newer technology?

[u2rlovedbygod]

I have an e-trek legend handheld gps for more than 10 years and would like to replace it. Wondering if there is any newer technology that has faster satellite detection and/or more accurate ranges. The software on this legend is dated 2000, so I guess there should be something more modern on the market...

[+GeoTrekker26]

I have an e-trek legend handheld gps for more than 10 years and would like to replace it. Wondering if there is any newer technology that has faster satellite detection and/or more accurate ranges. The software on this legend is dated 2000, so I guess there should be something more modern on the market...

 

Any current GPS will have faster satellite acquisition, increased accuracy and better performance in difficult conditions. You only need to decide on the brand, the features, the user interface (buttons, touch screen) and the price range you want. Everyone has their favorite that will be happy to tell you about!

[Mr.Yuck]

I have an e-trek legend handheld gps for more than 10 years and would like to replace it. Wondering if there is any newer technology that has faster satellite detection and/or more accurate ranges. The software on this legend is dated 2000, so I guess there should be something more modern on the market...

 

Any current GPS will have faster satellite acquisition, increased accuracy and better performance in difficult conditions. You only need to decide on the brand, the features, the user interface (buttons, touch screen) and the price range you want. Everyone has their favorite that will be happy to tell you about!

 

I ain't going to start any arguments here, especially in the angst-free "getting started" forum, but I'm not so sure about what I've bolded here. We're just talking about GPS receivers here, I don't think there's been any major advancements technologically since 2005.

 

The big thing is, every current GPS unit supports paperless Geocaching now. Even the $100 Garmin Etrex 10, or the $100 Magellan Explorist 110. Providing you're talking about current models. I mean you can still buy a classic Garmin GPS 60 CSX brand new, never opened in the box for $250, but it's still not going to support paperless caching.

[+macatac1961]

The new Garmins use the US GPS satellites as well as the Russian Glonass sats. My 64s takes only seconds to get a signal. Even indoors it has a signal in under ten seconds. Quite accurate too but I can't tell if it's any more accurate than the older gps's like my 60csx.

[+Chief301]

I don't think you'll find the newer units to be noticeably more accurate than the Etrex Legend. Probably not any quicker to lock onto satellites either. You'll get more features and bells and whistles, better user interface, , and paperless Geocaching with the newer units, of course, but you'll probably see only a marginal improvement in performance, if any.

[+tozainamboku]

Any current GPS will have faster satellite acquisition, increased accuracy and better performance in difficult conditions. You only need to decide on the brand, the features, the user interface (buttons, touch screen) and the price range you want. Everyone has their favorite that will be happy to tell you about!

 

I ain't going to start any arguments here, especially in the angst-free "getting started" forum, but I'm not so sure about what I've bolded here. We're just talking about GPS receivers here, I don't think there's been any major advancements technologically since 2005.

 

I don't think you'll find the newer units to be noticeably more accurate than the Etrex Legend. Probably not any quicker to lock onto satellites either. You'll get more features and bells and whistles, better user interface, , and paperless Geocaching with the newer units, of course, but you'll probably see only a marginal improvement in performance, if any.

 

Find it odd that people are so certain there are no improvements in technology that will improve accuracy or performance. In addition to new units being able to use GLONASS, there are numerous other advances, many inherited from from advances made in cellphone technology.

 

Improved antenna design means new units will perform better. Multichannel receivers mean that a lock on the GPS signal can be acquired faster. Faster CPUs will perform the calculations quicker and well an allowing for all kinds of additional features. Overall the chip sets will require less power, allowing for longer battery life. Touch screen interfaces (developed for smartphones) means fewer buttons and other moving parts.

Edited January 18, 2015 by tozainamboku

[+cerberus1]

I'm not that tech friendly and probably can't explain like I'd like.

I saw a very big difference just between my blue legend and an (also now discontinued) 60csx.

Sat lock was quicker, many more functions, got rid of that pain-in-the-can interface cable for usb and I found the buttons easier to use than the toggle on the legend.

Heck, I couldn't get the legend to lock on a satellite inside the house like the 60cxs does.

Most times didn't even need to be under heavy tree cover to block old blue.

- Still have it as a spare in my bug-out bag though.

 

You may still get roughly the same accuracy with the newer units, but way better antenna/tech stuff.

If my 60cxs died today, I'd probably go for the 62s.

[Mr.Yuck]

Any current GPS will have faster satellite acquisition, increased accuracy and better performance in difficult conditions. You only need to decide on the brand, the features, the user interface (buttons, touch screen) and the price range you want. Everyone has their favorite that will be happy to tell you about!

 

I ain't going to start any arguments here, especially in the angst-free "getting started" forum, but I'm not so sure about what I've bolded here. We're just talking about GPS receivers here, I don't think there's been any major advancements technologically since 2005.

 

I don't think you'll find the newer units to be noticeably more accurate than the Etrex Legend. Probably not any quicker to lock onto satellites either. You'll get more features and bells and whistles, better user interface, , and paperless Geocaching with the newer units, of course, but you'll probably see only a marginal improvement in performance, if any.

 

Find it odd that people are so certain there are no improvements in technology that will improve accuracy or performance. In addition to new units being able to use GLONASS, there are numerous other advances, many inherited from from advances made in cellphone technology.

