Question about Map & GPS

Former Member over 7 years ago

hello,

just purchased a Garmin 5X and very happy with it. just a little confused with how the maps work however.

whenever i open the map it shows me in Taiwan, and it takes forever to scroll and zoom and pinpoint where i actually am manually.

i live in Melbourne Australia, so it is way off. i am wondering why it doesn't update my location.

is it actually meant to be able to show me where i am based on its standard installed maps?

i would love to better understand this aspect.

thank you.

Mark

0 SUSSAMB over 7 years ago

Have you allowed your watch to get a GPS fix? Once it does it'll show your correct location without the need for you to scroll around.

Also you will find a lot of info in the manual http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/fenix5x/EN-US/GUID-8B9070D6-C0EA-45EE-8F62-1602492BF264.html

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

hi SUSSAMB - thanks for that. i left it for a while and it finally found my position tho there is a question mark that flashes above the triangle. does that mean it is not 100% locked on to my location?

sorry i have tried to search for this but i just can't find any answers.

cheers.

0 SUSSAMB over 7 years ago

Yes. Just keep it still until that disappears.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Start an activity (any) and go for a 5min walk, save and then sync.. it will download the satellite positions for you .. problem fixed... hopefully..

0 mcalista over 7 years ago

GPS satellites drift slightly in their orbits which can affect accuracy. To deal with this, most GPS units (including the F5X) download an almanac of satellite data, which then speeds up the time it takes for the unit to acquire a GPS fix.

You mention your watch is brand new. When the watch is new, hasn't been used for a while, or you have moved a couple of hundred km from the last fix, it will need to download a new almanac. I agree with the suggestion of going to somewhere with an open view of the horizon and giving it 5-10 minutes to get that initial almanac. Once you do this, subsequent GPS fixes should be MUCH faster, and the maps should take you to your current location.

0 schinder over 7 years ago

They don't just drift, they're in 12 hour orbits. The constellation of satellites above you is constantly changing.

Taiwan is one of the three POI's that are typically installed on Garmin devices. There's Garmin's headquarters in Olathe, Kansas, Taiwan where they do their manufacturing, and Garmin Europe for some reason. In the OP's case, Taiwan is being shown. Here in the US, I'll occasionally see Olathe initially before it finds where I actually am.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

thank you all very much for your replies. did go for a walk on weekend without even loading map and when i got back noticed it had accurately tracked the course i took. very impressed!