I bought an Etrex to use as an aid in improving my map and compass skills. I’ve noticed that sometimes, even on clear days, I can’t lock on enough satellites. Is this an issue with the antenna? Is this something that spending more money up front would have fixed?

Biscuits

What type of area are you in? GPSes want a clear view of the sky so tree cover or buildings can block the signal.

-john

I've got an eTrex and I find its pretty good.
Standing outside It works fine. Heavy bush cuts the signal down a bit, but Ive found it better than friends Magellans in our gum trees (Australia) The Pine Plantations seem to cut the signal to a greater degree. The Pine needles seem to play up with GPS, Cell phones and radio signals.
On the dash of my car, once I found that it had problems locking on. I found that having AA batteries sitting next to the GPS on the dash interferred with the signal and the unit had problems recieving. Took me a while to work that out. I think the round bodies of the batteries reflected the signal too much. But as soon as I moved the batteries away, it locked on pretty quick.
I live at around 37 Degrees South. I've also noticed that my eTrex locks on faster when further North (towards the Equator so for you it would be South) It seems that in the Southern Hemisphere at least, it can lock onto more satelites faster the closer you get to the equator.

Mr. Biscuits, is Colorado a "blue" state? Maybe "W" rerouted the sats over Colorado! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Just kidding of course! Biggest problem is that the GPS is not a Lowrance. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Kidding again! On first start up, a new GPS, any brand, doesn't know where it is. Not kidding. You may have to help it. Some have "auto find" and similar menu items. Once it finds itself, it shouldn't be a problem any more in the same general area. AFAIK, all current GPS units will receive 12 satellites which is more than enough. I believe I saw a new one advertised that will receive 15. My first GPS was a Lowrance with five channels and there were times when it absolutely would not acquire the sats even in a totally open area. Very frustrating. Then I went to a Lowrance GlobalNav 212 and it grabbed the sats in short order. Even in dense woods it rarely "lost" it's position. I now have a Lowrance iFinder Hunt and is truly a joy to own. I have purposely sought out the thickest place in the woods, like under a large cedar, and it still held onto it's position. I really don't know how to solve your problem. Garmin clearly has the market on GPS sales. If it continues to be stubborn, I would suggest you get with someone else who has the same unit and make comparisons together OR, in the alternative, call Customer Service at Garmin and see if they have any suggestions. Sorta reminds me of the time many years ago when a friend and I borrowed his father's new Poulan chain saw to take to the river bottoms to build a duck blind. We spent the bulk of the day pulling on the starter rope to keep it running. Finally, pulled the cord completely out of the saw. Got home and his father was anxiously inquiring about how his new saw performed. We told him it needed a longer rope. Not to start it with but to make a suitable boat anchor! <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> You shouldn't be having that much trouble acquiring the sats. If the problem persists, I would send it back to Garmin before the warranty expires.

Boone

Biscuits, I re-read your post and I didn't catch your comment about a "clear" day. Be advised that cloud cover, no matter how heavy and overcast, DOES NOT in any way affect the reception of the satellite signals. As to your other comment about "high end" units, I would guess that the expensive ones would have a better receiver than the cheaper ones but that is just my opinion. Hope this helps.

Boone

All unit needs a fairly clear line of sight to the satellites. Buildings, mountains, trees etc will interfere with the signal. The signals will not go through walls, roofs, vehicles etc...

Position the unit outdoors in a clear area turn it on and leave it on for 30 minutes. Hold it away from your body (signal will not go through your body) . Go to the satellite page & see it acquire the signals. If after 30 minutes it has not given you a position, take it ack to the store.

The GPS unit needs time to read the signals it receives, also the satellites emit different info packets at different time intervals. Turning on & off you GPS too often without letting it get the full readings will "confuse" it. So leave it on until you get a position ...

It may be confused, of-course I could be too. I'll try leaving it on longer.

Thanks,
Bisc.

I've been taking my readings on fairly open terrain in the mountains. Perhaps I need to all of my horizons instead of just worrying about blue sky above me.

Bisc.

Well the place is crawling with pines. How thick are you talking about?

I can’t get enough time off from work to walk to the equator, but man that would be cool.

Thanks,
Bisc.

Open country, probably former clear-cuts, in the mountains at about 10,000 feet. There is a series of FS roads that wind through valleys and ridges and meet in this clearing. The clearing is big, probably about a section, but it has a couple hills (one right in the middle) that break 200 feet. The clearing is one side of an even larger drainage. The idea was that I could hit a high point, shoot a bearing to my objective and hike to it. Or I could locate my self on the map plot a bearing and walk it to the clearing. If I got lost I could get on top of something or use the GPS and a little template to determine my position and then plot a course back to the clearing.



Bisc.

From your description of the area I think you may have a defective unit. I hunt in very similar terrain and have no problems with my Garmin Rino, which essentially is an Etrex with a built-in radio. I would follow the suggestions you have received about re-initializing the unit and if that doesn't work I would exchange it.

Regards, Vince

Thick ... they grow them as close as they can. Until they start thinning them its dark walking through them. After they are tinned they are about a car and a half between rows.

The other thing I thought of is, do you have it in some sort of case, or is the antenna covered at all?
The antenna is under the round logo just above the screen, when laying on its back, the antenna is facing straight up with max coverage.

I agree, I think you may have a defective unit.

In North America, in a clearcut area where you have a clear view of the sky, you shouldn't have any problem. I have a eTrex Vista and only run into problems when I get in real thick tree cover. Even then, if I stand still for a while I usually can get a signal.

How long are you waiting for a signal?

-john

As long as it takes. On one occasion I got a call on my cell phone from an employee, set down the unit on a stump, had a conversation, and still no signal.

I assumed something was wrong, but tought I'd ask before returning the unit.

Bisc.

It definitely sounds like a bad unit. I only have that trouble with my eTrex when I'm in very heavy timber and mtns in Colorado.

One interesting thing happened about 6 years ago. I actually got an incorrect reading just north of Ouray, Colorado when standing next to a large cliff. I triple checked my readings and wrote them down, and as I moved away from the cliff, about a mile or two, it corrected itself. Talk about not instilling confidence....

A GPS handheld unit calculates its position based on the time it takes to receive the satellites signal. This "time" is extremely precise. Buildings & mountains can deflect the radio signal affecting the time to reception giving you a bad reading. In such a case moving around will correct the reading.



So what you experienced there is the GPS behaving normaly. You guys should really read up on the subject if you're going to trust your life to a GPS !!!

This is a good place to start : About GPS

It sure sounds like you have a defective unit. I would definitely return it.

On the plus side, going back to the store means you get to play with more GPS units. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the web site, will read up on it. It was just a day hike on a marked trail, not sure where you get the "trusting your life" from...

Thanks for the info.

Thanks for all the info. I really appreciate it. Will take it out one more time, see what happens.
Bisc.