 

Improved antenna design means new units will perform better. Multichannel receivers mean that a lock on the GPS signal can be acquired faster. Faster CPUs will perform the calculations quicker and well an allowing for all kinds of additional features. Overall the chip sets will require less power, allowing for longer battery life. Touch screen interfaces (developed for smartphones) means fewer buttons and other moving parts.

I was replying directly to the statement "Any current GPS will have faster satellite acquisition, increased accuracy and better performance in difficult conditions", which was rather generic. I did indeed forget about GLONASS, so thanks for that. So basically I was only talking about "reception". Tell me there's anything out there that's going to beat a GPS60CSX manufactured in 2007. Obviously faster CPU's, more memory etc. has happened. Heck, remember when your GPS could only hold 500 caches, and it wasn't even paperless. You can spend $120 for a Magellan Explorist that holds 10,000.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Keystone
Incidental to thread merger

[+MountainWoods]

I have both an eTrex Legend (blue) and an eTrex 20. I haven't noticed a really big difference in time in latching onto the satellites between the 2 units. The 20 has GLONASS that the Legend didn't have, but even that doesn't seem to make a big difference.

 

Here is one thing I noticed from both units, but perhaps more with the old Legend: There are times where it is getting enough satellites, but it'll still not show the unit as "fixed" into giving a location. In those cases, try turning off WAAS and see if the unit will start to report a location.

 

From what I understand about GPS technology, the satellites sometimes "drift" a bit, causing GPSrs to lose accuracy. In my Tom Tom, you can get a periodic correction that accounts for this drift.

 

Garmins use a different technology to account for drift: WAAS. I think these are like ground-based "satellites". A GPS signal doesn't have to come from an orbiting satellite, it can also come from a fixed ground location. And the latter (the WAAS transmitters), being in a definitely fixed location, help the unit to figure out how much the orbitting satellites have drifted.

 

Problem is that sometimes the Garmin unit, if WAAS is turned on, does not want to give you a location fix because it cannot locate WAAS transmitters. It essentially takes its dollies and goes home! If you turn off WAAS, it decides to use the last satellite information that it has (even if they have drifted a bit), and can then give you a location fix, even if it isn't as good as it would be with the WAAS corrections.

 

I have definitely confirmed this in the past on my Legend when I could not get a location fix after a loooooong time -- no changes in the satellite page. I turned off WAAS and suddenly, there is the unit reporting 46 feet accuracy! I then turn WAAS back on. If I reset the unit (batteries out and back in for a full reset), it cannot get the location fix again. Repeat ad nauseum.

 

I think this is more common if you live, like I do, far from a large population center; because I think the WAAS transmitters are only so few and so far between, and naturally closer to large cities. Perhaps.

[+tozainamboku]

Any current GPS will have faster satellite acquisition, increased accuracy and better performance in difficult conditions. You only need to decide on the brand, the features, the user interface (buttons, touch screen) and the price range you want. Everyone has their favorite that will be happy to tell you about!

 

I ain't going to start any arguments here, especially in the angst-free "getting started" forum, but I'm not so sure about what I've bolded here. We're just talking about GPS receivers here, I don't think there's been any major advancements technologically since 2005.

 

I don't think you'll find the newer units to be noticeably more accurate than the Etrex Legend. Probably not any quicker to lock onto satellites either. You'll get more features and bells and whistles, better user interface, , and paperless Geocaching with the newer units, of course, but you'll probably see only a marginal improvement in performance, if any.

 

Find it odd that people are so certain there are no improvements in technology that will improve accuracy or performance. In addition to new units being able to use GLONASS, there are numerous other advances, many inherited from from advances made in cellphone technology.

 

Improved antenna design means new units will perform better. Multichannel receivers mean that a lock on the GPS signal can be acquired faster. Faster CPUs will perform the calculations quicker and well an allowing for all kinds of additional features. Overall the chip sets will require less power, allowing for longer battery life. Touch screen interfaces (developed for smartphones) means fewer buttons and other moving parts.

 

I was replying directly to the statement "Any current GPS will have faster satellite acquisition, increased accuracy and better performance in difficult conditions", which was rather generic. I did indeed forget about GLONASS, so thanks for that. So basically I was only talking about "reception". Tell me there's anything out there that's going to beat a GPS60CSX manufactured in 2007. Obviously faster CPU's, more memory etc. has happened. Heck, remember when your GPS could only hold 500 caches, and it wasn't even paperless. You can spend $120 for a Magellan Explorist that holds 10,000.

Garmins specs aren't very complete so it's hard to tell exactly what has changed. It appears the helix antenna and high sensitivity receivers were already on some of their high end units, like the GPS60csx, in 2007. I would imagine that these chips and antennas have gone through some design changes since then - mostly to get production costs down, but possibly with some improvements in performance. It's also clear that software has changed - so while the algorithm for computing location is the same, it may run faster (CPU is faster as well) and it may handle conditions when a signal is weak better. There are discussions in other threads as well as here about turning off WAAS if you have trouble getting a fix. Apparently new software has fixed this problem.

 

There are no great technology breakthroughs in the receiver units since 2007. However there are clearly incremental improvements in the hardware and in the software that probably result faster signal acquisition and lock, along with accuracy. Is the difference enough to make a difference to a geocacher? Maybe not. Other improvements including more caches and better maps will make more of difference.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Keystone
Incidental to thread merger