efs4ever 3 #1 March 4, 2007 Ok, folks here are my first tracks from THIS thread. These are JPG shots of my Garmin screens. Measurements show we were almost two miles out. The device had to catch a signal before starting the tracking. The beginning points were probably exit points. More details later with Google Earth overlays. YES, I'm a bored skydiver looking for something to make the dives interesting. Any more Geeks out there???Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
efs4ever 3 #2 March 4, 2007 I overlayed the images on a Google Earth shot of the dropzone.Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KrisFlyZ 0 #3 March 4, 2007 I have the same setup Antenna + GPSMAP 76CSX. However, due to our winter airplane(Beaver), I don't use the big GPS. The mounting point you see a bit below the antenna is for an Edge 205/305. I am using these with the small airplane. How accurate is the unit's altitude(76 CSX) reading? You have it inside your jumpsuit, correct? Kris. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
efs4ever 3 #4 March 5, 2007 QuoteI have the same setup Antenna + GPSMAP 76CSX. However, due to our winter airplane(Beaver), I don't use the big GPS. The mounting point you see a bit below the antenna is for an Edge 205/305. I am using these with the small airplane. How accurate is the unit's altitude(76 CSX) reading? You have it inside your jumpsuit, correct? Kris. Thank Gawd, another GPS Geek out there! I don't pick up the signal until I've been in drogue fall for a while. I've tested the elevation reading against road signs displaying elevation, and it's pretty much within +- 25 feet. I keep the unit in a fanny pack inside my suit. External antenna is all I need. I wait until it asks me what I want to do about continuing to acquire signals when it initially can't get a signal in the plane, and then I tell it to keep acquiring..Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #5 March 5, 2007 If you aren't already doing it, be sure to turn your GPS receiver on while on the ground and allow it to acquire satellites (at least 4)before going up. This will help shorten up the time that is needed to re-acquire satellites when you lose them in the aircraft. If you can pass the receiver to the pilot and maintain satellite coverage for the ride up even better."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KrisFlyZ 0 #7 March 5, 2007 If you have road signs indicating elevation...you can calibrate the unit that makes the altitude readings more accurate. I always keep the unit on and turn recording on just before I exit. It is easy to figure out when I exited afterwards and discard the data that is recorded for the part in the airplane. Kris. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eule 0 #8 March 6, 2007 QuoteI wait until it asks me what I want to do about continuing to acquire signals when it initially can't get a signal in the plane, and then I tell it to keep acquiring.. I wonder if it would be useful to have _two_ external antennae. One of them is the one you've rigged up on your frap hat. The other would just go up on the glare shield (top of the instrument panel) of the plane. You'd get in the plane and plug in to the glare shield antenna for the ride up. Then, somewhere close to exit, switch back to the one on your hat. The main advantage here is that you don't have to be in the "right" position in the plane to get a signal on the ride up. The main strike against this idea, I think, is probably the extra antenna cable from the plane-mounted antenna to you floating around and possibly fouling the aircraft controls, rig handles, etc. It might work in a 182 but not a Caravan or Otter. It also would require fishing the GPS out of your jumpsuit to switch cables right before exit, which might be hard to do with a rig on. The "correct" way to do this is probably with a GPS repeater, which was discussed in this thread. EulePLF does not stand for Please Land on Face. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
