+Wile E. Dragonfly Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/...rflare_gps.html What do you know... a reason that the gps leads me astray some days! Solar flares! Now I have a good reason! Well, at least some times... Quote Link to comment
+x_Marks_the_spot Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I'm kinda surprised that this is only just now becoming news. It seems so obvious to me. Solar flares screw everything else up, why would GPS be any different? Quote Link to comment
+Confucius' Cat Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 It's kinda funny. I have been in the two-way radio business for many years and one of the things often cited for random unexplained troubles is "sun spots". While there is some validity to it, most times it was just used as an excuse to quit looking for the real problem when it became evident that it would not be easily found and was not likely to recur. I have noticed on several occasions that my mobile GPSr will suddenly show my location a hundred miles away and return in a second or so. This often results in a "speed warning" with my ground speed showing several huindred MPH- darn good for a Ford Explorer! I think my "world land speed record" is somehwere around 2500 MPH. I have noticed that a lot of these anomolies are caused by buildings and bridges which cause random multipath reflections, skewing the internal math. I have had several that could not be so easily explained. Perhaps it really IS solar flares. I had not considered this. Thanks for the link. Quote Link to comment
+EScout Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 Solar flares strong enough to interfere with GPS are very rare. And since our use is not critical, we should not worry. Quote Link to comment
+Confucius' Cat Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 Solar flares strong enough to interfere with GPS are very rare. And since our use is not critical, we should not worry. Quote Link to comment
+edscott Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 Dont' think I'll notice it at all.. except maybe I'll start to gain some ground on some of the professional cachers... Quote Link to comment
+Girls Phind Squirrels Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 Drats! I had already convinced my SO that we needed a new GPS because ours has been erratic for the last two weeks. Quote Link to comment
RexBloodman Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 On one of the news wires there is a report of solar flares and radiation heading our way. GPSr's will probably be affected again. Here is some more info I just found about it http://www.spaceweather.com/ Quote Link to comment
+Airmapper Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 ...... I have noticed on several occasions that my mobile GPSr will suddenly show my location a hundred miles away and return in a second or so. This often results in a "speed warning" with my ground speed showing several huindred MPH- darn good for a Ford Explorer! I think my "world land speed record" is somehwere around 2500 MPH. ........ Yeah yeah, we all know your ramping that Explorer through every one of these you see...... Quote Link to comment
+olbluesguy Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Giant solar flares are expected to have an effect on earth for the next four days. How is this effecting your geocaching where you are? Quote Link to comment
+nekom Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 You know that hadn't even occured to me. I had some caching planned this weekend, hope the signal doesn't get nuked. The size of this one isn't unprecidented, though, I don't recall any troubles in the past with them. Quote Link to comment
+Wayfinders Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Shouldn't really effect us, but yes.....they can cause disruptions. Check this out Quote Link to comment
+mtn-man Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I merged the new topic into the old topic that was bumped yesterday on the same subject. Quote Link to comment
+nekom Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Shouldn't really effect us, but yes.....they can cause disruptions. Check this out That headline: Solar flares cause GPS failures, possibly devastating for jets and distress calls, Cornell researchers warn I guess not being able to find an ammo box in the woods seems kind of trivial by comparison. Quote Link to comment
+OHMIKY Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 solar flares are those things you put outside when your starship breaks down as a warning to other pilots that there is an obstruction here? Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 (edited) We've got 'Northern Lights' here in Eastern Iowa. You might want to go check the sky. Very cool. Edited December 15, 2006 by BlueDeuce Quote Link to comment
+nekom Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 wow too bad I moved away from the boonies, too much light pollution but I remember seeing the northern lights here in southwest Pennsylvania a few years back. Nowhere near as elaborate as the photos I've seen of them up north, more like a subtle red haze shifting slowly in the sky, but still a sight to behold. Quote Link to comment
RexBloodman Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 I merged the new topic into the old topic that was bumped yesterday on the same subject. Thank you mtn-man. I was the one who bumped the old thread because of reading about the flare. at least I searched and found a forum that existed already. Quote Link to comment
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