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Garmin Tempe - accuracy?

SMICKF
over 10 years ago
Hi,

I've recently bought a Garmin Tempe to go with my Montana and it works well. It was easy to pair up and the unit is neat and small. I'm very pleased with it. I'm well aware of the limitations of siting a thermometer and how you need to put it so it's not going to be influenced by heat/cold sources so it only samples the ambient air temperature.

My query is really out of interest rather than worry.

What is the accuracy of the Garmin Tempe?

I understand that the figures aren't published. I wondered if anyone had any comparative evidence of the Tempe's accuracy? Has anyone ever compared the Tempe to a recognised accurate temperature?

I'm just a normal chap in a normal domestic environment, and I don't have access to a decent accurate thermometer, but someone has one somewhere. Has anyone every checked the Tempe?

Has Garmin ever checked them?
If so, surely they must know something.

Regards,
Mick
  • 0 over 10 years ago
    Thanks for the reply. Actually, I was thinking about buying the gps-watch Garmin Fenix. It uses the same sensor we're talking about, besides it also has an internal sensor. Obviously you need to remove the watch from your wrist, if you use the internal sensor.
    Garmin tempe should record more quickly the temperature variations, I wonder if the accuracy between the two sensors is the same, beyond the rapidity.
  • 0 over 10 years ago
    Remember folks what you are thinking of here as accuracy is precision...

    Accuracy : if it is 33.0C does the Tempe say it is 33.0C?
    Precision: does it report that as 32.9C, 33.0C or 33.1C?

    If the tolerance on the accuracy is greater than the precision of the measure, the data is bogus.

    My experience: it reports on the Fenix as whole degrees C - today mine reported a maximum temperature of 15C when the reality was nearer 10C. Why? Mostly because the Tempe wasn't mounted in a Stevenson screen and was affected by the yellow thing in the sky - so was it accurate? Doubtful.
  • 0 over 10 years ago
    Further... The FIT file format only allows for recording in whole degrees C... The GPX format allows reporting in 0.1C graduations...
  • 0 over 10 years ago
    If the tolerance on the accuracy is greater than the precision of the measure, the data is bogus.

    That's true; according to Garmin the tempe is accurate to about 1 degree C (measured under the right conditions of course), so the decimals don't really matter. Truncating instead of rounding would matter though...

    Want some of mine? :D I've plenty of both.

    Okay, I'll PM my address...:cool:
  • 0 over 10 years ago
    I agree, measure the outside temperature is extremely difficult, there are too many factors that distort the measurement.
    Usually the temperature (I mean the test) is measured in indoor environment, in the absence of sunlight.
    I use a mercury thermometer -10/50°C Precision 0.1°C Accuracy < +/-0.2°C
    Precision 1°C is ok, what is important is the correct rounding.
  • 0 over 10 years ago
    Remember folks what you are thinking of here as accuracy is precision...


    That'd never occurred to me :D

    https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?65935-Garmin-Tempe-accuracy&p=236145#post236145
  • 0 over 10 years ago
    Remember folks what you are thinking of here as accuracy is precision...

    My experience: it reports on the Fenix as whole degrees C - today mine reported a maximum temperature of 15C when the reality was nearer 10C. Why? Mostly because the Tempe wasn't mounted in a Stevenson screen and was affected by the yellow thing in the sky - so was it accurate? Doubtful.


    Since I've been able to cross country ski for the last couple of weeks, I've been using my Fenix and therefore my Tempe. Yesterday I skied laps in the local park while the sun was out, and here's the track. You can see each individual lap in the temperature record since my Tempe is mounted on the back of my Camelbak. The actual temperature was probably about the 16 F that Garmin Connect gives. So yeah, the Tempe (being dark and small) is easily affected by the sun.
  • 0 over 10 years ago
    I agree, measure the outside temperature is extremely difficult, there are too many factors that distort the measurement.


    Wow. Good for you. You must have listened during school science classes and/or gone on to become an engineer or scientist :D

    There'a a bunch of threads, mainly in the cycling model forums, from people complaining about temperature "accuracy".

    "My unit differs from my wall thermometer by 1 degree. It must be broken! Fix it Garmin!"

    I use a mercury thermometer -10/50°C Precision 0.1°C Accuracy < +/-0.2°C


    While designing an electronic thermometer, a few decades ago, I used the same. We put the electronics in Silicone Oil since it has good thermal conductivity but is an electrical insulator. The "fun" part was that a thermistor (those are horribly non-linear) was used because of cost so we had to characterize the temperature/resistance curve and linearize it in firmware.

    Nowadays most electronic temperature sensors are implemented in silicon (i.e. on a chip) making things much easier :)
  • 0 over 10 years ago
    So yeah, the Tempe (being dark and small) is easily affected by the sun.


    Yup. Thermal mass :)
  • 0 over 10 years ago
    Wow. Good for you. You must have listened during school science classes and/or gone on to become an engineer or scientist :D

    There'a a bunch of threads, mainly in the cycling model forums, from people complaining about temperature "accuracy".

    "My unit differs from my wall thermometer by 1 degree. It must be broken! Fix it Garmin!"





    The wall thermometer, even if calibrated correctly, was affected by the heat of the wall, the wires to which it is attached, the air does not circulate properly around it. For example, my wall thermometer always indicates a higher temperature +0.5 ° C, this happens both now and in the summer...I do not think are suitable to test the temperature.


    In your case, you have found a difference of 1 degree, to indicate the highest temperature is the wall thermometer or garmin ?