Garmin Etrex pause / standby?

[saturn]

I can't find a pause / standby feature on the menu or in the manual - but maybe I'm missing the obvious. What do you all do at cafe stops? I was expecting some sort of pause so the tracklog doesn't record my stroll into and around cafes etc and maybe something to save power without powering down entirely. The spec's talk about acquisition times for hot/warm/cold start but I have no idea when/how these apply.

[MercuryKev]

just switch it off, it'll resume navigation when you switch it back on.

[fuaran]

For audaxes etc, I usually just leave it on the bike, switched on. That means that the total time keeps counting, and I can check the overall average speed remains above the minimum.

There isn't really any sort of pause mode on the eTrexes. You can just switch the GPS receiver part off - go to the satellite screen, press menu, then "Use with GPS off". This will stop the trip computer, and save some power, but you have to remember to switch the GPS back on again. So its probably quicker / easier to just switch the eTrex off fully.
Unless you want to look at the trip computer / map page etc while sitting in the cafe.

[frankly frankie]

When you switch back on after a 1/2-hour break it will re-lock in a few seconds.

Whether this is more power-efficient than just leaving it on (outdoors)  - I don't know, it's quite possible its better just to leave it on.
But if you remove it and take it in with you, better to switch it off I think.

[kevinp]

I have been using mine for a while now and if I am out on a ride and go inside anywhere I just leave it on. I haven't had any problems with it as the batteries seem to last a long time.

[robgul]

If you are also capturing the track in an etrex and you stop for, say, 30 minutes, the track when you download it will have a "spike" in it ... apparently something to do with being locked onto a satellite group that then moves across the universe while the machine is at a fixed point.  (Well, that was how it was explained to me!)

Rob

[saturn]

When you switch back on after a 1/2-hour break it will re-lock in a few seconds.

Whether this is more power-efficient than just leaving it on (outdoors)  - I don't know, it's quite possible its better just to leave it on.
But if you remove it and take it in with you, better to switch it off I think.

Ah yes, I've just tried it - I guess this is what hot/warm/start refers to. A cold start took 75 seconds including boot up and acquisition.

Start up after 30 minutes off took 15 seconds including acquisition which was negligible.

In that case, I'll simply turn it off - I was more interested in avoiding the 75 second wait (doesn't sound like much but it would seem like an age if others were waiting for you, scoffing about the zero acquisition time of the routesheet) and a messy track than worrying about saving the battery.

If you are also capturing the track in an etrex and you stop for, say, 30 minutes, the track when you download it will have a "spike" in it ... apparently something to do with being locked onto a satellite group that then moves across the universe while the machine is at a fixed point.  (Well, that was how it was explained to me!)

I took mine out (in the car) last night to check how track recording worked. There was a huge spike for the 5 minutes while I sat in a car park fiddling with the GPS while waiting for my daughter to appear.

[frankly frankie]

Consecutive GPS fixes are not the same - that's the nature of the system.  A single trackpoint is averaged from several GPS fixes - say 5 or so.  Its like giving a drunkard 5 darts to throw at the bullseye - none of them will hit but you may get a reasonable 'fix' from the 5-dart spread ...
So, if the GPS remains stationary, the track may wander.

I must say though, in my experience, the GPS seems to identify and cope with this situation pretty well - the bike left standing for 30 minutes only generates 2 or 3 points I find - sometimes only 1.

If you switch off and on again you create a break in the track - a track consists of one or more 'segments' and each break starts a new segment, but still within the same track - can happen under trees or in tunnels as well - most software deals with this gracefully and you hardly notice it.

[321up]

I'm also looking for a counter pause and track record pause on my etrex 30.  I don't want the time setting it up before the ride and the time reviewing after the ride to be included in the trip counter stats or the recorded track.

There isn't really any sort of pause mode on the eTrexes. You can just switch the GPS receiver part off - go to the satellite screen, press menu, then "Use with GPS off". This will stop the trip computer, and save some power, but you have to remember to switch the GPS back on again. So its probably quicker / easier to just switch the eTrex off fully.
Unless you want to look at the trip computer / map page etc while sitting in the cafe.

... I don't see a "Use with GPS off" menu option on the etrex 30 satellite screen.

[Kim]

The 30 calls it "demo mode".  It's the same thing.

[frankly frankie]

Or you can switch the Track recording off and on, in the Menu>Setup>Tracks page.

[Kim]

Or you can switch the Track recording off and on, in the Menu>Setup>Tracks page.

That presumably won't stop the odometers.