Trip Odometer Accuracy? Recently acquired a 60csx. Took it on several hikes and noted that the trip computer is consistently reading "high" or more miles than the known measured distance. For example, a hike that is known to be 5.2 miles was recorded as 6.17, which is far too inaccurate.So far, I think it's me, (I hope) in that there's something in the set up I'm missing. Any help or ideas will be much appreciated. Trip Odometer Accuracy? Recently acquired a 60csx. Took it on several hikes and noted that the trip computer is consistently reading "high" or more miles than the known measured distance.... » Read More Trip Odometer Accuracy? Recently acquired a 60csx. Took it on several hikes and noted that the trip computer is consistently reading "high" or more miles than the known measured distance. For example, a hike that is known to be 5.2 miles was recorded as 6.17, which is far too inaccurate.So far, I think it's me, (I hope) in that there's something in the set up I'm missing. Any help or ideas will be much appreciated. « Show Less
2059996
Thanks for the help. I've set the tracking to "auto least often" and that seems to nail the distance pretty well. Did a measured 2.6 mile hike out and back through some fairly heavy cover and got 2.63 one way and 2.65 the other. Close enough. Funny though, Garmin "admitted" this was an accuracy problem. Told me the fix was downloadable on their site, with the Web Updater, but I've decided not to mess with it. Don't want their gremlins crawling around inside unless I have no choice.
2059997
Hey M. , Did you add Mapping solfware yourself ? If you did, you have to have the solfware Settings , set for the GPS unit. Mapping setting have to match. Not sure where but it should say something about downloading maps to the unit. A friend of mine didn't have the setting matching and we were off about 1/4 mile. This is not good when out hunting.
508075
I am not sure you are doing anything wrong. I have owned different devices (GPS) and with others hiking each could get a different reading. If you are sAying it is 1/2 mile off I would send it back and write them why. Garmin is very good about making it right.
1469119
I have found this untrue. The map screen will only display estimated time of arrival. You must go to the trip computer to see the miles to distance.Garmin get with the program. You give us 10+ foreign accents but can't give us what we all want to know (Miles to Destination.)
1140567
I do a lot of mountain running & hiking & I own a Casio Pathfinder (Triple Sensor) which does have barometric altimeter readings, so were I to purchase the Garmin 305 (which seems likely at this point) I would be using them in tandem. Of course I could not upload the real time data from the pathfinder into any of the websites mentioned, but my question is this (and I hope this is not too tangential to the Garmin 305 discussion) - does anyone have any information on the accuracy of the Pathfinders altitude accuracy?
2080376
While I am still getting used to this system I was shown the other day at a geocaching meeting how to enter coordinates so if you were hiking you could enter the coordinates for where you wished to hike, but it will only show you how to get there "as the crow flies". It's not like a regular GPS in your car that follows roads & highways. May not be suitable for hiking because of this.
781900
If you take it off...mine doesn't count much if any while travelling in a car and I'm disappointed sometimes it doesn't count enough for riding my bike. ;-) I am unhappy mostly with customer service and it doesn't keep the time on the same screen as my last Omron pedometer did. I'm also unhappy it doesn't upload steps to facebook as its advertisements lead you to believe. You can upload to your private page and get a graph, but I could do that with my old one. You can post "badges" (I don't need badges, thank you, I want to share my stinking steps and miles!!!)I had my last pedometer for 5 years and zero complaints so the fact that I am unhappy with this one is an indicator. Try the triangle one, I think it is the J-321. Purple and grey. Old style but the battery lasts longer (6 mos versus 2.5 to 3 mos), you can still upload but with a cable...to me, the USB is not enough of a draw over cable since the pedometer itself...in a word...sucks in comparison. This was NOT an upgraded model. It was a sucker draw, and I was the sucker. I can't get any resolution out of customer service...they want to appear to upgrade, not truly upgrade. They did do a "customer service" call to verify that my complaints were accurate. (I complained about the time stamp and she called to say that "yes, the model you have does not tell the time on the same face.) I repeated what the gal said and asked her if that sounded like she answered a question and she giddily said, "yes, thank you. I'm glad we could satisfy you." and hung up...no longer an Omron fan to say the least. Happy Hiking though! Again, I DO like the old style if you can get it.
