ObeliskAG

A GNSS receiver can by configured to filter satellites by their elevation above the horizon, as lower elevations can provide poor data. Enabling RAIM and SBAS functionality may also preclude specific satellites from use. It could be that the Garmin receiver is being more selective of signal quality/integrity than a MI9 smartphone.

Ah, good catch.

GLONASS provides L1, L2 and L3 frequencies, just not L5 until the GLONASS-KM satellites come to be. It was a while before there were enough GPS satellites to activate L2C messages. It looks like currently 16 GPS satellites are providing L5 signals with 24 satellites planned to be available by 2027. Exciting times! The Sony CXD5610GF receiver can be had for US$9!?! It's thrilling to see the price of multi-frequency receivers coming down. A u-blox ZED-F9P is US$139 - $199 each, depending on quantity. It is possible that Garmin 66sr could be using a Broadcom BCM47755 receiver chip. (I've owned a Trimble 4000SSi and Trimble Geo XH, and even very old and used, these were expensive receivers - not to mention Trimbles attitude about software and protocols For example, other than pure greed, why does Trimble sell devices like Geo XH without pre-installing TerraSync on them? Companies like Trimble are the reason the open source / open standards /right-to-repair communities get out of bed in the morning. Not that Garmin is an example of a good citizen.) SBAS is beneficial in that in addition to providing ionospheric correction data (that may not be as good as a multi-frequency receiver can determine on its own), it can provide status and integrity data to increases confidence in the system(s). Either way, I think the Garmin 66sr is the first consumer GNSS handheld receiver that is multi-frequency, which is a very exciting development - too bad they don't have any competition. (I think the Xiaomi Mi 8 smartphone might have been the first device, but the Garmin likely has a higher-performing antenna, which is significant.) I wonder if Trimble, Javad, Leica, NovaTel, etc. are considering the long-term ramifications of all this? There could be a revolution in GIS, especially in the developing world.

My understanding is that all multi-frequency receivers should be able to perform ionospheric delay corrections - which is only one of the things that SBAS provides. However, I think the majority of them still will utilize SBAS signals. For example, this Trimble R12i is their highest end, 672 channel, survey grade, GNSS receiver (probably >US$20K) and it receives SBAS signals. This Ardusimple simpleRTK2Blite kit is the most cost-effective mutli-frequency GNSS I am aware of, and it also receives SBAS. So it is a bit surprising that the Garmin 66sr doesn't support SBAS. I really do wonder what receiver they are using... gpsrchive.com doesn't seem to have this information

mimichris: Thanks for posting this. For anyone else that cares, a more readable decoding of the above observation types: GPS: 8 observation types- L1: Code, Phase, Doppler, Raw. L5: Code, Phase, Doppler, Raw GLONASS: 4 observation types, L1: Code, Phase, Doppler, Raw Galileo: 8 observation types - L1: Code, Phase, Doppler, Raw. L5: Code, Phase, Doppler, Raw BDS: 4 observation types, L1: Code, Phase, Doppler, Raw QZSS (Japan coverage): 8 observation types - L1: Code, Phase, Doppler, Raw. L5: Code, Phase, Doppler, Raw NavIC/IRNSS (India coverage): 4 observation types, L5: Code, Phase, Doppler, Raw The above is a curious list. The "good" news: - It looks like the RINEX file contains carrier phase data, which is very useful for precision post processing - Good multi-frequency (L1/L5) coverage of GPS and Galileo (QZSS is not global coverage) - With a RINEX file we don't have to worry about some proprietary, receiver specific, binary file to be compatible with RTKLIB and other tools The "bad" news: - Only single-frequency observations for each: GLONASS, BDS, NavIC - At this time, I'm not aware of any post-processing services, such as CSRS-PPP, that support processing L5 data. (Maybe some do? I only have L1 and L2 data to test with.) - There do not appear to be SBAS observations in the RINEX file, which probably isn't such a big deal for an L5 equipped receiver Perhaps someone can comment on the achievable precision with post-processing GPSMAP 66sr RINEX files?

mimichris: Can you please share the "SYS / # / OBS TYPES " lines from one of the 66sr RINEX observation (obs) files? In fact, could you copy and paste the header section of a 66sr OBS file? (The header is the top of the file, with "END OF HEADER" and a blank line at the end of the section.) Many thanks! Attached is a sample header from a u-blox ZED-F9P for reference.

For users who travel outside of North America, what are the DeLormes street navigation and topo maps like? Thanks.

