+beschla Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I took my Garmin Dakota 20 to Costa Rica to look for some geocaches but it wouldn't work. Does anyone know why? I'm going to Spain soon and want to use it there, too, but am afraid it won't work there either. Help please! Quote Link to comment
+Mineral2 Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) what do you mean by "it wouldn't work?" Were you having trouble connecting with the satellites, or did you just not have a base map loaded for your area to reference landmarks around you, or did you forget to load caches in the area you were visiting? Edited March 1, 2015 by mineral2 Quote Link to comment
+StefandD Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 What doesn't work? Your GPSr should work there exactly as anywhere around the globe. Maybe you miss some maps of the area? Check out this site, a portal for free topo maps. Or this site to compile your own free automitive map. Quote Link to comment
+Gitchee-Gummee Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) Just guessing... but, I'll bet you turned it on and waited a couple of minutes for satellite acquisition, but it didn't seem to do much of anything, right? That's because you moved it from Illinois to Costa Rica... a really substantial distance. When you turned it on, it was lost. Pretty much, that is what happened. You need to boot it, set it down with an open view of the sky and leave the darn thing for 1/2-hour or maybe even longer. The time involved varies among units... but it does take a seemingly long time. It needs to acquire a completely new satellite constellation and start building a new almanac because of that. --------- Although not really feasible, if you had left it turned on through the travel to... it would've worked just fine, without any hesitation. It would've tracked and changed the 'visible' satellites as it traveled. Turning it on and letting it boot and settle in intermittently through the travel would've done the same thing. Don't believe me? Try what I say for your trip to Spain and be amazed. EDIT to note: This can occur at distances <500 miles, also. Edited March 1, 2015 by Gitchee-Gummee Quote Link to comment
+Team Marsh Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Whenever you move a GPS over a long distance it will take it a while to adjust, (at first it thinks that it is still where it was the last time you turned it off ! .) When you get to wherever it is you are going , Turn on the GPS and leave it somewhere with a clear view of the sky and WAIT ! (sometimes up to a half hour, but be sure , wherever you are the GPS will work it out , ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. even in spain. Have a great trip , hope you find some caches, Best Regards Team Marsh. Quote Link to comment
+beschla Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 Wow! Thank you everyone for your speedy replies!! I loaded 3-4 caches on the gps unit before leaving for Costa Rica. When I got there I turned it on and waited...but not as long as you suggested. I should have just sat down in a park to hang out, huh? What you say makes sense because a similar thing happened when I traveled from IL to NC. It took a long time but eventually everything loaded up just fine and, by golly, I found 6 caches in Charlotte! I'll give you an update when I return! Quote Link to comment
+Gitchee-Gummee Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Wow! Thank you everyone for your speedy replies!! I loaded 3-4 caches on the gps unit before leaving for Costa Rica. When I got there I turned it on and waited...but not as long as you suggested. I should have just sat down in a park to hang out, huh? What you say makes sense because a similar thing happened when I traveled from IL to NC. It took a long time but eventually everything loaded up just fine and, by golly, I found 6 caches in Charlotte! I'll give you an update when I return! Well... enjoy the temps. Don't worry 'bout us, we'll get by... Quote Link to comment
+beschla Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Wow! Thank you everyone for your speedy replies!! I loaded 3-4 caches on the gps unit before leaving for Costa Rica. When I got there I turned it on and waited...but not as long as you suggested. I should have just sat down in a park to hang out, huh? What you say makes sense because a similar thing happened when I traveled from IL to NC. It took a long time but eventually everything loaded up just fine and, by golly, I found 6 caches in Charlotte! I'll give you an update when I return! Well... enjoy the temps. Don't worry 'bout us, we'll get by... Quote Link to comment
+beschla Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 It took a while but the satelite data loaded and I found my first cache in Barcelona! Thanks!! So fun. Warm, too! Quote Link to comment
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