On Jan 5, 6:12*am, Tom Francis - SWSports
wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:07:18 -0500, wrote:
On Sun, 4 Jan 2009 19:06:23 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Being somewhat of a "high Tech Luddite", *I also prefer my compass to
GPS and would pack it before the GPS. *I can almost instantly use the
compass to take a bearing on something to be sure I have cleared a
potential obstacle. *Being a trigonometry geek, I just think
navigating with a compass and taking bearings is just elegant.
BTW, also being a caver, GPS doesnt work in caves, compass does.

A GPS really doesn't even work that well in the woods. I have 2 and I
always carry them on vacation (Idaho, Alaska, the Dakotas and Wyoming)
but you have to climb a tree to get enough satellites to establish a
fix. My wife was constantly making fun of me waving these in the air
trying to get 3 satellites.

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.

Ever.

They do work OK in the desert.

Well, to each their own.

--

"Far better it is to dare mighty things,
to win glorious triumphs even though
checkered by failure, than to rank with
those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor
suffer much because they live in the gray
twilight that knows neither victory nor
defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The Magellan in my truck has NEVER been unable to link to satellites.
Hellacious rainstorm, in the woods, no problem.

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

wrote:
On Sun, 4 Jan 2009 19:06:23 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Being somewhat of a "high Tech Luddite", I also prefer my compass to
GPS and would pack it before the GPS. I can almost instantly use the
compass to take a bearing on something to be sure I have cleared a
potential obstacle. Being a trigonometry geek, I just think
navigating with a compass and taking bearings is just elegant.
BTW, also being a caver, GPS doesnt work in caves, compass does.

A GPS really doesn't even work that well in the woods. I have 2 and I
always carry them on vacation (Idaho, Alaska, the Dakotas and Wyoming)
but you have to climb a tree to get enough satellites to establish a
fix. My wife was constantly making fun of me waving these in the air
trying to get 3 satellites.
They do work OK in the desert.


Does anyone have any experience with working the GPS from the centre of
a moving vehicle? Does it need to be near glass to receive signals?



--
Regards,
Dave Brown
Brown's Marina Ltd
http://brownsmarina.com/

"Dave Brown" wrote in message
news:bv2dnYZKLdMchv_UnZ2dnUVZ_rHinZ2d@wtccommunica tions.ca...
wrote:
On Sun, 4 Jan 2009 19:06:23 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Being somewhat of a "high Tech Luddite", I also prefer my compass to
GPS and would pack it before the GPS. I can almost instantly use the
compass to take a bearing on something to be sure I have cleared a
potential obstacle. Being a trigonometry geek, I just think
navigating with a compass and taking bearings is just elegant.
BTW, also being a caver, GPS doesnt work in caves, compass does.

A GPS really doesn't even work that well in the woods. I have 2 and I
always carry them on vacation (Idaho, Alaska, the Dakotas and Wyoming)
but you have to climb a tree to get enough satellites to establish a
fix. My wife was constantly making fun of me waving these in the air
trying to get 3 satellites. They do work OK in the desert.


Does anyone have any experience with working the GPS from the centre of a
moving vehicle? Does it need to be near glass to receive signals?



--
Regards,
Dave Brown
Brown's Marina Ltd
http://brownsmarina.com/

I didn't have the proper mounts but have used my old Magellan 315 and my 1
year old Garmin GPS MAP 60Cx from the dash of a Voyager mini-van and a
Ranger pickup with no problems. I did have the 12 volt adapter plugged into
the vehicle for power although I doubt that makes a difference.
.....and yes, I laid it almost horizontal on the dash with the antenna
positioned as far forward as possible.
I was a bit concerned about the sun shinning on the screen.

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:40:21 -0500, Dave Brown
wrote:

Does it need to be near glass to receive signals?

Generally speaking, yes. I usually put mine on the dash board near
the windshield.

On Jan 5, 9:40*am, Dave Brown wrote:
wrote:
On Sun, 4 Jan 2009 19:06:23 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Being somewhat of a "high Tech Luddite", *I also prefer my compass to
GPS and would pack it before the GPS. *I can almost instantly use the
compass to take a bearing on something to be sure I have cleared a
potential obstacle. *Being a trigonometry geek, I just think
navigating with a compass and taking bearings is just elegant.
BTW, also being a caver, GPS doesnt work in caves, compass does.

