Gps Reception On Mountain Trail

[wshelley46060]

Last weekend I took a hike in the Smokies. On previous hikes there I always lost reception underneath heavy foliage or when up against a mountain side. This time I used an external antenna and had continuous reception.

 

I mounted the antenna on the top of a baseball cap that I wore throughout the hike. I felt a little conspicuous, and looked really nerdy. But it worked.

 

I didn't need to worry about holding the GPS up for good reception, so I could stow it in a vest pocket when I didn't need to be looking at it.

 

It was gratifying to review the track log with elevations after the hike. My hike along the Rainbow Falls trail pretty much matched the trail found in Garmin's Nation Parks East Topo map.

 

Has any one else thought to use an antenna on a hat? Is it a little too weird? In the privacy of my back yard I found that lining the hat with aluminum foil improves reception. I don't have the nerve to try this in public....

[+Doug_K3DUG]

I velcroed mine to the top of my back pack. Works good there too.

 

Doug

[coureur des bois]

I use an antenna every time I go in the woods. I put this antenna under my hat (Tilly hat during the summer, and an other kind during the winter). The only thing people see is the wire behind my head, about 2 inches of black wire. People dont notice it. reception is very good with that.

I tried Garmin antenna (GA 27 C) and Gilson. Garmin antenna is better than the other one I think. I get a fix more rapidly.

 

Jacques

[jmason4531]

Trimble makes a baseball cap with a built-in pocket on the top of the cap in which an external patch antenna can be placed. An antenna in the pocket is very inconspicuous, with only the antenna lead showing down your neck. I have used this set-up and had very good reception while hiking under fairly dense canopy.

 

Here is a URL to an online store. $20 for the cap + shipping

 

http://store.elecdata.com/trimble/ce_cap.aspx

[peter]

Trimble makes a baseball cap with a built-in pocket on the top of the cap in which an external patch antenna can be placed. An antenna in the pocket is very inconspicuous, with only the antenna lead showing down your neck.

I sewed a small piece of stretchy cloth inside the top of my hiking cap to create the same type of pocket. Only took a few minutes and it holds the Gilsson antenna very securely.

[jbclimber]

wshelley46060, which external antenna did you use?

[wshelley46060]

Gilsson MCX Amplified antenna 9 ft black (MCX9B)

GArmin 60cs

[+Sputnik 57]

wshelley46060, which external antenna did you use?

I missed wshelley's tag line and was about to ask the same question. Seems a little silly in retrospect.