Antennas and Trees

[guanavalleyguy]

I saw an ad for the Garmin 60 Csx that said something about the antenna working better than other units "when your sky is more green than blue" - or something like that. I don't own a gps and I find myself under a pretty tight canopy of trees when in the woods here in Fla. and really need a gps that can break through that canopy.

 

I would appreciate it if anyone could shine some light on which units are the best at reception under heavy tree cover?

 

Is the 60csx really better than a cheaper model?

 

Thanks!

[+blindleader]

Contrary to traditional OWT's (Old Wives' Tales) it isn't the antenna so much as the receiver circuitry and its software.

 

A receiver with a sirf chip will work much better on the ground than older units. In the Garmin line, an x in the model number means it's a sirf unit. Aside from the sirf chip, the only significant difference that price makes within a model line is the bells and whistles, not positional performance

[+birddog14]

Contrary to traditional OWT's (Old Wives' Tales) it isn't the antenna so much as the receiver circuitry and its software.

 

A receiver with a sirf chip will work much better on the ground than older units. In the Garmin line, an x in the model number means it's a sirf unit. Aside from the sirf chip, the only significant difference that price makes within a model line is the bells and whistles, not positional performance

 

 

actually the x in the model of the Garmin line means it has a removeable microSD flash memory card not that it is a SIRF unit...

 

but the SIRF receiver does make a big difference in satellite reception...I have had a signal lock in a 5 story parking garage and even in the elevator of the parking garage...granted the signal in the elevator at the parking garage wasn't the greatest, but it did maintain a lock

Edited March 19, 2007 by birddog14

[guanavalleyguy]

Contrary to traditional OWT's (Old Wives' Tales) it isn't the antenna so much as the receiver circuitry and its software.

 

A receiver with a sirf chip will work much better on the ground than older units. In the Garmin line, an x in the model number means it's a sirf unit. Aside from the sirf chip, the only significant difference that price makes within a model line is the bells and whistles, not positional performance

 

 

actually the x in the model of the Garmin line means it has a removeable microSD flash memory card not that it is a SIRF unit...

 

but the SIRF receiver does make a big difference in satellite reception...I have had a signal lock in a 5 story parking garage and even in the elevator of the parking garage...granted the signal in the elevator at the parking garage wasn't the greatest, but it did maintain a lock

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll be sure to find a unit with sirf.

 

Nice hawg biddog14! I was scouting for turkey season last week, got deep into a swamp with a thick canopy that I'd never been in before, got turned around and couldn't find my way out for a while. The thought then occurred to me that it might be nice to have a gps if I'm going into a big place I don't know!

[Neo_Geo]

In the Garmin line, an x in the model number means it's a sirf unit.

actually the x in the model of the Garmin line means it has a removeable microSD flash memory card not that it is a SIRF unit...

Uhhh... you're both wrong! The "x" in the model means it's an "'X'-treme handheld". The Legend Cx, Vista Cx, and Venture Cx units do not have SiRF chipsets. The Venture Cx doesn't have any memory card (you must supply your own for that model).