other members will be able to post a more technically accurate description of this phenomenon. Ian Quote Link to comment
ErikCloud Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 Personally, I like the "drunken bee dance" phrase and find it to be an accurate discription of my recent behavior. I intend to add it to my lexicon of technical terminology. Quote Link to comment
ErikCloud Posted March 17, 2002 Share Posted March 17, 2002 Personally, I like the "drunken bee dance" phrase and find it to be an accurate discription of my recent behavior. I intend to add it to my lexicon of technical terminology. Quote Link to comment
MajBach Posted March 18, 2002 Share Posted March 18, 2002 My GPS refers to this 'bee dance' as pinning. I believe it ignores any movement that is not linear for a specified time and that is also below 2.5 mph as sporadic reception. When I approach a cache, I turn this feature OFF, as I find it more accurate since it will almost immeditely sense any movement I make. Mind you, it also shows sporadic reception as well. In other words, as I approach the coords, unless I'm am moving fairly quickly and in relatively straight lines, my direction arrow constantly changes - usually 180 degrees though. I know the relative direction of the cache from my initial approach so I ignore the arrow. However, my distance reading shows a smooth decrease in distance as I approach the cache. If I leave pinning ON, the arrow indicator usually remains the same and the distance measurement decreases in increments. I could walk by the cache before realizing I have done this. If ever I am getting inconsistant readings when the pinning is off, I just stop, power down and back up again. The GPS will almost always show a greater-than-actual distance to the cache. But if I remain atanding still, the distance will 'settle' after about 30 seconds. Of course, the arrow indicator will surely be incorrect as it needs movement to deterine relative bearing. In this case, I just take a bearing from north. 4 times out of 5 though, my GPS walks me to within 1-2 metres of the cache, providing I approached relatively straight. The other 20% of the time I never get within 15 metres. This must be tree or geographic cover though. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it? Quote Link to comment
+Glenn Posted March 19, 2002 Share Posted March 19, 2002 quote:Originally posted by MajBach:Of course, the arrow indicator will surely be incorrect as it needs movement to deterine relative bearing. MajBach My Magellan Green shows the location of the sun and moon on the compass screen. As long as I can see either one I'm good to go. - Lone Rangers Quote Link to comment
+Glenn Posted March 19, 2002 Share Posted March 19, 2002 quote:Originally posted by MajBach:Of course, the arrow indicator will surely be incorrect as it needs movement to deterine relative bearing. MajBach My Magellan Green shows the location of the sun and moon on the compass screen. As long as I can see either one I'm good to go. - Lone Rangers Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted March 19, 2002 Share Posted March 19, 2002 Magellans automaticaly auto average which from what I've heard makes the 100 ft and close problimatic. Garmins only average when you tell them too. I guess this means Magellan users do the drunke bee dance, and Garmin users do the hula wave. I've only got 21 caches under my belt but I'm getting adept at the hula wave. Quote Link to comment
+rdw Posted March 19, 2002 Share Posted March 19, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Renegade Knight: I guess this means Magellan users do the drunke bee dance, and Garmin users do the hula wave. This Garmin owner has never done any kind of dancing. Neither drunken bee, nor hula. That's for suckers... err Maggie owners. The Garmins just take you to the cache. rdw Quote Link to comment
+rdw Posted March 19, 2002 Share Posted March 19, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Renegade Knight: I guess this means Magellan users do the drunke bee dance, and Garmin users do the hula wave. This Garmin owner has never done any kind of dancing. Neither drunken bee, nor hula. That's for suckers... err Maggie owners. The Garmins just take you to the cache. rdw Quote Link to comment
+JeeperJohn Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 When I get close the site and the arrow starts dancing I start to circle the area. The arrow will usually point directly to the cache. If I am unable to circle the area, I will back off and approach from a different direction. This method has yet to fail me so far. Quote Link to comment
MajBach Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Lone Rangers: My Magellan Green shows the location of the sun and moon on the compass screen. As long as I can see either one I'm good to go. - Lone Rangers I know what you mean. I used to have an M315 with that feature. I took it back to the store the first cloudy day. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it? Quote Link to comment
MajBach Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Lone Rangers: My Magellan Green shows the location of the sun and moon on the compass screen. As long as I can see either one I'm good to go. - Lone Rangers I know what you mean. I used to have an M315 with that feature. I took it back to the store the first cloudy day. MajBach You can't have everything. where would you put it? Quote Link to comment
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