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4:11 am
December 21, 2010
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For some reason, the problem that I have been having with the GPS location appears to have gone away. Today, the stopped time seemed reasonable and all the track points were spaced at almost exactly 50 feet, which corresponds with the track log settings. The next test is to go back to logging by time, but there is no reason to expect that this will not work. I am not aware of anything that I might have done to fix the problem.
Of course, nothing is perfect. I was only able to get the compass calibrated after multiple attempts and at some point it lost calibration and refused to calibrate again. I have seldom (but not always) had a problem with calibrating the compass before and I have never seen it lose calibration before.
12:28 am
December 21, 2010
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I have some additional information on this subject, not that I am anyway closer to solving the problem.
It seems that there is nothing wrong with the stopped time calculation, but rather that there seems to be a problem with the GPS tracking. I previously stated that the tracks appeared correct. This turns out not to be entirely true.
I have the track logging mode set to a time interval of 5 seconds. Before this problem appeared, all the tracks consisted of discrete points, except when I was physically stopped, and even then, the points were usually clustered around my actual position. Since the stopped time problem manifested itself, the track contains groups of points with the same exact location repeated at five second intervals followed by the next point in the track. There may be some intervening discrete points but eventually there is another set of duplicates. The number of duplicate points in each group varies and the average seems to be about 5 to 10 duplicates followed by several normal points, but there are cases where there are large numbers of duplicate points. The period covered by the group of duplicate points seems to typically range from around one minute to ten minutes or more. The position of the point following each group of duplicates appears to be consistent with the distance that would have been covered over the duration of the duplicate sequence.
This suggests that the problem is really caused by the GPS position being updated infrequently. The duplicate points appear because the position does not change over an extended period. Why this is happening and why it should have suddenly started is a mystery to me.
The satellite status display shows satellites being acquired or lost with the accuracy fluctuating, as one might expect. The primary position changes very infrequently when the GPS is stationary, taking many minutes between updates. Previously, it seemed that the position changed more frequently, usually when there was any change in the satellite configuration.
I tried changing the track logging mode to use a distance of 50 feet, which is the minimum available. This has the advantage of eliminating the duplicate points, but the track quality suffers, as might be expected. The problem with the GPS location is still present and many of the points on the track appear several hundred feet apart, which is not inconsistent with the rate at which the location seems to be updated.
I reloaded the version 4.83 firmware and this did not make any difference. Neither did deleting the infamous UGDS.BIN file. I am considering trying to restore the firmware from the previous version, but I somewhat reluctant to do this, lest I end up with a completely useless unit.
2:43 am
December 21, 2010
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The screen captures were always taken while a track was running before it had been saved. This problem only started to occur recently. Previously the stopped time value always appeared to be slightly higher than expected but not unreasonably high.
9:02 am
March 19, 2011
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Hi Charles,
I was out today hiking and check the track statistics on my 710 and all the data appeared correct.
You need to be careful when viewing the 'Data Screen'. The 'Data Screen' always displays the active track so even thought you start a new track and then save that track the information in the "Data Screen' continues to display the active track which is still running. Therefore 'Stopped Time', 'Moving Time' 'Time Travelled', 'Odometer' etc continue to increment.
You are best to look 'Track Summary' or at the actual saved track to view the information.
Graham.
1:39 am
April 6, 2010
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This latest firmware has several problems that Magellan knows about and are working on solving.
Until then I think you're right about ignoring it till it's fixed.
When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout
12:40 am
December 21, 2010
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It seemed to work correctly with the latest firmware until just a few days ago. Everything seems to work correctly except the displayed values.
The best solution is probably to select some other fields for the dashboard display and ignore the problem and hope it goes away.
12:16 am
April 6, 2010
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If the tracks play back correctly on VP then the problem seems to be the display of the unit. Hopefully a new update will fix it.
When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout
12:05 am
December 21, 2010
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The track log option is set to time with an interval of 5 seconds.
In one instance, the trip odometer was completely wrong, showing 948 feet instead of about 1.2 miles. In all other cases, the trip odometer value seems to be reasonable
The tracks in VP are correct.
On today’s hike, the values are as follows:
1. Odometer: 2.64 miles, time travelled: 1h 12m, stopped time: 1h 8m, moving time: 3m 34s
2. Odometer: 3.64 miles, time travelled: 1h 31m, stopped time: 1h 20m, moving time: 10m 27s
3. Odometer: 5.51 miles, time travelled: 2h 13m, stopped time: 2h 0m, moving time: 13m 3s
In all cases, the moving average was always 5.6 mph. Not only is this not consistent with the displayed values, but there is no way I could walk that fast. The average speed values seem reasonable.
4:27 am
April 6, 2010
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I've never checked the moving/stopped time myself but I do have a question or two.
What setting do you have the track log settings on?
Was the trip odometer showing the correct distance?
Did you transfer the track to VP and see if it is reasonably accurate on the map?
If it is accurate on VP then the problem would be the display on the unit.
I'll try these moving/stopped times displays in the next few days and see what I get with them on my 710.
When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout
12:53 am
December 21, 2010
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I recently encountered a problem that does not seem to have been discussed before.
The moving time/stopped time fields on my 710 have always seemed inaccurate where the displayed value for the stopped time was greater than time that I was actually stopped. The error did not seem too large and it did not really create a significant problem.
Nothing changed after installing the latest firmware, at least for several weeks. Then the stopped time values suddenly became wildly inaccurate.
The following screen captures illustrate the problem. The first capture was taken at the halfway point on a short hike, and the second was taken at the end, after starting a new track. The trip odometer for the first leg is incorrect but the value for the second leg seems correct. The moving average value is obviously wrong. It is inconsistent with the distance and time values displayed and is also significantly greater than the true value.
Another screen capture from a different hike appears below. This was taken at the halfway point, but the batteries died on the return trip so there is nothing to compare to.
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