I want to upgrade from my Mapgps 76s so I can get coverage under heavy tree canopies. Does anyone have any experience with the Oregon 400 or 450. How well does it work under heavy tree coverage? How does it compare to the 60csx?
I like some of the features in the newer units, but they need to work in the woods.
Thanks
Rick
Hi Rick,
I have a Oregon 400t and have used it here in the slash pine woods of Florida with no deficit. I have been under some heavier, green canopy fir short durations, and again, no problem. Hope that others chime-in with their experiences.
Take care.
I have taken my 60CSX and OR300 on side by side jaunts under some eastern US hardwood tree canopy. Track overlays don't indicate significant differences in accuracy. The OR has a higher res display and a nice interface, but the 60CSX is definitely easier to see and gets better battery life.
My experience with the 60CSX in canyons hasn't been very good, but I suspect that's because the signals there are limited and the software isn't up to damping out the really erratic sampling.
I have a GPS76CS and it works fine most times under a heavy Pine or Fir canopy in Northern Idaho. Sometimes I can't find the road if I'm in a pickup, but I've always been able to find my location when I'm walking or on a 4 wheel ATV. Haven't tried marking routes, waypoints, or mapping boundaries yet but it always shows the proper location.
I think how the unit will do in heavy timber has more to do with the chip set in the unit. I used my 750 Nuvi in heavy timber on the ATV and found that it did extremely well. A turn off to some lakes was right on.
I also own both a 60CSx and an Oregon 300. I live in Colorado and have taken both with me backpacking and hiking in dense pine and aspen forest areas. Personally I have found that after comparing the 2 on the trail and downloading tracks that so far the Oregon has never completey lost a signal and had no breaks in the tracks. Sometimes I will lose a few satellites but never enough to lose the signal. The 60CSx on the other hand in very dense overhead canopy will occasionally (but not very often) lose the satellite lock and will have small breaks in the track. These are really not enough to cause a problem in navigation because if I keep walking I get the lock back a few minutes after the overhead breaks up a bit. The 60CSx still does very well and I am still very happy with it's preformance. What I like about the Oregon is being able to load the KMZ maps and now being able to use it with Birds Eye.
I have an older 60CS unit that I let my grand kids use and it loses signal all the time in heavy cover sometimes not coming back until the overhead almost completely clears. That was my biggest complaint with this older unit, besides not having enough memory.
I also have a 60csx and an Oregon 400t and see little difference in terms of sensitivity. Previously I had an eTrex Legend C with the older type chipset and it had a big problem with tree cover. Same thing with my old StreetPilot 2620.