GPSrChive Discussion Forum

Today I was back in the forest, where previously the accuracy dropped even to 200 m. This time, to put it briefly, the Garmin eTrex SE WORKED ACCURATELY. I walked the same route as on June 15, except that I also circled one peat bog. In order to compare the measurements, I also took the old eTrex H receiver. The eTrex SE receiver was even better then eTrex H (second photo). Below are screenshots from Google Earth. I hope Google allows screenshots to be published for non-commercial purposes, as it is written on the Internet. The lines are double on the section where I walked in two directions.

Screenshot

Garmin_eTrex_SE_3.jpg

Screenshot

Garmin_eTrex_SE_4.jpg

What has changed (more or less):

- The time of acquiring satellites was extended to 5 minutes, or even more, because later I was photographing the receiver. In addition, I was standing still in one place. The view of the sky was more clear than in one of the two previous cases.

Accuracy

Garmin_eTrex_SE_5.jpg

eTrex H initially showed an accuracy of 4 to 6 m, eTrex SE 3 m.

- The previous day, in the evening, the receiver was synchronized with the

Spoiler

https://connect.garmin.com

service, using Garmin Express (PC) and additionally, just in case, Garmin Connect (smartphone). These programs update the CPE.BIN file, but not EPO.BIN (?!), so I downloaded the latter manually using Get EPO.exe program from the website:

Spoiler

https://www.gpsrchive.com/Shared/EPO/EPO.html

. In the previous two cases the receiver was synchronized a few days before the trip, using Garmin Express (PC), and the EPO.BIN file was not updated manually.

- The navigation system was set to Multi-GNSS.

Multi-GNSS

Garmin_eTrex_SE_6.jpg

In one of the two previous cases it was set to GPS only, but in the other one it was set to Multi-GNSS as today.

- The receiver was attached to the backpack strap, not placed upside down in a pants pocket as usually. But the eTrex H has always worked well in the pocket.

Backpack

Garmin_eTrex_SE_7.jpg

- Disposable AA batteries instead of rechargeable batteries.

Honestly, I don't see anything that would affect the accurcy so significantly.

Thanks to everyone for the advice.

Sounds like you were very happy with your eTrex SE performance this time around!

Locating the device on the strap of your pack is a much better solution. Garmin do offer a Backpack Tether Mount for this application. See GPSrChive > eTrex SE > Accessories for additional options.

I am not surprised the older eTrex H outperformed the eTrex SE when placed inside a pants pocket, as the older device has a much more power hungry and far less efficient GPS chipset.

BTW, it does appear that Garmin are using the CPE file instead of the EPO file for the eTrex SE.

Also, we do not recommend using alkaline batteries in any of your devices. Even name brand batteries will leak and cause unwanted damage to the electronics. NiMH and Lithium are always preferred.

Thank you for posting this update!

I thought I had succeeded, but something is wrong again. Today this receiver stopped working completely - got stuck in a loop. After turning it on, it restarts itself over and over again - switches off and on, off and on, off and on. And so on endlessly. You have to hold the turn on/off button pressed for a long time to be able to turn it off. Another way is to remove the battery. After connecting to the computer, Garmin Express displays information that the receiver is not connected to the computer. Base Camp cannot connect to it either. This receiver is not visible in Windows Explorer, as if it was not connected to the computer.

What's the FW version of you eTrex SE? Symptoms sounds like a bug in previous firmware, where sometimes track log file became corrupted and eTrex SE went crazy accessing it. Newer FW should help.

4.2 version.