1615025
It gave a 35% reading at the end of my road, a two blocks long. But I don't think it's going to do the 3 miles that one person said. It should still give a reading in a canyon but the direction won't be quite accurate, just go in the general direction and don't worry about the signal bouncing off and changing a bit, just keep going as the signal gets stronger, or try a different direction if the signal keeps getting weaker after 3 pings. You'll notice variance from one to another ping, but ignore the variances, look for the overall/general signal strength and direction it tells you to go. It helped me immensely find my dog several times. It gave a 35% reading at the end of my road, a two blocks long. But I don't think it's going to do the 3 miles that one person said. It should still give a reading in a canyon but the direction won't be quite accurate, just go in the general direction and don't worry about the signal bouncing off and changing a bit, just keep going as the signal gets stronger, or try a different direction if the signal keeps getting weaker after 3 pings. You'll notice variance from one to another ping, but ignore the variances, look for the overall/general signal strength and direction it tells you to go.... » Read More It gave a 35% reading at the end of my road, a two blocks long. But I don't think it's going to do the 3 miles that one person said. It should still give a reading in a canyon but the direction won't be quite accurate, just go in the general direction and don't worry about the signal bouncing off and changing a bit, just keep going as the signal gets stronger, or try a different direction if the signal keeps getting weaker after 3 pings. You'll notice variance from one to another ping, but ignore the variances, look for the overall/general signal strength and direction it tells you to go. It helped me immensely find my dog several times. « Show Less
680249
It calculates miles per gallon as you operate the vehicle (otherwise based on your mileage is during travel). I've used the garmin a few times on long road trips and have checked the mileage with by dividing trip miles by gallons and its pretty accurate by 2-4 tenths of mile. Their are some neat features like water temperature, MAF, rpm, and a couple of other things. Fun toy knowing what the car is doing.
2026157
It's adding up the noise from repeated measurements. That will always tend to make it read high. This is less of an effect when the signal strength is very good, or you are moving fast. Basically, the noise in the position information looks like a random walk on top of the path you take. (visualize it as if its constantly bouncing around you, like a hyperactive puppy on a 15 foot leash. If you walk slowly for 10 miles in s traight line, the puppy will walk a much longer path to get to the same place.) Try telling it to record on a slower interval, or shutting it off when you stop for lunch. Also, upload the data to MapSource and look at it. Sometimes it goes nuts, and gets one bad data point far away from where you are. The software will dutifully add in the round trip distance to that bad point to your total. If you delete the one bad point, you'll get the right distance.
464154
According to the manual that came with it theres a section called Using the Odometer which records the time and distance traveled. I am a golfer so I have never tried that function!
2201098
Hi, If you have an Ipod Nano you can try the very cheap, in comparison with GPS, Nike+ Sportkit. Once you calibrate it, it is very accurate. All my runs (same route) about 8km only vary on +/- 100m.Hope that helps a little bit.
1380031
I just used the GPS on a long road trip. It was very fast and seemed to stay up with quick turns and tunnels and overpasses. It did not keep track of starting mileage and other information which allowed you to calculate gas mileage, parked time, etc. It only reports time to destination in hour and minutes, and the mileage remaining.
