GPS - Speed Measurement

[Blaze]

Hey guys. A friend of mine gave me his brand new, unused Garmin 12 GPS this winter since he received it as a gift and had never opened it in 4 years. What's up with that, huh? Anyway, I've used it on Gull and Mille Lacs a few times this year and have had problems getting an accurate speed reading when trolling. Even when I know I'm moving at a fairly good clip (1.5-3mph probably), it still reads 0.0 mph. It would sure would be nice to have at least .5 increments to measure my trolling speed.

I know this unit is about 4-5 years old and am wondering if I need to upgrade to get this functionality? Is it WASS that provides the newer GPS units with more accurate speed readings?

Also, I've been looking at getting an eTrex Legend. Any good/bad reviews from owners out there? I'd be curious to hear your experiences - there's some good prices out on hsolist for those babies.

Thanks,
Blaze

[AaronM]

You get what you pay for. This is verrry accurate when choosing a GPS. The legend is a great unit and you won't be sorry buying that little beauty. I have to caution you though, I would'nt get it off hsolist-buy it new, you'll be a lot happier in the long run that way. Happy fishin.

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"Power? Fame? Prestige? Nah, I'd rather be fishing"

[Steve Foss]

My E-Trex is two years old and reads speed in tenths of a mile per hour.

In other words, it goes from 1.1 to 1.2 to 1.3 mph, etc. I use it all the time trolling, and you can rig it using a 12V converter to your deep cycle battery. If you just stay with the 2 AA batteries, it'll give you about 20 hours if you don't use the lit screen much.

It's waterproof and it floats. No, I didn't read that off the box, I found out the hard way.

My first one, after about a year, started shutting off without warning for no good reason, and I returned it to Cabela's for exchange for a new one, free of charge. Been great since then.

Hard to find a better unit for just over $100. If I had $300 to spend, I'd get a mapping unit, but the E-Trex really is everything I need.

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"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[Blaze]

The ones I was looking at on hsolist actually were new, but after going back and looking again, I'd probably only be saving $10-15 after shipping, etc. and Garmin's $50 mail in rebate they still have on right now...

Shouldn't I be getting a more accurate reading of speed with the Garmin 12 though? I'm pretty disappointed in that. Any 12 owners out there that can speak to this problem? Maybe it's just me?!?!

[Finns]

I've had my Garmin 12 for about 3 years and it works fine for me. It measures in tenths of a mile per hour when traveling above one mile an hour. It reads 0.0 when going less than one mile an hour. Also the trip numbers read in miles and tenths up to 100 miles distance then it is just in miles.

[chunkytrout]

My 12 works fine for trolling speeds. Under 1 mph though it does read zero. I like it and have had it for years.

[Blaze]

I guess I just need to take it out and play with it some more. I would've sworn we were doing a good 2+ mph the day I was trying it, but I just might be losing my mind too

I'll check it out and see if I can pick up the speed readings at 1.1, 1.2, 1.3....

Thanks for the input.

Tight lines,
Blaze

[jstirewalt]

Blaze:

Check to make sure that you have your pinning feature turned off. Once you turn this off, it should give you readings all the way down to .1 MPG.

Jeff

[Hubcat]

Try going to garmin's web site and see if there is a upgrade to the program file in the GPS. I know Magellan up grades the software for their units.

[Blaze]

Thanks Jeff - that's the kind of info I was looking for! I'll give it a shot and report back to let you know if it fixed the problem.