Proximity Alerts - Bug? [Bug 108]
Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 12:39 am
Sorry this is a bit long, but want the whole history here to help others try to duplicate. My GPSMAP 66 is running firmware 6.0 and GPS chipset 2.8. I had noticed that the new proximity alerts feature was spotty for me from the start. I did not post anything earlier because I wanted to give a good effort to nailing down what was happening so others can try to reproduce it. I knew I was getting some alerts because whenever I turn on the 66 at home if I have the distance set to over about 200' it alerts me to the one right close by. I had also received alerts in the field at times. Hiking, driving, biking, speed did not seem to matter, I got an alert. But then I noticed a couple times that I had hiked right by a geocache and not received an alert. The first two times that happened, they were found caches so I thought maybe that was the common thing. But then I realized I have found the one near my house that always alerts so that was not it. And, last week, I hiked by two that did not alert and both were unfound by me.
So I decided to go at it methodically and after a couple outings paying close attention have figured out this is what is happening with my 66st:
When I power it on, it will find the first cache that triggers within the set proximity distance. So today, for example, I turned on the unit and drove to a hiking trail. The first cache I passed in the car, I got an alert. Then I drove right by a few more that did not alert. I turned the unit off until I reached the trailhead. Then powered on, started the tracking and headed out. The first cache, (which is found my me), alerted when I broke the 300' distance I had set today. Then next cache I approached did not alert. AH HA! I turned the 66 off and backtracked well more than 300'. Powered it back up and this time as I approached the same cache the alert triggered. Seeing that there was another cache about 1/2 mile up the trail, I kept going and did not get an alert for that one either. I have now done this about 10 more times for different caches with the same result.
100% of the time I get the alert for the first cache I approach. 100% of the time I will not get any more alerts unless I power cycle the unit. Then I will get the next alert and agaion, no more until I power off and on. So each time I am getting the first proximity alert as expected after power on, but only that one, no more.
Thinking it might be something other than just power off and on, I also tried leaving the 66 on after the 1st alert but turning off and back on satellites. That did not work. So for me, I need to power cycle the 66 after each proximity alert in order to get the next alert.
If other can't reproduce, Monday I will load some geocaches on to my wife's 66 and check it on that unit also.
So I decided to go at it methodically and after a couple outings paying close attention have figured out this is what is happening with my 66st:
When I power it on, it will find the first cache that triggers within the set proximity distance. So today, for example, I turned on the unit and drove to a hiking trail. The first cache I passed in the car, I got an alert. Then I drove right by a few more that did not alert. I turned the unit off until I reached the trailhead. Then powered on, started the tracking and headed out. The first cache, (which is found my me), alerted when I broke the 300' distance I had set today. Then next cache I approached did not alert. AH HA! I turned the 66 off and backtracked well more than 300'. Powered it back up and this time as I approached the same cache the alert triggered. Seeing that there was another cache about 1/2 mile up the trail, I kept going and did not get an alert for that one either. I have now done this about 10 more times for different caches with the same result.
100% of the time I get the alert for the first cache I approach. 100% of the time I will not get any more alerts unless I power cycle the unit. Then I will get the next alert and agaion, no more until I power off and on. So each time I am getting the first proximity alert as expected after power on, but only that one, no more.
Thinking it might be something other than just power off and on, I also tried leaving the 66 on after the 1st alert but turning off and back on satellites. That did not work. So for me, I need to power cycle the 66 after each proximity alert in order to get the next alert.
If other can't reproduce, Monday I will load some geocaches on to my wife's 66 and check it on that unit also.