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CalifBill

"Tom Francis - SWSports" wrote in
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On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:47:13 -0500, wrote:

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:12:16 -0500, Tom Francis - SWSports
wrote:

I've heard that before and I find it an interesting comment. We have
some fairly dense woods around my house - 100 plus acres of woods in
fact mostly swamp oak, pine, hemlock, birch and sugar/swamp/rock
maple. Most trees are in the 40/45 foot category and in the summer
there is a dense canopy.

Back when I was still an active hunter, I used my GPS all the time
over in the Natchaug Forest and up along the Mass border where there
are more pine trees in the swamps than you can shake a stick at.

Never had a problem getting three satellites to obtain a fix.

Maybe it is just the shape/composition of the mountains, the latitude
or something but neither GPS worked worth a damn in Alaska, Idaho or
the Dakotas.
They were OK in Arizona and New Mexico. I have no problems in my boat
either but I am never lost enough to need one poking around in the
mangroves.

I can't say anything other than it's worked for me. Much to my
embarrassement, I was talking to a friend who is a big time deer
hunter and he was telling me, unsolicited I might add, that his GPS
gave him fits this weekend during bow season for deer. He was hunting
my property so it wasn't a location thing.

And, strangely, I've had problems with the RC400 even on open water
with the receiver losing lock although that was fixed with a firmware
update.

I've had this opinion, based on nothing other than observation and a
very megar understanding of GPS satellite communications (which is
nothing like other satellite communications) that folks in the
northern latitudes don't get as strong a signal as folks further
south. Just this past week, I got instant locks on my car's GPS - a
full spectrum of 12 satellites even time I turned it on and that was
in South Carolina. Up here, it takes a good 30 seconds for it to get
a 5 satelite lock to start working and the constellation is generally
clustered around the satellite that traverses the North Pole at the
time which limits the amount of sky available. Compared to the
constellation aquired in SC which was a fairly broad spectrum of sky.

Dunno.

--

"Every normal man must be tempted at times
to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag,
and begin to slit throats."

H. L. Mencken

I can get lost in the Sacramento Delta without the gps. And during low
waters some of the higher levies will cause lock loss. But most of the time
good reception everywhere. Both the Garmin 162 and 76cx.