Poll: Do You Use Waas ( In Other Words, Is It Enabled Or Disabled)?

[Alphawolf]

Just curious...I never, ever enable WAAS on any of my receivers. Serves me not one bit, and slows down the processor too much during map re-drawing.

[+ReadyOrNot]

I didn't know there was a way to turn mine off? (Magellan Explorist 500). I'm usually at 30-40 feet accuracy and when WAAS kicks in, it sometimes goes down to around 10-15 feet. I've never actually considered turning it off though...

[+ventura_kids]

The latest software upgrade for the Garmin 60CS has a quicker WAAS lock built in. It seems to be satisfactory for speed. I always leave it on, and it is pretty accurate.

[Hertzog]

I usually leave it enabled (60CSx) - I can usually get corrections from 47 and sometimes 35. One of these days I'll do a systematic test to see if enabling and disabling really makes much of a difference. If I were anticipating a trip that involved tunnels, I would disable it to avoid the "tunnel lockup" problem.

[+UKGeoCyclist]

I normally have WAAS enabled over here in the south of the UK.

 

The Legend Cx is usually quoting +-4-5m before EGNOS kicks in, but then quotes down to +-1-2m once its got a lock on an EGNOS bird.

 

I only turn it off when the batteries are getting low to save some juice and give a bit more runtime.

 

Adrian

Edited May 31, 2006 by UKGeoCyclist

[NewZealand]

I always have turned it off on my CSX.

Not only that I mostly can't see a WAAS satellite while mountaineering, I also didn't see a better track for a MTB tour with access to the WAAS satellite.

I did the tour twice, with and without WAAS turned on, and didn't see a difference of track accuracy on the map (and both tracks were VERY accurate).

Therefore I don't use it to save some battery life.

[-Oz-]

I have noticed absolutely no difference in accurracy with waas on or off on my 60csx. If I'm driving and want to see the little D's I leave it on, otherwise I turn it off.

[+BlueDeuce]

Enabled.

[pyt22fr]

Just curious...I never, ever enable WAAS on any of my receivers. Serves me not one bit, and slows down the processor too much during map re-drawing.

 

Enabled on 60Csx

[+PDOP's]

I leave mine enabled (76C). It probably doesn't help in most situations but I love the technology. This past winter has been interesting with the new geos and the move of 35.

[Neo_Geo]

On

[+Team Cotati]

Of course I have WAAS enabled. This is because there is no rational reason to do otherwise.

[+demhackbardt]

WAAS enabled on the ifinder go.. never thought to turn it off. maybe it would be faster...

[PghDragonRider]

Yep, enabled. Not sure if I'm receiving any, however, as my manual (Vista Cx) says that WAAS enabled sats show a slightly different icon. All mine loom the same.

[planewood]

I wouldn't make any rash statements or decisions on WAAS capabilities here in the USA until all the WAAS birds settle down to their permanent roost and start pooping out the right data. That should happen by this fall. Maybe sooner with #35.

[+budd-rdc]

I leave WAAS on if it's available on whatever unit I'm using.

 

For the iFinder GO, there's no noticeable difference in speed whether WAAS is enabled or not. There are other features (like track smoothing) that has more affect on performance. Battery life is not an issue on this unit, as I get ~30 hours on rechargeable NiMH battery with WAAS enabled.

 

May I suggest ALWAYS using WAAS when hiding a cache?

[+whitecrow]

No Waas joy here on the East Coast til fall.

I leave Waas turned on anyway.

[+Geopelli]

I leave mine on. 60cx. On or off, D's or no D's I see no difference.

[NewZealand]

Of course I have WAAS enabled. This is because there is no rational reason to do otherwise.

I would say the opposite: There is no rational reason to enable it.

It senselessly consumes power and doesn't buy you anything.

[Barrikady]

60Cx.

 

I keep WAAS off.

 

WAAS consumes more battery power.

 

Although it's neat to have the ability to have WAAS enabled, it really doesn't do anything for me that the non-WAAS mode gives me.

 

Barrikady

[+fratermus]

Of course I have WAAS enabled. This is because there is no rational reason to do otherwise.

 

I have heard people say it is an additional drain on the batteries. If this is so, then that would be a rational reason.

[+Grenadyr]

Currently off to get more life from my batteries, plus NH has little coverage until the satellites settle down this fall.

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

No Waas joy here on the East Coast til fall.

I leave Waas turned on anyway.

 

Not true, I was in northeastern PA last weekend and my IFinder GO had WAAS some of the time. I even occasionally get it here in the NY metro area (I had read that the further north and east you go the less likely you'll get the signal until the fall).

 

As you can guess, I leave mine turned on. There's even an option where you will only get a reading if WAAS is locked, but then I'd almost never get a fix

[tsk1979]

On my expedition C I have left it on. Get around 6-7m EPE when WAAS is highlighted, and around 15-20m with no WAAS visible. Did not see any performance degradation

[kidnitro]

I also keep WAAS "on" with my Lowrance Expedition C. I haven't noticed a slow down in processing speed but I do notice a significantly lower EPE. I'm in Minnesota and it seems like WAAS gets enabled about 75% of the time.

[+Team Cotati]

Of course I have WAAS enabled. This is because there is no rational reason to do otherwise.

 

I have heard people say it is an additional drain on the batteries. If this is so, then that would be a rational reason.

 

And exactly how much battery drain would that be for which some make a rational decision to disable an accuracy improving feature?

[+sawblade5]

I keep mine on. Before the firmware upgrade on my GPS units I had only been picking up 35, but since then I now pick up 35,49, and/or 51.

[+kaon]

Off... can't get any of the WAAS geo-birds, so never get any differential corrections indicated. My GPSMap60CSx does well enough without it though.

Edited June 1, 2006 by kaon

[+GPSlug]

Of course I have WAAS enabled. This is because there is no rational reason to do otherwise.

 

I have heard people say it is an additional drain on the batteries. If this is so, then that would be a rational reason.

The signal has a higher data rate than GPS and a more processor intensive error correcting scheme.

[+Team JSAM]

Just curious...I never, ever enable WAAS on any of my receivers. Serves me not one bit, and slows down the processor too much during map re-drawing.

 

WAAS is always enabled on my GPSr

[NewZealand]

Of course I have WAAS enabled. This is because there is no rational reason to do otherwise.

I have heard people say it is an additional drain on the batteries. If this is so, then that would be a rational reason.

And exactly how much battery drain would that be for which some make a rational decision to disable an accuracy improving feature?

Hmm, I don't care about that.

To me it is irrelevant, if I have a theoretical accuracy improvement from 15 feet to 6 feet, which does not mirror the reality.

 

At rationality:

Fact 1 is, that my tracks are more than exact there where I have been (without WAAS), when I look at them on the maps.

Fact 2 is, I use the GPSr mainly in the mountains, where I don't see a WAAS satellite very often.

Fact 3 is, WAAS consumes more battery power.

Fact 4 is, WAAS does not improve the accuracy of my tracks in a way I can recognize on a map.

Resulting fact 5 is, that I always have WAAS disabled.

 

Is that rational enough ?

Edited June 1, 2006 by NewZealand