Hey Siskiyou!!

[agdexter]

How does your Garmin Legend work in the big woods? I have been reading that they often have trouble getting a signal under tree cover. How has yours worked, say before the leaves fall and after they fall. I don't want to take it to the mountain, if I won't get a good signal most of the time. The mountain is mostly hardwoods.

[Siskiyou]

agdexter:

I lose the signal when walking under heavy canopy.(60%+)  Then it will suddenly pop up again.  I assume that at that location I have the right angle on the satellites.  The same thing happens in the house.  It will work at the dinning room table but not in my easy chair.  I was watching a surveyor mapping a site in the woods.  He had an antenna mounted on a packframe.  I suspect the instrutment he was using cost thousands of dollars.  I not ready to carry five pounds of antenna with me.  

When things dry out a little I plan on making a trip with a buddy and his gps to practice.  There is some very heavy cover from two hundred foot high trees in the area.  It will be an interesting test.  I suspect that we will have to move out of the timber into the brush to get a signel.

[agdexter]

Hey Siskiyou, thanks for the help.

[Siskiyou]

agdexter:

One of the things I do not like about the Legend is the attachment for the cord that it hangs on places the antenna on the bottom.  I believe this causes it to lose the satellites in marginal locations.  I suspect that in most cases carrying it in a pouch would be the best way.  Have it turn-off and expect a delay in acquiring signel.

Siskiyou

[Siskiyou]

Another lesson:

I was out in the woods yesterday cutting firewood.  Of course I took my gps with me to insure the cut wood found its way into the bed of pickup.

My vehicle was located in the bottom of a gulch.  The cover was Pines up to 150+ feet and 50 foot oaks.  I could see many openings of blue sky.  I created a waypoint and would go back and check the gps evey little bit for any changes.  Accuracy started out at 74 feet and changed to 24 feet.  Elevation started out at almost 2400 feet and settled down at +2000 feet.  Two thousand was corret.  These numbers where all developed at the same location.  The location of my new waypoint appeared to be correct to other know waypoints.

My thoughts are that when path finding and elevation is important, one my want to leave the gps on a few minutes and let it settle down to get a more accurate elevation.  I realize that one should only use the elevation on this instrument as a estimate.  But if I am heading for a Mt. pass It is far easyier to adjust my angle of attack two miles back instead of at two hundred yards and have to go directly uphill on a 80% slope.

Siskiyou

[TedTF]

The elevation on standard GPS(without WAAS) is going to be inherintly flawed because of sateliite movement.  WAAS was developed mainly for airplane guidance and elevation so the satellites being geosynchronis give an great improvement in elevation accuracy.  The problem is that WAAS satellites are  low orbiting to keep them in a geosynchronis orbit with the Earth, thus if you are behind a hill, etc.; and the southern sky view is blockes, WAAS will not be easily received.

[Siskiyou]

I have to agree with you.  I can get WASS signel in a long North/South Valley and that is about it.  No obstructions for a hundred miles.  Going back to 1st base, I feel the hunter's gps need not be accurate down to a few feet.  For most of my life I have gotton by with a flat map, topo map, or a fair sense of direction.  But I consider a good map, a compass, and a gps as a set of tools that give me a little bit of enjoyment.  Hopefully when the snow goes off in the high country at can do some practice hikes using the gps and a topo so that I can have true field experience with it.

I did look at the GPS76 Map felt that I wanted the smaller unit.  A friend bought one for his sailboat and is happy with it.  I day pack keeps get bigger.

Siskiyou

[Siskiyou]

agdexter:

Looking back on your orginal question and my responses.   My old answer related to the location I was checking out at the time which was near a ridge top with oak canopy.  

Yesterday's experience was in a deep river canyon about a mile above the confluence with another river in a deep canyon.  The trail I was on in the river canyon is 1100 elevation below the ridge top.  The canyon is very narrow.  The topography limits side radition from satellites.  The oak trees have not leafed out yet, but there is sill heavy limb canopy blocking the sky.

The parking lot at the trailhead had a lot of open sky above but still high canyon walls.  I was able to recieved six or more satellites.  As I progressed up the canyon on the trail I rapidly lost satellites until there were none.  Either I had to move down to a narrow lake or up into a clearing on the hillside to get three or more satellites.  A matter of a few feet would make the difference in having an adequate signel.

I was out geocaching www.geocaching.com which is a good wayof getting out and learning how to use my gps.

[agdexter]

Just to let you know I'm still here and still reading. Thanks for all the follow-up.