A GPS really doesn't even work that well in the woods. I have 2 and I
always carry them on vacation (Idaho, Alaska, the Dakotas and Wyoming)
but you have to climb a tree to get enough satellites to establish a
fix. My wife was constantly making fun of me waving these in the air
trying to get 3 satellites.
They do work OK in the desert.

Does anyone have any experience with working the GPS from the centre of
a moving vehicle? Does it need to be near glass to receive signals?

--
Regards,
* * * Dave Brown
* * * Brown's Marina Ltd
* * *http://brownsmarina.com/- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Dave, they do need to be near glass if they only have an internal
antenna. There are models that have a connector for an external, and
the external itself costs around $25. There are also units made that
have the external already with it. Especially on trips to places I've
never been, I don't know how I ever got along without a GPS. And
before Mapquest, how did I EVER know where I was?

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:40:21 -0500, Dave Brown
wrote:

wrote:
On Sun, 4 Jan 2009 19:06:23 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Being somewhat of a "high Tech Luddite", I also prefer my compass to
GPS and would pack it before the GPS. I can almost instantly use the
compass to take a bearing on something to be sure I have cleared a
potential obstacle. Being a trigonometry geek, I just think
navigating with a compass and taking bearings is just elegant.
BTW, also being a caver, GPS doesnt work in caves, compass does.

A GPS really doesn't even work that well in the woods. I have 2 and I
always carry them on vacation (Idaho, Alaska, the Dakotas and Wyoming)
but you have to climb a tree to get enough satellites to establish a
fix. My wife was constantly making fun of me waving these in the air
trying to get 3 satellites.
They do work OK in the desert.


Does anyone have any experience with working the GPS from the centre of
a moving vehicle? Does it need to be near glass to receive signals?

Never from center. Dashboard works great.

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:40:21 -0500, Dave Brown
wrote:

Does anyone have any experience with working the GPS from the centre of
a moving vehicle? Does it need to be near glass to receive signals?

Metal blocks all radio. If the roof is plastic or cloth you might get
signals, otherwise the glass.

Casady

"Dave Brown" wrote in message
news:bv2dnYZKLdMchv_UnZ2dnUVZ_rHinZ2d@wtccommunica tions.ca...
wrote:
On Sun, 4 Jan 2009 19:06:23 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:

Being somewhat of a "high Tech Luddite", I also prefer my compass to
GPS and would pack it before the GPS. I can almost instantly use the
compass to take a bearing on something to be sure I have cleared a
potential obstacle. Being a trigonometry geek, I just think
navigating with a compass and taking bearings is just elegant.
BTW, also being a caver, GPS doesnt work in caves, compass does.

A GPS really doesn't even work that well in the woods. I have 2 and I
always carry them on vacation (Idaho, Alaska, the Dakotas and Wyoming)
but you have to climb a tree to get enough satellites to establish a
fix. My wife was constantly making fun of me waving these in the air
trying to get 3 satellites. They do work OK in the desert.


Does anyone have any experience with working the GPS from the centre of a
moving vehicle? Does it need to be near glass to receive signals?



--
Regards,
Dave Brown
Brown's Marina Ltd
http://brownsmarina.com/

My wife's Garmin Nuvi will work in the front seat. Maybe just near enough
to to glass to get a signal. Also would depend on the car. Some cars have
a nickle coating on the windshield and the Fastrac transponders will not
work in them, may also apply to GPS.

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:40:21 -0500, Dave Brown
wrote:

Does anyone have any experience with working the GPS from the centre of
a moving vehicle? Does it need to be near glass to receive signals?

As a general rule, yes.

You can receive signals away from windows depending on where the
constellation is at any one given time, but that can be a hit or miss
situation. If it's located near the floor, probably not. If it was
sitting on your lap though, it will work, but not with the same
accuracy - it all depends on the location of the constellation at the
time, where the GPS is located, etc.

There are situations where even situated near glass it will struggle
with finding satellites - something about how the glass is coated or
the composition of the substrate film used to make safety glass. Some
RFI devices (like Easy Pass transponders) don't work on certian cars
for that reason.

I can receive GPS signal in the middle of my house - then again, I'm
located fairly high and it's a one story ranch.