WAAS 48, we will be loosing it.

[xyzee]

From an article in gpsworld.com

Check it out. I'm no good at even the simple transfer stuff, with a PC.

[+EraSeek]

Here is the article: http://www.gpsworld.com/gnss-system/augmen...-satellite-9841

[+PDOP's]

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that one of the two WAAS GEO satellites will drift out of usable orbit within two to four weeks. Earlier this week, Intelsat announced it had lost control of its Galaxy 15 satellite that hosts the WAAS SBAS transponder used by the FAA.

(link)

 

edit: eraseek was faster.

Edited April 17, 2010 by PDOP's

[+EraSeek]

This is the fear that many WAAS watchers have lived with for some time. The lose of one of the two sats. A lot now hangs on one thread.

[+Chrysalides]

I don't recall exactly, but don't they already have additional WAAS birds up there but still being "tested", and not planned for operation until 2011?

 

Found something on Google : http://gpsinformation.net/exe/waas.html

 

(it says Fall 2010).

[+EraSeek]

Yes, there is one new one in test phase, and an old one. It mentions them in the article.

Edited April 17, 2010 by EraSeek

[+Walts Hunting]

That's fine with me. I have an Oregon and they don't do WAAS. Maybe Garmin is paying them to destabilize it so they are no longer embarrassed by this significant flaw in their GPS's

[+Prime Suspect]

That's fine with me. I have an Oregon and they don't do WAAS. Maybe Garmin is paying them to destabilize it so they are no longer embarrassed by this significant flaw in their GPS's

The Oregon DOES support WAAS. Check your manual. You may not have turned it on.

[Grasscatcher]

I tried turning my manual on but it never even got excited.....

 

Oregons, Dakotas,etc are SUPPOSED to support WAAS but they DON'T and NEVER HAVE. Unreliably they will occasionally lock onto WAAS sats and display Ds on the other sat bars but will not maintain lock, and almost never display WAAS accuracy levels of <3m. (Garmin's own description )

 

Reluctantly Garmin has finally admitted that there is a WAAS reception problem with all those units, and that "they are working on it".

[+EraSeek]

More important things than geocaching are affected by WAAS dropping out, such as precision approaches by aircraft:

http://www.nstb.tc.faa.gov/RT_WaasSatelliteStatus.htm

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headqu...aches/index.cfm

Edited April 17, 2010 by EraSeek

[+Walts Hunting]

I guess I misstated. It does support but it never gets it. If I stand in an open field for an hour I might get a WAAS lock. But if I move it is gone. This is a well known problem with the Oregon series and part of way to extensive discussion on the Oregon Wikispaces including some rather dubious responses from the Garmin support who finally acknowledged it recently after being bombarded by calls and emails.

 

Quote We are working on it.

 

I bought a 60CSx to use when I do any cacheing under cover and use the Oregon for record keeping.

Edited April 17, 2010 by Walts Hunting

[+larryc43230]

That's fine with me. I have an Oregon and they don't do WAAS. Maybe Garmin is paying them to destabilize it so they are no longer embarrassed by this significant flaw in their GPS's

The Oregon DOES support WAAS. Check your manual. You may not have turned it on.

The Oregon claims to support WAAS, but in the six months or more I've used my 550t, I've never once been able to sustain a lock on one of the WAAS birds. I've seen the "D" displayed briefly for some of the satellites, but within less than a minute the lock is lost and I might as well not have WAAS enabled. So far, WAAS has been nothing but, hypothetically, a waste of battery power.

 

--Larry

[Andronicus]

More important things than geocaching are affected by WAAS dropping out, such as precision approaches by aircraft:

http://www.nstb.tc.faa.gov/RT_WaasSatelliteStatus.htm

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headqu...aches/index.cfm

I think you have your priorities backwards. Get real... As the volcano is showing us, you don't realy need airplanes, but geocaching...

 

[+Chrysalides]

That's fine with me. I have an Oregon and they don't do WAAS. Maybe Garmin is paying them to destabilize it so they are no longer embarrassed by this significant flaw in their GPS's

Ironically, the only time my Oregon managed to receive signal from the WAAS bird is when I was indoors, and not near any windows either. I've never seen the "D" when I was outdoors, even with a complete clear view on top of a hill.

[+EraSeek]

I think you have your priorities backwards. Get real... As the volcano is showing us, you don't realy need airplanes, but geocaching...

 

Forgive me

[+EraSeek]

That's fine with me. I have an Oregon and they don't do WAAS. Maybe Garmin is paying them to destabilize it so they are no longer embarrassed by this significant flaw in their GPS's

Ironically, the only time my Oregon managed to receive signal from the WAAS bird is when I was indoors, and not near any windows either. I've never seen the "D" when I was outdoors, even with a complete clear view on top of a hill.

Actually mine has been locking on quite a bit lately.