The second in a series of experiments to investigate the accuracy of GPS receivers (GPSr). The conditions now are a little more difficult. You can of course, still treat this as an ordinary cache, but to take part you'll have to follow the following method:
- Before heading out, make sure the time on your GPS receiver is accurate. If the time setting on your GPSr is out by a significant amount, it will affect the accuracy of your reading.
-You can check your time on this WEBSITE.
- Once you've found the cache, leave your GPS receiver on the stump where you found it, pointing South and do not move the GPSr for a full two minutes.
- This will allow it to settle, so previous movement will not affect the reading.
- While you're waiting for the GPSr to settle, open the cache and do your swaps etc...
- Find the first unlogged page and once the two minutes are up, write your log; entering the make and model of your GPSr, then the Northing and Westing in the spaces provided.
- If you need more room, use the reverse of the page on which you noted your readings.
- Please remember that it is the GPSr we are testing, so if you're using it conjunction with a Palm/pocket PC, we do not need the model of that device.
- Make a note of the make and model of your GPSr, and its reading in your geocaching.com log.
- This will save me from having to make too many journeys to gather data.
- Replace the the cache as found, ready for the next finder.
As readings are left, I will build up a database and once I have enough, publish and update a table showing how accurate each make/model of GPSr is in comparison with each other.
Although you can only log this find once, if you have more than one GPSr or you're interested, you can make as many visits and readings as you wish, logging them on the cache page as notes, but only one per receiver, per visit, please.
Remember, we are testing the accuracy of the devices, there are no prizes and therefore no point trying to falsify readings if your make of GPSr is performing poorly in the test.
Have fun.