At 04:13 AM 26/04/2008, Charles Basenga Kiyanda wrote: >This is slightly off-topic, but does anyone have a trick to deal with >the gps when tagging while hiking trails? I carry a garmin etrex legend >Cx (unfortunately not the H version) and I find that it has to be >"looking" directly up and flat to get best reception. Especially around >here with often good tree cover and canyons. I'm just wondering if other >hikers have found something to remedy that problem. I'm always using >hiking poles when on the trail, so I was thinking about something that >would look like an arm-band mounted pouch that I could strap to one of >my forearm, since they stay pretty level constantly during the hike. >Maybe a backpack mounted option? I'm fishing for ideas here. I've tried >every possible permutation of having the gps stick out of one of my >pockets on pants(trousers)/coat/etc to no avail. Just for reference, I'm >in the southwest USA and my main source of hiking gear is REI and Amazon.
I noticed that I got much better tracks on a bicycle than walking, even in similar conditions and speeds. After some experimentation, the reason seems to be that a GPS device likes to be kept relatively stable and not shaken or twisted around. The best place I've found on the human body is to use a day sack or rucksack with a central top pocket, i.e. centre upper torso with best view of sky. Hips and arms move too much. A rucksack strap should give similar results as other respondents suggest. Like Andy, I also tried under or on the brim of an Australian stockman's hat but I found that I move my head around too much, and also even the small weight gives me a headache after a while. Good hiking! Mike _______________________________________________ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/talk
