Vista C Showing Poor Reception Under Tree Cover

[shortwaver]

This is my first gps unit and I've had it for about a week. I've gone on 3 cache hunts and have had pretty good results until today. I was in a forest in Northern RI and had problems maintaining a signal in a few spots. The trouble is that these spots had dry tree cover with about 60 percent of the sky blocked. I could see enough of the sky to track a plane if it was flying overhead.

I had heard, and expected that the signal lock would not be as good as the Magellans but I was surprised that with a great, dry day and visible sky, that I would loose a signal.

Now, since I'm new to this, I may be expecting too much. Has anyone else had similar issues with these units?

 

Thanks,

Shortwaver

[+Alan2]

1. Move to the desert.

2. Wait for winter after the leaves fall

3. Orient your Vista so its level

4. Set it on a log so its steady for a minute and can acquire the sats.

 

Good luck

Edited October 7, 2004 by Alan2

[+graldrich]

Get a Magellan Meridian!Problem solved!

[+as77]

This surprises me somewhat. Others have reported very good results under tree cover with the Vista C.

[+graldrich]

Why are you surprised when it has the same patch antenna as the other etrex's which are known not to do well under a tree canopy!

[+as77]

Because several people have reported that it's much better than the old Etrexes because of improved technology.

[+robert]

Alan2 had the best answers so far, even with just a twinge of sarcasm.

 

Sometimes taking a break and either setting it flat on a log (face up, of course!) or just holding it out in front of you works well with letting it re-establish a link with the sats. Don't listen to the stuff about the Magellans. I've used both and had my SporTrak Color lose reception while an Etrex Yellow kept it (during a heavy summer downpour in thick woods) It's going to happen from time-to-time, not a lot you can do with it but what was suggested. If it turns out to be a problem with all Vista C, perhaps Garmin can/will put out a firmware update. I wouldn't sweat it.

[moonpup]

I have a VistaC as well, and I will say that mine obtains and holds satellite locks very well. I can sit in my living room with the shades down and still obtain a lock with 18-30 ft accuracy.

 

Granted sometimes under really heavy tree cover, the accuracy degrades a bit, but I rarely lose total lock. Sometimes you just have to stop and let the gps re-orient itself.

 

Cheers!

[Phoenix2001]

Did you make a note of where the satellites were? Sky blockage of 60 percent could be at problem if you were there when there weren't many satellites overhead. The distribution of satellites varies and sometimes one is taken out of service for maintenance for a day and sometimes more days on unknown failures.

 

See:

http://www.gpsmap.net/SatellitePatterns.html

 

If you can find another cacher with an old or new eTrex that works well, it might help if you can compare yours to theirs to see if yours is working correctly.

[+as77]

If you can find another cacher with an old or new eTrex that works well, it might help if you can compare yours to theirs to see if yours is working correctly.

The new one is supposed to work much better than the old one, so I would only suggests new ones for comparison.

[shortwaver]

Thanks for the info. One thing I didn't add was that I hold it in my hand, not horizontally, most of the time. These are all good ideas that I will use to see if I can improve reception. I guess what surprised me is that when I read of it's so-so recertion, I thought it was in thick overhead. Something that I wasn't under. I'm also glad to hear that Magellan's may not be a whole lot better because I totally stressed making the decision between the Meridian and the Vista.

 

~Shortwaver

 

Not all those who wander are lost... -- J.R.R. Tolkien

[+as77]

I found this on gpsinformation.net:

 

"For a GPS to lock on, it must receive a COMPLETE navigation message that takes 30 seconds to transmit from each satellite. If you are moving, the slightest blockage from a tree limb or reflection from a building will prevent perfect reception, so the 30 second cycle is repeated -over and over. The best thing to do is hold the unit perfectly still so that the signals to the unit don't "flicker" and ruin the reception. Once locked on and under way, there is so much signal redundancy, the unit will remain locked even with partial signal reception. So, get lock first, and travel later!"

 

In my experience, this really helps a lot. When you get out of your car, while in the open, before going into the woods, put the GPS on the top of the car and wait a few minutes so that the unit can get a perfect lock under the open sky with as many satellites as possible. After that, it will hold the lock very well even in the thickest of woods.

[+pcmike]

Thanks for the info.  One thing I didn't add was that I hold it in my hand, not horizontally, most of the time.  These are all good ideas that I will use to see if I can improve reception.  I guess what surprised me is that when I read of it's so-so recertion, I thought it was in thick overhead.  Something that I wasn't under.  I'm also glad to hear that Magellan's may not be a whole lot better because I totally stressed making the decision between the Meridian and the Vista. 

 

~Shortwaver

 

Not all those who wander are lost... -- J.R.R. Tolkien

Don't stress over the dumb 'Garmin vs. Magellan' debate. You picked the right unit! For as many people who say Magellans finish first, there is the same number who say the same about Garmin. They're only giving their personal experience and at the end of the day the sum of everyone's total experience(s) cancel each other out.

 

<spin>

Now with that in mind, I can tell you that my Garmin has always beat out my friend's Magellan! No joke!

</spin>

 

Edited October 7, 2004 by pcmike

[shortwaver]

Much good info. Thanks!!!

 

~Shortwaver

[+robert]

Thanks for the info. One thing I didn't add was that I hold it in my hand, not horizontally, most of the time. These are all good ideas that I will use to see if I can improve reception. I guess what surprised me is that when I read of it's so-so recertion, I thought it was in thick overhead. Something that I wasn't under. I'm also glad to hear that Magellan's may not be a whole lot better because I totally stressed making the decision between the Meridian and the Vista.

yes, holding it level definitely makes it better. the antenna is a flat one, right below the garmin "globe" at the top of the unit. that's what reportedly makes a patch antenna "less sensitive" than the quad helix (which is supposed to be able to receive in most any direction--this is what the magellans and other garmins like the 60-series use) try holding it flat in your hand so it can receive sats well and see how that goes, it should help a lot.

[Dukie 'n' Dad]

One thing I didn't add was that I hold it in my hand, not horizontally, most of the time.

 

That will do it. With my Vista C, if I hold it out flat (even if it is down at my side) it will never lose it's lock. As soon as I let it hand from my neck on it's strap, I'm almost guaranteed to hear it beep that it lost lock.

 

Keep it flat and you should be much better off.

 

That said, I have had days where the sats just have not been in a good position to my terrain. Never actually lost a lock, but accuracy went all to heck with 40+ foot reported accuracy.

 

On the flip side, I've had really good days where the WAAS signal was strong and could get 11 other sats giving a reported accuracy of only 3 ft.

 

Either way, hold the unit flat so that the label above the screen is pointing to the sky.

[+Alan2]

The Vista's got to be held horizontally to get the magnetc compass to work properly too.

 

good luck

[MacBandit]

If you have WAAS on turn it off. I've found that if you are in an area where there is no way you can see a low horizon WAAS satellite then you are far better turning it off as it tends to cause the GPS to react slowly which causes issues with signal lock. Also if you are on a slow moving trail with a lot of twists and turns it can help to have the compass on so the unit always knows the orientation of the sky.