Batteries like the Sanyo Eneloop, the new Sonys, and some other brands of NiMH do have good shelf-life. Perhaps not 5 years, but if you charged these new NiMH batteries up and put them on a shelf, 1 year later they will have 85% of their charge available.

I have one of those iSun 2.2 watt solar chargers. (Not sure how nice it is to the batteries.) When we're out camping, I can fully charge a set of 4x AA 2,000mAh batteries in under 7 hours. LIMITLESS POWER!!!

I'm getting ready to buy a charger..Do you like that charger which is one on my list plus the Maha C-9000 Unfortunately I have no experience with the Maha chargers, but for my AA and AAA charging needs, this LaCrosse is pretty nice. I just wanted a smart charger that would not over-charge or overheat my batteries, could condition them once in a while, and to have the option to quick charge (~500 - 1200ma) if necessary. (Not something I'm keen to do, but flashes at events like weddings, tend to be thirsty. I'll never do enough ongoing flash work to justify an external battery pack.) I have a GPS V at present (I love the feature of changing the screen orientation to switch between auto and trail use), and the Sanyo Eneloops are good for at least 14 hours. I've been thinking about getting a 60/76CSx or the new Colorado, but it appears Garmin has some revision to do with this new unit. The Colorado looks promising, but my GPS V is bug free so a new GPS should work just as well, with more contemporary features. My main complaint with the GPS V is that with newer versions of City Navigator, such as version 8, routing has become very slow. If you miss a turn, you might as well pull-over while the GPS V tries to update the route. It wasn't like this with older versions of the maps. I appreciate that Garmin wants to sell me a GPS for the trail and a seperate GPS for my car, but I'm not made of money. It's too bad the Colorado doesn't include voice prompt capabilities for auto navigation.

These guys seem to have a good selection of quality NiMH chargers: http://www.thomas-distributing.com/nimh_battery_chargers.htm I'm providing the link as I had a tough time finding a source for a good battery charger. I'm using a LaCrosse BC-900 these days.

The Colorado seems an excellent example of what I'm suggesting. Why isn't this product designed to say on the box? "For use with 2x 1.2v AA rechargable batteries recommended. 2x 1.5v optional." It's too bad that designers are still designing around 3.0volts, instead of 2.4volts. I have a bunch of the 2500mAh Energizers, but they don't seem to hold a charge. Having more recently purchased some of the Sanyo Eneloops, they definitely seem to be the way to go.

We need someone with a car adapter and a multimeter. It would be informative to measure the current drain of the Colorado with various backlight settings, from none to highest. apersson850: Would you by any chance have the car adapter and a multimeter? :-)

Apologies in advance, but you know, you're really leaving the door wide open here for am off-colour innuendo. Something to do with "body temperature" comes to mind...

After reading some discussions about the new Garmin Colorado and older 60C(s)x, it appears they do not meter battery status correctly with NiMH batteries. Why is it that everybody involved in the electronics industry, from government regulators to manufactures to consumers, do not insist that portable electronics are designed for use with rechargeable batteries, such as NiMH, as their primary battery type? Why do we still live on a planet that expects 1.5volt Alkaline AAs to be the standard for small portable electronics? When there are NiMH batteries that have 85% of their charge after 1 year on the shelf and can be purchased ready to use (Sanyo Eneloops for example), what reason can there be for non-rechargeable batteries any more? It just seems irresponsible to use disposable batteries when rechargeable technology is so mature. Look forward to your feedback. Where’s Team DeLorme?

This is not intended to be condescending in any way, but have you tried changing the batteries? With a GPS it's hard to know when it's really working verses patiently updating the display so gauging when battery draw is peaking is difficult. Does it crash sooner with the backlight on?

So far this thread is suggesting that there may be some inconsitence on how Colorado's deal with external power on the USB mini-B port. This is a little alarming. I must confess, I am happy that Garmin is offering an RS232 cable for the Colorado. I was a bit worried about how I might met NMEA sentences into my telescope's computer without an RS232 interface on the GPS.

Hmm, this seems a bit anti-competative. I don't have to use a RIM branded charger to power a Blackberry. Hell, I don't need a Sony branded charger for a PSP. Why do we need a Garmin branded auto-adapter for a Colorado? (I made my own power/data cable for my GPS V. Thank you pfranc!)

After looking at the Delorme site, it does not appear that there are any maps for coverage outside the US. Is this correct, or am I missing something? If this is the case, the PN-20 doesn't make any sense for non-US users. (Specifically I am interested in Street and Topo maps for Canada.)