Gps Reception In Manhattan And Nyc???

[+Gadget Girl]

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.

[+splicingdan]

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.

[+Mopar]

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.

[+briansnat]

Its tough on GPSes..

[+Alan2]

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.

[+Peconic Bay Sailors]

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

[+Gadget Girl]

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

[+Gadget Girl]

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

[+Alan2]

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

[+Jerseytrex]

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

[avroair]

I usually print out a mapquest map at the closest magnification when caching in Manhatten. Usually provides a better source than a GPS.

[+2RedJeepers]

Talk them into going into Central Park. Explaining why should be easy enough.