Hiking With Gpsr

[orthocole]

Just want to get some ideas about the best way to hike with a GPSr. It gets a little clumsy holding it in your outstretched hand, but if you keep it in your pocket, you can lose satellites. Thought about velcro-ing it to a hat, or maybe rigging up a remote antenna on my shoulder or hat and keeping the unit in my pocket. Or maybe the ultimate - shaving a patch of hair off the top of my head and crazy-gluing a remote antenna to my head - I'll always be ready!! Just wondering what you folks do. Thanks.

[+NightPilot]

It depends. If it's a short walk, I may carry the GPS in my hand. That's the way I do it most often. If it's going to be longer, and especially if it's going to be under trees, then an external antenna works well. Mine has magnets in it for attaching to the roof of the car, and I use a 1.5" washer from Home Depot in my hat to hold the antenna on top. No need for velcro, but that is an option. Columbia, I believe, makes a cap with a pocket in the front which will hold the antenna, but I prefer a hat with a larger brim, to keep the sun off me. YMMV.

Edited October 23, 2004 by NightPilot

[+Renegade Knight]

For a long walk as long as you have an idea where you are going just stick it in your pack. Check location every now and then.

[+leecee]

I put my GPSr in a small holder and attach it to the shoulder strap on my rucksac. That way I keep my hands free and the GPSr has a constantly clear view of the sky.

 

Works for me.

[+horsegeeks]

I put my GPSr in a small holder and attach it to the shoulder strap on my rucksac. That way I keep my hands free and the GPSr has a constantly clear view of the sky.

 

Works for me.

Could you describe this a little better or perhaps a picture please. This sounds interesting. Thanks

[CoyoteRed]

It really depends on the unit you carry. Units with a patch antenna need to be relatively flat while those with a quad need to be fairly upright.

 

We use a SporTrak series unit which needs to be fairly upright. I modified a leather cellphone glove for it. I have some of those quick release cellphone belt clips that I put on the shoulder strap of my pack or on my belt.

 

I try to situate the shoulder strap setup so the top of the unit is at least even with my shoulder. That way the only "satellite shadow" is from my head.

 

If I have it on my belt the shadow is from my whole body and only sometimes causes a problem.

 

Now, if you have the other type, like the Etrex series, it needs to be flat. I've seen setups where the unit is velcroed to the top of the shoulder strap to get both a decent view of the sky and hold it flat.

 

I don't care for velro in these situations because of the fact to make it secure you have to make it harder to get off, not to mention I'm sure it's fairly noisy right next to your ear.

 

I can see an advantage of using an external antenna. Make it secure on your shoulder strap at the very top of your shoulder and leave the main unit hanging upside down lower on your body so all you have to do is flip it up to look at it.

 

***Note: leather does not make a good GPS holder when it gets wet. The holder I made almost completely blocks signal when wet and considering we don't stop caching just because of a little rain...

[+Team DEMP]

I have a 76CS now and before that a GPS V. I hold it in my hand when I hike/cache and normally it's pretty flat. I'm used to it being in my hand. Unless I'm under dense cover I won't lose signal at all. In fact my last hike I didn't lose signal once the entire 7 mi hike. If I do lose signal, it's usually just for a moment.

 

Now I think the 76CS is supposed to be held vertically for "optimal reception" but I hold it horizontally and it does a tremendous job at maintaining the signal with the sats, so I'm not really sure how important the orientation of the GPS is, or at least mine.

[+briansnat]

Now that I have a 60CS I just clip it to my belt or pocket. I also attach the laynard with a carabiner to a belt loop because I really don't trust the clip. Its similar to a cell phone clip and not all that secure.

 

I also have an eTrex and they have to be held flat for good reception. I also had issues with carrying it in my hand for long hikes, so I solved it by buying the holder for the unit and clipping it to the shoulder strap of my pack. Works great. Here's a pic:

 

[+NightPilot]

Anything that holds water will interfere with reception when it gets wet. Water blocks GPS signals very effectively.

[+JohnnyVegas]

A layer of water will not create a problem with GPS reception in a newer GPSr, the older models that did not have the 12 channel receivers had this problem (The older models did not have very good receivers) but these have not been in production for many years. I use my Meridian gold mounted on my windshield all the time in heavy rain and have never had a problem with reception. Now you can not use a GPS under water but a layer of water in the surface of a container is not going to an issue.

[+NightPilot]

Johnny, ye know not whereof ye speak. A few millimeters of solid water will block GPS signals, and the number of channels is completely irrelevant. Your windshield is not completely water-covered - you do use your wipers, don't you?

[Dukie 'n' Dad]

I too use a "Cell Phone" pouch mounted high on my pack's shoulder strap to hold my e-trex Vista C. Has not been an issue at all. Easy to reach when I want to see the display, and it keeps very good signal as evidenced by very smooth 'tracks' that I have saved while hiking.

 

With a quad-helix antenna you could likely have the pouch lower on the strap to keep the antenna vertical.

[pepperblues]

Interesting discussion...

I took my MGold out into the mountains for the first time this weekend.

I got a really cool case that I put on the waist belt of my pack and

carried the GPS in there. Very handy to get to it and very safe when

I need both hands for climbing. We were in and out of tree cover

and in a tight canyon and light to moderate snow fall all day.

With the unit in the case, there was some loss of signal, but it never lost

a lock. I can get a lock, at home, when sitting in my study w/the blinds closed.

 

So far, so good!

pepperblues