1823757
I just used my Tomtom for the first trip this weekend. The unit constantly updated the arrival time during the trip, started at 3.5 hours and we made it just over 3 hours. On the way back we had heavy snow and it took 6 hours. The unit kept adding to our destination time. The unit does calculate the speed you are traveling, but I don't think it uses this information in the calculation. I think it bases the trip times using averages of type of road. I did get a prompt on my unit to see if I was willing to share my trip information with the company to help them track trip times. Not sure when this would be uploaded, maybe when I update the maps using the web? I just used my Tomtom for the first trip this weekend. The unit constantly updated the arrival time during the trip, started at 3.5 hours and we made it just over 3 hours. On the way back we had heavy snow and it took 6 hours. The unit kept adding to our destination time. The unit does calculate the speed you are traveling, but I don't think it uses this information in the calculation. I think it bases the trip times using averages of type of road. I did get a prompt on my unit to see if I was willing to share my trip information with the company to help them track trip times. Not sure when... » Read More I just used my Tomtom for the first trip this weekend. The unit constantly updated the arrival time during the trip, started at 3.5 hours and we made it just over 3 hours. On the way back we had heavy snow and it took 6 hours. The unit kept adding to our destination time. The unit does calculate the speed you are traveling, but I don't think it uses this information in the calculation. I think it bases the trip times using averages of type of road. I did get a prompt on my unit to see if I was willing to share my trip information with the company to help them track trip times. Not sure when this would be uploaded, maybe when I update the maps using the web? « Show Less
2186981
I see some variation in mileage for the same coarse. It frequently misses my start location even though I let it sync with GPS. Only fluctuates by about 0.05 miles between runs for a 3-4 mile run. I've tried different approaches such as jogging a little before I start the timer, but I have not identified anything that consistently puts me at the start line when I look at the map later. The 405cx usually shows me starting in the woods and slowly getting onto the road after 0.1 - 0.2 miles. I also think it does not always pick up turns correctly, cutting some short or not picking up the full distance around a cul-de-sac. I see some variation in mileage for the same coarse. It frequently misses my start location even though I let it sync with GPS. Only fluctuates by about 0.05 miles between runs for a 3-4 mile run. I've tried different approaches such as jogging a little before I start the timer, but I have not identified anything that consistently puts me at the start line when I look at the map later. The 405cx usually shows me starting in the woods and slowly getting onto the road after 0.1 - 0.2 miles. I also think it does not always pick up turns correctly, cutting some short or not picking up the full... » Read More I see some variation in mileage for the same coarse. It frequently misses my start location even though I let it sync with GPS. Only fluctuates by about 0.05 miles between runs for a 3-4 mile run. I've tried different approaches such as jogging a little before I start the timer, but I have not identified anything that consistently puts me at the start line when I look at the map later. The 405cx usually shows me starting in the woods and slowly getting onto the road after 0.1 - 0.2 miles. I also think it does not always pick up turns correctly, cutting some short or not picking up the full distance around a cul-de-sac. « Show Less
1477361
No, the odometer readings are not captured. The travel miles can be captured, but it is not the function of the device. It is the software (app) which probably uses smartphone's GPS to record travel miles.
1521542
My Legend HCx Garmin eTrex Legend HCx Personal Navigator worked great in the plane as long as I was quite close to the window. A Cx might not. My GPS said we were a few thousand feet higher than the captain said we were but maybe he was wrong! It tracked very well. I could look down at a town and recognize it from the map on the gps as we flew over. Very cool!! On the ground my elevation is quite accurate with my topo maps loaded. IF you have the Vista you may need to calibrate it to the known elevation and air pressure any time the pressure changes much. I don't know this for sure as I haven't read the manual but other altimeters that use pressure need to be calibrated. My Legend HCx Garmin eTrex Legend HCx Personal Navigator worked great in the plane as long as I was quite close to the window. A Cx might not. My GPS said we were a few thousand feet higher than the captain said we were but maybe he was wrong! It tracked very well. I could look down at a town and recognize it from the map on the gps as we flew over. Very cool!! On the ground my elevation is quite accurate with my topo maps loaded. IF you have the Vista you may need to calibrate it to the known elevation and air pressure any time the... » Read More My Legend HCx Garmin eTrex Legend HCx Personal Navigator worked great in the plane as long as I was quite close to the window. A Cx might not. My GPS said we were a few thousand feet higher than the captain said we were but maybe he was wrong! It tracked very well. I could look down at a town and recognize it from the map on the gps as we flew over. Very cool!! On the ground my elevation is quite accurate with my topo maps loaded. IF you have the Vista you may need to calibrate it to the known elevation and air pressure any time the pressure changes much. I don't know this for sure as I haven't read the manual but other altimeters that use pressure need to be calibrated. « Show Less
1282876
I have found mine to be very accurate. Perhaps you did get a defective one and should ask for it to be replaced.