+Gadget Girl Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Hey all of you New Yorkers! I need to know if there is reception for GPS on Manhattan Island and in NYC downtown areas???? I am sure that all the skyscrapers cause a big problem, but how big? I need to run a program for a company there that wants me to set up a virtual course for them of about 25 places to navigate to. (like a scavenger hunt game) I have never been to NYC or Manhattan. Can you even get reception? If they can't get reception, I need to steer them in a different direction. Thanks so much for your help! Tanya Phillips Course Designer Playtime, INC. Quote Link to comment
+splicingdan Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Hey all of you New Yorkers! I need to know if there is reception for GPS on Manhattan Island and in NYC downtown areas???? It depends on the type of GPS. I used to own a Garmin Vista which has an internal antenna and was NEVER able to get a signal amongst the buildings. My 60CS works well enough to navigate around but still lags when trying to pinpoint something. I'd suspect that a remote antenna would work best. Although...the perimeter of the island gets fine reception. Quote Link to comment
+Mopar Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Even if you get a signal, accuracy isn't going to be all that great in the city itself. The buildings block all the satellites except for those directly overhead. Not good for accurately triangulating your position. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Its tough on GPSes.. Quote Link to comment
+Alan2 Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Very difficult however there are some workarounds. First, always get a lock on the GPS before you get among the bldgs. Second, there are GPS's that plug into Pocket PC's that have high sensitivity beyond the regular handheld GPS's. The one I have works fairly well but it seems to lag a second or two beyond the actual location you are in before it catches up with the actual. It's a pain when driving but not that noticeable while walking A good reference source is gpspassion.com There are some new SIRF III chips and others that are suppose to be better than the usual. Again, they get connected to PPC's in the memory slot which many in your company may already have for business use. Quote Link to comment
+Peconic Bay Sailors Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 (edited) I have a garmin 60CS and even with the external active antenna, I loose satalite reception when around the really tall buildings... anything over 20 stories or so... comes in and out constantly... I would not rely on a GPS in the city... It's not too bad in the Village area... like between 18th St and Canal St... as most buildings there are only a few stories tall.... Mid town (58 St - 23 St) and downtown (below Canal St) are the worst areas, obviously... Edited July 29, 2005 by Peconic Bay Sailors Quote Link to comment
+Gadget Girl Posted July 29, 2005 Author Share Posted July 29, 2005 I have a Garmin 60CS, but the company uses a very BASIC garmin yellow etrex. Big difference. Thanks for all the info on Reception in NYC. All info and ideas are appreciated. Tanya Quote Link to comment
+Gadget Girl Posted July 29, 2005 Author Share Posted July 29, 2005 I just got more info from management. According to the company: They want the program to run around their office located in the heart of Greenwich Village, and near Washington Square Park http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searc...Y&zipcode=10014 Maybe this area is good??? Tanya Quote Link to comment
+Alan2 Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 (edited) I did a virtual in Washington Square Park. Don't recall the reception I had, but it's fairly open there and the bldgs are relatively small except for NYU's tall bldgs. Like someone else mentioned, The Village has small bldgs. Edited July 30, 2005 by Alan2 Quote Link to comment
+Jerseytrex Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 The parks are fine. The rest of Manhattan is horrible for reception. You end up walking back and forth over and over, it gets to be very taxing on your patience! I suggest going for open areas like the parks and along the rivers. Have Fun! Jerseytrex Quote Link to comment
avroair Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 I usually print out a mapquest map at the closest magnification when caching in Manhatten. Usually provides a better source than a GPS. Quote Link to comment
+2RedJeepers Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 Talk them into going into Central Park. Explaining why should be easy enough. Quote Link to comment
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