[OSM-talk] GpsWeather: When conditions for mapping are good

[Karl Newman]

On Jan 2, 2008 1:11 PM, ivom <ivo.vdmaagdenberg at pandora.be> wrote:
> Folks!
>
> From time to time, I am suffering from the limited reception capabilities
> of my Garmin Etrex Venture Cx. I guess this is a recognizable state of
> being, during a mapping session in urban canyons, walking around with an
> accuracy of 17 meters or more...
>
> I am looking for some sort of indication telling me, at which time-of-day
> there would be excellent conditions for creating tracks in a dense city
> area. Has anybody come about such a service on the web yet?
>
> Currently I am not planning to upgrade on the hardware side, but do not
> hesitate to suggest different makes, models or add-ons, which would suffer
> less from this urban canyon problem.
>
> Kind regards,
> IvoM

See here for some references to satellite reception info (including a
web service I think):
http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/lofiversion/index.php?t128771.html

Suggested upgrade: any of the GarmineTrex HCx series, or the older
60Cx or 60CSx models. Those have high-sensitivity receivers which work
great in difficult conditions. I have a Vista HCx and the only time it
has lost a satellite lock was deep inside an aboveground parking
garage with 5 stories of concrete above. IIRC, the new
high-sensitivity Venture model doesn't have a microSD slot (weird
de-featuring by Garmin), so your best bet for a relatively inexpensive
upgrade while maintaining microSD capability is probably a Legend HCx.
MicroSD capability is good for track logs and the ability to upload
large maps (including OSM maps from mkgmap).

Karl