Reception in the woods

QuestMan · **Posted:** Wed Feb 08, 2006 11:29 am

I've had a few GPSs (an Etrex, An Etrex Vista, and a Rino 110). They work great for Geocaching, for the most part, but I have a question: In HEAVY cover, (i.e., lots of trees), I have difficulty getting signals. What's the BEST GPS for heavy cover? I'm talkin' about when I'm in the Jeep, on the trail, in the deep North Michigan woods. For instance, does the Garmin GPS V, with detachable antenna work better than a an Etrex?

By the way, the Rino is a Helix antenna, Vs. the patch antenna on the Etrex series, and I still lose signal on it, usually about at the same time as on the Etrex's.

Can anyone out there who has had a couple of different styles/brands give an opinion?

brpn#1 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 09, 2006 7:40 am

i had a etrex before when i first got into geocaching.. it was fine in open fields..etc.. but then when i would go under tree cover.. it would drop.. i started doing research on geocaching.com forums.. i decided to return it and get a magellan sportrak pro.. it works so much better.. in fact i never have it loose signal up here in the mtns so far *knock on wood*.. im sure there are better ones now.. as i got mine in 2004.. checkout the forums over a geocaching.com.. im sure u will get more information.. those guys are HARDCORE lol

QuestMan · **Posted:** Thu Feb 09, 2006 10:19 pm

Thanks! I will. Ive been away from Geocaching too long, as it is.

I've been trying to find a way to Mr. Arvon, for a couple of years. I have Delorme Topo Usa, on my PC, and I tried using it and my GPS to get to Mt. Arvon last year. (Mt. Arvon is the tallest point in my state - only 1979 ft., but a LOT of fun to get to in a 4wd, since it's WAY back in the boonies.

From the state park I was staying at, it was about 59 miles to the top via the turn-by-turn route, given out by the DNR.
According to the Delorme Topo, you can do it in about 24. I tried once before, (Pre-GPS), and ended up, at one point, asking a couple of 'Yoopers' for directions. They were sitting in Barcoloungers, with a referigerator full of beer between them, a generator behind, (For the refrig and beer, of course), and a large army tent.

Needless to say, I didn't find the mountain THAT time.....although I kept hearing strains of 'Dueling Banjos' in the background, for some reason.................. :lol:

Anyway, I took the Libby out on the pre-approved route and made it last year. Then, I decided to try finding that 'short' route back. at one point, I was up to my stock axles in mud, but she STILL came through. Both my Garmins, however, lost lock. I never DID get a signal back, until I got within 5 miles of the nearest town.

So, short-story-long, THAT's why I want to see if I can get something with better 'tree-oriented' coverage.

p.s. I haven't given up on the fabled 'short-route' yet. I'm hopin' to get back up there this spring and finally conquer it. Maybe THAT's why my handle is Quest Man

brpn#1 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 10, 2006 7:51 am

haha.. you been out on an adventure.. i remember before i got a handheld gps.. i had one that hooked to my laptop.. omg.. it was such a pain.. anyways.. we were in the mtns.. my wife was the navagator with the GPS.. and well.. we got to one point where we lost GPS signal completely (the one i had only could pickup 4 satelites at a time not like the newer ones) so we sat in the car for hours trying to get the dang thing to pickup.. right then i told her no more.. we need a handheld one that track more satelites.. the magellan sportrac pro does 12 and it has WAAS technology for better accuracy..

the tallest point in my state is mt. mitchell which is 6,684 Feet and the tellest point on the east coast.. its 3 miles back from my house so we have lots of areas to explore.. lots of old fire roads.. forest roads.. logging roads..etc.. most right now are closed due to ice/weather.. hopefully in springtime we will explore some more..

good luck finding a new GPS.. there are so many choices.. sometimes its hard to decide.. my only suggestion is like i said above.. checkout the forums and reviews.. and then cross your fingers..

QuestMan · **Posted:** Fri Feb 10, 2006 10:11 am

Thanks! Actually, where you live sounds a LOT like northern Michigan. LOTS of old fire trails, logging trails, etc. Basically, 4X heaven. And, the trails change year-to-year, due to logging.

BTW I forgot to mention to you what a 'Yooper' is. Michigan is divided into 2 peninsulas- upper and lower: hence the nickname. The two peninsulas are connected via a 5 mile bridge, the Mackinac Bridge. As a result, Yoopers have given downstaters the nickname of 'Troll', for some odd reason. Something about how Trolls live below bridges............... :wink:

In any case, like I said it's 4X heaven! (Except one trail leads to another, then another, then you start hearing banjo music and hallucinating about seeing Warren Beaty..........) :lol:

LuckeyDuckey · **Posted:** Fri Feb 10, 2006 2:14 pm

we geocache but i don't have anything helpful except maybe to get a softtop TJ. we're vowing to never own anything but a convertible from now on since the satellite signals will go through the cloth top and you don't have to keep the gps suctioned to the windshield.

as for michigan--i lived in ohio for 6 years in the '90's and it's amazing the hatred those people have for your people. i was watching tv last night and on a sitcom someone compared canada to michigan saying canada was like michigan without the culture!

QuestMan · **Posted:** Sat Feb 11, 2006 9:32 am

It all boils down to that U. of M. vs. Ohio State rivalry.

In Michigan, I find it's worst around the Detroit area. In Ohio, it seems to start somewhere around Toledo, and ends just south of Cincinnati.................... :lol:

trailpixie · **Posted:** Fri Dec 08, 2006 5:27 pm

I have read some reviews that say Magellan is generally better under tree cover. I generally use mine hiking in the woods and it does a good job of keeping us in touch with the satelites. I have found this site to be the best resource for detailed GPS reviews:

http://gpsinformation.net/

Eddo · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1214

You need an external antenna if you want the best receptioin possible. If you mount the GPS receiver inside your Jeep (which I assume) you are already cutting off practically half the sky. The metal roof of your Jeep really attenuate the signal.

I have a Garmin 60c. Without an external antenna it worked well and only lost lock a few times. With an external antenna it works excellent and hasn't lost lock once.

You can pick up an inexpensive antenna (~20dollars) at gpscity.com

Reception in the woods

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