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I went snowshoeing in Utah and used my Garmin 60CSX. Just wondering if I'm like not getting something about this GPS but I was stationary for about 5-10mins and noticed that the GPS would still be moving .01 of a mile adding almost a mile or so. Is this normal and if not is it a bad device, what should I do?

Thanks!

Doubt it's a faulty unit, it could be several things
If you post the track there may be some clues

cool, thanks for the help... just got the thing not that long ago, so still figuring it out. I will submit the track and route next week when I go out again. (forgot to turn off on the way home) however, i did mark the trailhead and the pass/turn-around point. I dont think its anything serious with the unit just something I'm not doing. Will submit a trail description and post the track next week. Again, thank you very much!

oh no need to post a description unless you really want to
If you still have the track you can send it to me in a PM so it doesn't post your home. Otherwise look forward to seeing or hearing how it goes next week.

nah, no need to submit description to be honest.. triplog good enough... I will check out the GPS next week and if its still screwed up I will PM you then! Thanks again!!

How many satellites were you locked onto? If only a few, the GPS will bounce your position around quite a bit. Once you get 5 or more, it will bounce you around a little - enough to add up a bit if you stay in the same place for a long time.

Nonot has it, spot on. My 60cx does the same thing. It is also why, without an actual barometric altimeter, that the altitude reading on my 60cx also bounces around and can't be relied on to be exact.

Sounds like you also have it set to record a track point based on time increments, and the normal slight GPS shifting that was noted in the post above will cause it to do that. Try setting it to record a track point based on distance instead. I have mine set on 0.02/mile which means a new point every 105 feet (roughly).

maxpower wrote:Sounds like you also have it set to record a track point based on time increments, ...

That might be a good guess. The "auto" setting is usually pretty good, but it can get squirrely in certain environments.

All of those theories make total sense and I believe I only had 3 sats in the canyon. I will also check the auto thing other dood was talking about. This is great feedback thanks all!!!

@andy679
I have the same device...it seems whether I do a 5 mile or 30 mile it "adds" about 1/2 mile. When l I run it thru the unit,mapsource, or download it on this site it adjusts the difference.

andy679 wrote:I went snowshoeing in Utah and used my Garmin 60CSX. Just wondering if I'm like not getting something about this GPS but I was stationary for about 5-10mins and noticed that the GPS would still be moving .01 of a mile adding almost a mile or so.

I have a 76CSx that does the same thing. I hiked Snowbowl to Humphreys Peak to Lockett Meadow, which I think should be 11.25 miles, but my GPS logged it as 12.99 miles.

maxpower wrote:Sounds like you also have it set to record a track point based on time increments, and the normal slight GPS shifting that was noted in the post above will cause it to do that. Try setting it to record a track point based on distance instead. I have mine set on 0.02/mile which means a new point every 105 feet (roughly).

My hike was a long hike, I take a lot of breaks when I'm hiking, and I probably had a sub-optimal number of satellites in the Inner Basin, which collectively would explain the massive error (about 13%) between the actual distance and what my GPS logged. At your suggestion, I just changed my track method/interval from "Auto" to "Distance - 0.02mi." Thanks for the tip!