Silly Question

[+ScuKoMo]

Pardon my ignorance and excuse me if this is not the right forum for this question:

 

How does the GPS work in other countries? I live in the midwestern US and never been out of the country to try geocaching but have used a GPS in Europe.

I guess my question really is: Do the satellites cover pretty much the entire globe with a uniform accuracy?

[+Divine]

The satellites go around the world and their signals cover pretty much every square feet of the surface.

 

- All you need is a sick mind and a healthy body. -

[+dasein]

quote:

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Originally posted by 4legs&8paws:

Pardon my ignorance and excuse me if this is not the right forum for this question...do the satellites cover pretty much the entire globe with a uniform accuracy?

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Hubby and I live in Portland Oregon but found several caches last fall in French Polynesia. When we first turned the GPS on there, of course it was looking for the 'usual' satellites it finds here in the Pacific NW. Not finding those, it just took a few more minutes, and located the satellites 'visible' in that area of the southern hemisphere. We can't comprehend all the details of how this works, but it does, and is still so amazing to us!

laurak of dasein

 

--Temporarily French Polynesia's most prolific geocachers!

[+ScuKoMo]

I like what I hear and I would love to go to exotic places with exotic caches (don't we all?).

Planning is the easy part.

[+fairplay]

Just for information, the European's have been discussing for years now, to create their own GPS system, it shall be called Gallileo. Some kind of automatic SMS messages, and communications will be integrated and maybe a beaconing system for SAR, but the american GPS idea will be kept.

Thanks to God, the USA made their GPS system available for the whole world, because we will continue waiting for our own system for the next years to come.

Thanks to the american tax payers who made this system possible (and this is no JOKE !!)

 

hello

[+TEAM 360]

I wonder if the European system will be able to get picked up by current GPS receivers?

[+fairplay]

As far as I know, both Gallileo and GPS as well as the WAAS satellites and their european system will be compatible.

 

hello

[waters]

i think the reasons are a little more sinister or maybe practicle ....i dont know

 

the uk has a so_called independent nuclear missile deterent. should, god forbid the government want to fire one round the globe, but but the u.s disagree all they would have to do is switch it off

 

gallileo would give europe true independence

[+Bill D (wwh)]

quote:

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waters wrote:

 

gallileo would give europe true independence

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Yes, I like the idea of more than one GPS system. That way there's no point in any government turning theirs off (no disrespect to all you Americans!). I'd like to see at least three independent but compatible systems, all with worldwide coverage.

 

Bill

[+MissJenn]

One thing to also keep in mind when geocaching very far from home is to check your ENTIRE set of coordinates. As in: also check your East/West designation, or North/South (as the case may be).

 

I drove myself nuts trying to see why these numbers were not working for me in the Philippines - even though the numbers were exactly as written on the paper. It took a while for me to remember to check the LETTERS.

 

-- I've found 58% of the caches in the country! How are your numbers? ;-)