# Legend question



## tjstebb (Jun 5, 2006)

hey guys and gals i have a question.....

first off i have a garmin etrex legend and i know these are starter gps but i bought it last year for a trip to canada and i am going to use again this year up there!
Anyway last year i got lost on a island with this thing and luckily the guy picking us up at dark caught a glimpse of us heading in the wrong direction when he arrived with the boat and he had a radio to guide us out of the swamp we where heading into....I had it set on the compass and of course we where walking at night and apparently too slow for it and the needle kept jumping and we just walked in the wrong direction my question is: Has there been a fix for this or what do you guys with this unit do to get around this? We are heading back up in 2 weeks and we plan to get WAY back off the road but you can get seriously lost up there so i am a bit concerned....any tips or help would be great and of course we will have reg. compass but would like to be able to depend on the gps too!
thanks,
tjstebb


----------



## Hotwired (Jan 24, 2001)

I would turn it on and make a trail while going in and then zoom in on the trail and follow it going out.
Or mark some waypoints going in and make a route out of them to follow going out.


----------



## hitechman (Feb 25, 2002)

tjstebb said:


> hey guys and gals i have a question.......................I had it set on the compass and of course we where walking at night and apparently too slow ...........................thanks,
> tjstebb


The Legend *DOES NOT* have a compass....that is the bearing/course page. It's ppossible to use it as a compass as long as your are moving and have a clear view of the sky.

Set a waypoint when you start your trek in, and rememebr its name/number. When you are ready to head out do a "go to" and choose that waypoint.

Steve


----------



## tokenfinn (May 9, 2006)

The compass in the Legend and the GPSMap76 is a reactive compass. You need to be in motion for it to work. It calculates your direction from a relationship from your current position from your previous position. If you stop it won't be able to show you any direction. The upgraded Etrex (vista) and GPSMap 76s has an electronic compass, which works like a normal compass. The one draw back in having this feature enabled is that it will cut your battery life in half, at least.


----------



## hitechman (Feb 25, 2002)

tokenfinn said:


> The compass in the Legend and the GPSMap76 is a reactive compass. You need to be in motion for it to work. It calculates your direction from a relationship from your current position from your previous position. If you stop it won't be able to show you any direction. The upgraded Etrex (vista) and GPSMap 76s has an electronic compass, which works like a normal compass. The one draw back in having this feature enabled is that it will cut your battery life in half, at least.


YUP......................and the electronic compass should be recalibrated often by choosing the calibration mode and slowly turning in a circle.

Steve


----------

