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

Karl Newman siliconfiend at gmail.com
Wed Jan 2 22:50:47 GMT 2008


On Jan 2, 2008 1:46 PM, Karl Newman <siliconfiend at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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
>

Replying to myself... I forgot about the external antenna, which could
be a real help in urban canyons. If you want to go that route and you
want to stick with Garmin, the 60Cx or CSx models are probably your
best option (eTrex series can't use external antenna).

Karl




More information about the talk mailing list