[OSM-newbies] Garmin eTrex 20/30 - is altimeter important for recording GPS data for mapping?

[Steve Bennett]

On Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 6:07 AM, Cartinus <cartinus at xs4all.nl> wrote:
> The Garmins don't have a pure barometric altimeter. They combine the
> height from the GPS measurements with the barometric pressure. They are
> "auto calibrated" over a period of twenty minutes.


That's a configurable setting. You can use it as a "pure barometric
altimeter" if you really want.

Personally I have the Oregon 550 and frequently use both the altimeter
and compass (not for mapping though). Both can be disabled if you
really want to save battery life, but even with both on, you typically
get 10 hours from a set of rechargeables.

Steve