What does the "D" mean on my satellite signal screen?

[+Eagle93]

I just updated my Oregon 400t to the newest 3.6 software and noticed that several (roughly half) satellites have a "D" displayed in the signal strength chart. I don't recall seeing this before this update.

 

My accuracy is estimated at 8 feet, so it doesn't appear to be a bad think just curious about it.

[+cycler48]

From http://gpsinformation.info/penrod/oregon/oregon.html

 

The "D" on the individual satellites indicate which satellites are receiving WAAS correction.

[Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hide]

From http://gpsinformation.info/penrod/oregon/oregon.html

 

The "D" on the individual satellites indicate which satellites are receiving WAAS correction.

 

So they're not just happy satellites?

[+Eagle93]

Thanks - I wonder if the update made some change related to WAAS? Or maybe it was the system reset I did when 3.5 killed my bearing lines...

 

Who knows.

[+StarBrand]

Thanks - I wonder if the update made some change related to WAAS? Or maybe it was the system reset I did when 3.5 killed my bearing lines...

 

Who knows.

Its nothing new - even my 10+ year old GPS showed a D for WAAS corrections.

[+ecanderson]

Hell, be glad you ARE seeing those little Ds. Evidently there has been some improvement in this regard for the Oregon series. I've seen quite a few complaints about the Oregons being unable to lock down a WAAS signal quickly enough and moving endlessly through the list.

 

My Dakota 20 is a total stinker in this regard as well. No surprise given what all it shares with the Oregon. My original unit was/is a Summit HC, and on the basis of that experience, I had come to expect good WAAS lock in a more or less prompt manner.

 

I live in Colorado, and often have a clear sky view of 49 and 51 to the south. I can leave my Dakota 20 to sit for 30 minutes looking for WAAS, often with the signal level bar pegged at the max for either 49 or 51. However, the bars remain white -- NOT green -- as evidently the Dakota is unable to pull down the requisite almanac information in a timely manner no matter how good the signal, and then the unit moves on to search for another satellite.

 

I purchased this unit with the understanding that it was to be WAAS/EGNOS capable. While it can see the WAAS satellites, it appears to be completely incapable of working with them. I understand that many Oregon users suffer from the same problem.

 

My Summit HC runs circles around my Dakota 20 in this and certain other respects -- one of the "other respects" that it produces far more stable coordinate data far more quickly, likely because it is able to fix on and use WAAS quickly.

 

I'll be contacting Garmin next week to discuss this with them. The device is advertised as WAAS-enabled (and yes, I DID remember to turn it on in the Setup menu), but the WAAS capability appears to be very limited with these units. For my purposes, the Dakota is less capable than my old Summit HC. I may return it as "defective" if there isn't some resolution to this problem. I guess the "good" news is that the time-out, if that's what is really happening, is something that could be corrected in firmware. That said, the WAAS support on the new chipset appears to be what's slowing down the whole process so badly in the first place.

[seldom_sn]

 

I live in Colorado, and often have a clear sky view of 49 and 51 to the south. I can leave my Dakota 20 to sit for 30 minutes looking for WAAS, often with the signal level bar pegged at the max for either 49 or 51. However, the bars remain white -- NOT green -- as evidently the Dakota is unable to pull down the requisite almanac information in a timely manner no matter how good the signal, and then the unit moves on to search for another satellite.

 

 

I realize they are geostationary, so you can calculate the altitude angle, but how can you determine the azimuth?

[+lodgebarn]

I just updated my Oregon 400t to the newest 3.6 software and noticed that several (roughly half) satellites have a "D" displayed in the signal strength chart. I don't recall seeing this before this update.

 

My accuracy is estimated at 8 feet, so it doesn't appear to be a bad think just curious about it.

 

It means you don't live in Europe

[+fpb]

I just updated my Oregon 400t to the newest 3.6 software and noticed that several (roughly half) satellites have a "D" displayed in the signal strength chart. I don't recall seeing this before this update.

 

My accuracy is estimated at 8 feet, so it doesn't appear to be a bad think just curious about it.

 

It means you don't live in Europe

 

How come? I live in Europe and sometimes (and only sometimes) I get D over the sat bars...

 

So, I guess EGNOS is really working (sometimes at least)...

[+lodgebarn]

I just updated my Oregon 400t to the newest 3.6 software and noticed that several (roughly half) satellites have a "D" displayed in the signal strength chart. I don't recall seeing this before this update.

 

My accuracy is estimated at 8 feet, so it doesn't appear to be a bad think just curious about it.

 

It means you don't live in Europe

 

How come? I live in Europe and sometimes (and only sometimes) I get D over the sat bars...

 

So, I guess EGNOS is really working (sometimes at least)...

I have had a 550 since Christmas and haven't seen a D yet both in London and Open Country up in the North of England. For comparison my HCX would get them quite often.

[+Renegade Knight]

I just updated my Oregon 400t to the newest 3.6 software and noticed that several (roughly half) satellites have a "D" displayed in the signal strength chart. I don't recall seeing this before this update.

 

My accuracy is estimated at 8 feet, so it doesn't appear to be a bad think just curious about it.

 

I'm making this up.

 

D stands for Differentially Corrected. A Differenterial Correction is the corretion used by your GPS when it getsa WAAS signal to more accuratly locate itself.

[+larryc43230]

I just updated my Oregon 400t to the newest 3.6 software and noticed that several (roughly half) satellites have a "D" displayed in the signal strength chart. I don't recall seeing this before this update.

 

My accuracy is estimated at 8 feet, so it doesn't appear to be a bad think just curious about it.

 

I'm making this up.

 

D stands for Differentially Corrected. A Differenterial Correction is the corretion used by your GPS when it getsa WAAS signal to more accuratly locate itself.

I hope this isn't hijacking the thread, but I thought this might be a good place to ask a question that's been bugging me ever since I bought my Oregon 550t almost six months ago.

 

I have my unit set up to use WAAS, and I've gotten acceptable accuracy when I'm out geocaching (the "GPS Accuracy" is usually under 20 feet). However, when I look at the satellite screen, I have yet to see a bar with the tell-tale "D" indicating a WAAS signal, and I've never seen a solid green bar on the highest-number satellite bar (which I think is usually the WAAS satellite, but I'm not sure about that; it's usually #48 or #51 in this area when I do see the bar).

 

Do others with a 550t get a WAAS signal consistently? Should I do some sort of reset on my unit to force it to update the almanac and maybe, finally, lock in on the WAAS signal?

 

I forgot to mention that I have the latest and greatest software on the unit (3.10) and GPS software (3.70).

 

--Larry

Edited February 12, 2010 by larryc43230