Need a More Stable GPS

[+BernieHunt]

I'm currently using a Sportrac Color and I have a lot of problems getting a solid lock on coordinates. Under tree cover I end of having to manually average out a location. It will point to one location, then I wait a minute or two and then it points to another location, etc. I do this five or six times and then figure out the one it points to most.

 

Is anyone else having better success with another model or is this typical?

 

How about an external antenna?

 

If so, what GPS and antenna is recommended?

 

Thanks for any input.

 

Bernie

[Kerry.]

Trees don't do GPS signals any favours and being as weak as the signal is if the signal is obstructed then it really doesn't matter what type of antenna one has. There appears at times a rather over expectation with things like trees, buildings etc.

 

For sure there's things one can do that can "possibly" affect the "chance" of an issue. External antenna's help reduce the "chance" of a person's interference, always facing the equator with a handheld gives one the best possible "chance" to also reduce signal obstruction. Actually get out from under the tree is the best of all

 

The problem/issue is going to be totally variable and dynamic as maybe come back to exactly the same position some time latter and there might not appear a problem then.

 

Cheers, Kerry.

 

I never get lost everybody keeps telling me where to go

[+Rubberhead]

Of course I never used it for geocaching, but I had a Garmin GPS 128 with an external antenna that would get a solid lock in the ground floor of my 2-story house.

 

Ducks - Flying, great tasting, geocaches of meat

[+sindigo]

quote:

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I'm currently using a Sportrac Color and I have a lot of problems getting a solid lock on coordinates. Under tree cover I end of having to manually average out a location. It will point to one location, then I wait a minute or two and then it points to another location, etc. I do this five or six times and then figure out the one it points to most.

 

Is anyone else having better success with another model or is this typical?

 

How about an external antenna?

 

If so, what GPS and antenna is recommended?

 

Thanks for any input.

 

Bernie

---

 

Hmmm...my SportTrack Color works GREAT!! I get an EPE of 25 feet when in my house. While out geocaching the only time it starts to jump is when I'm within 5 ft. of the cache. For me, it has been an extremely accurate GPSr.

 

Troy

sindigo

[+GeckoGeek]

quote:

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Originally posted by BernieHunt:

I'm currently using a Sportrac Color and I have a lot of problems getting a solid lock on coordinates. Under tree cover ....

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I'll have to defer to the more experienced, but the satellite positioning can play a big role as well. The other day I had a heck of a time getting a lock of any kind. The unit saw 3 satellites and I had a good view of the sky, but the 3 sats were all in a line. I had to wait a good 5 minutes or more before things moved enough that the unit could come up with a position.

 

Likewise if the sats are all in the part of the sky that's obstructed, your going to have problems.

 

I keep reading about how they'll put GPS into phones so that they can be located in an emergency and just laugh. I get them feeling the people pushing the idea don't use a GPS themselves.

[+apersson850]

I agree fully. Use your satellite screen and check if there are a good number of satellites above. Satellites closely grouped right above you don't give any optimal sat geometry, but they may give you any positioning at all under tree cover. Satellites all spread out give the best geometry, but then many of them may be obstructed by objects around you, like trees and/or buildings.

 

Anders

[+Firefishe]

quote:

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Originally posted by Anders.:

I agree fully. Use your satellite screen and check if there are a good number of satellites above. Satellites closely grouped right above you don't give any optimal sat geometry, but they may give you any positioning at all under tree cover. Satellites all spread out give the best geometry, but then many of them may be obstructed by objects around you, like trees and/or buildings.

 

Anders

---

 

Or, if you're in the woods, giant weaselgnomes (which are to be feared!) (please reference below for the weaselgnome allusion):

 

http://ubbx.Groundspeak.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=5726007311&f=6216058331&m=38760426&r=39960667#39960667

 

Happy Caching!

 

Firefishe

Caching In On The Journey

 

 

The year is 2003.

The name is S.A. Brown.

BrowNAV (Brown Navigation)

[+apersson850]

You know, I've found that the geo-suit also works as a repellant to weaselgnomes, so they don't bother me any longer.

 

Anders

[+TEAM 360]

My Magellan Platinum does the same thing. First it overshoots the coords, then it tells me go there, then over there, then over there...sometimes I want to throw it as hard as I can down on the ground and laugh as it smashes into a billion little pieces.

[Kerry.]

quote:

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Originally posted by TEAM 360:

My Magellan Platinum does the same thing. First it overshoots the coords ....

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That has all the hallmarks of auto averaging, why they don't make this a user switchable option is a laugh also, they switch/select some of the more useless features on/off but auto averaging, oh no completely stuck in their (old) ways.

 

Cheers, Kerry.

 

I never get lost everybody keeps telling me where to go