+Huga Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 What are people's experiences like with receiving signals from EGNOS/WAAS satellites in the UK? I've just got an eTrex Venture and stuck it straight into WAAS mode to see what it was like. Thus far, I've only managed to get a maximum of two half-locks (the signal bar is grey, not black). So that presumably means the sateliites are there and broadcasting, but I can;t get a lock on them. I calculated the height of the EGNOS satellites, and assuming it's directly south of us (a fair assumption I think), it should be 30.0° above the horizon, and yet I still can't get a lock, even when on top of hills, facing south. Am I expecting too much from a system that's not fully implemented yet, or am I just being unlucky? -- **Mother is the name of God on the lips of all children** Quote Link to comment
el10t Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 I think they're still in "test" mode. Rich mobilis in mobili Quote Link to comment
+The Hornet Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 It might still be in *Test* mode but my Magellan Platinum is in WAAS/EGNOS mode here in the UK for 90-95% of the time, maybe even more. It seems the testing must be going well _________________________________________________________ It is better to regret something you did, rather than to regret something you didn't do. Quote Link to comment
el10t Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 But is it giving you any extra accuracy? e.g. 35 feet? Rich mobilis in mobili [This message was edited by el10t on December 02, 2002 at 11:33 AM.] Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 You may find this site of interest www.gpsinformation.org/dale/dgps.htm#waasalmanac Apparently the EGNOS satellite will be in 'test mode' until 2004 but is transmitting correction data 'from time to time' John ________________________________________________ Where did all the sunshine go? Quote Link to comment
el10t Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 Pharisee beat me to it. Apparently: "Chief milestones to come are: - EGNOS factory Qualification review, planned for the first quarter of 2003 - emission of the EGNOS AOC signal, planned for summer 2003 - Operational Readiness Review, final EGNOS AOC milestone, scheduled for April 2004 " Rich mobilis in mobili Quote Link to comment
+The Hornet Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 quote:Originally posted by el10t:But is it giving you any extra accuracy? e.g. 35 feet? Rich _mobilis in mobili_ [This message was edited by el10t on December 02, 2002 at 11:33 AM.] 35 feet - what can you nean? I areas of reasonable reception I get a reported accuracy of 10-15 ft. _________________________________________________________ It is better to regret something you did, rather than to regret something you didn't do. Quote Link to comment
el10t Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 Pretty good - I wish I got that accuracy when I turned on the WAAS setting. Doesn;t seem to do anything on my GPS. Rich mobilis in mobili Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 I've never seen a WAAS satellite even half locked on my Legend. On top of a hill recently I had a good lock on ALL visible satellites (8 if I remember correctly) and got a reported accuracy of 15 feet. That's the best I've ever seen; it's usually around 29 feet. John ________________________________________________ Where did all the sunshine go? Quote Link to comment
+Richard & Beth Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 As far as I am aware, WAAS is currently only working in North America. The current European service is experimental. There is an article on the garmin site here which explains how it works, but the general gist is that even though we can pick up the WAAS signals from the atlantic satelite, it won't improve our accuracy because there are no reference stations over here. However, I have to say that over the other side of the pond, where WAAS does work, I've managed to get the accuracy down into the 3 metre or less range, although as the WAAS satelites are in geostationary equatorial orbits they can be quite difficult to pick up in the northern parts of the USA and Canada. (It's also worth mentioning that the reference stations are currently only in the US as well, none that I am aware of in Canada). Regards, Richard Quote Link to comment
+SimonG Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 There's some interesting information about WAAS outside the US in this thread. ............................................................................... Fnwu n ies galu rnseupyu cesf pucieut. Aj yahltu tagu aj sfug nys bhgi - sfuq'lu ajsup tshbupst, jal funwup't tnzu. - Sullq Rlnsyfuss Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 Our colonial cousins have a parallel thread going at the moment which you may find interesting. http://opentopic.Groundspeak.com/0/OpenTopic?q=Y&s=1750973553&a=tpc&f=5740990093&m=4770915045&r=6640966045#6640966045 Hope I've got that right or I'm gonna look a complete pillock And I am anyway because SimonG has just posted the same thread !! The general concencus in the US seems to be 'Turn WAAS off if you can't access WAAS satellites.' Having it turned on just makes things worse. John ______________________________________________ Where did all the sunshine go? [This message was edited by Pharisee on December 03, 2002 at 08:01 AM.] [This message was edited by Pharisee on December 03, 2002 at 11:24 AM.] Quote Link to comment
+Subarite Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 I tried the WAAS setting on my GPS V at 8:15 this morning and 17:30 today. I received satellite 33 at good signal strength but at no time did I get an indication of differential corrections being applied to the GPS satellites (shown by a D on the sig bar). This of course is only a sample of two with duration of 15 mins for each test. Andy. Quote Link to comment
Team Tate Posted December 3, 2002 Share Posted December 3, 2002 A Magellan Platinun which reported WAAS correction approx. 50% of the time during my drive home from London to Southampton, and a Garmin Vista which showed a differentially corrected accuracy about 30% of the time. The Garmin was reporting an accuracy of 2 meters! Team Tate Remember - if it's moving, it's not dead... Quote Link to comment
+MarcB Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 WAAS is on my Magellan SporTrak (base model) and when it's automatically activated it works a treat! MarcB "We searched for hours in the cache area but all we could find was an ammo box in a little hollow. Suggest you archive the cache..." Quote Link to comment
+SimonG Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 quote:Originally posted by MarcB:WAAS is on my Magellan SporTrak (base model) and when it's automatically activated it works a treat! How do you know? If you're going by the reported accuracy, I would expect this to be misled by WAAS outside the correction area. ............................................................................... Fnwu n ies galu rnseupyu cesf pucieut. Aj yahltu tagu aj sfug nys bhgi - sfuq'lu ajsup tshbupst, jal funwup't tnzu. - Sullq Rlnsyfuss Quote Link to comment
+MarcB Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Not entirly sure what you mean. Basically whenever it's on the cache co-ordinates are spot-on. Not that they are wrong when it's not on of course... MarcB "We searched for hours in the cache area but all we could find was an ammo box in a little hollow. Suggest you archive the cache..." Quote Link to comment
+washboy Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 quote: Basically whenever it's on the cache co-ordinates are spot-on. But are the cache co-ordinates spot on in the first place? Was the cache-setter using WAAS too? ===== There's no such thing as a free lunchbox! Quote Link to comment
+SimonG Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 quote:Originally posted by MarcB:Not entirly sure what you mean. I don't know about the SporTrak, but my Garmin V tells me its position is accurate to so many feet. I just wanted to check that you weren't seeing the number of feet go down and interpretting this as greater accuracy. From what you say, it sounds like WAAS really does give you greater accuracy. ............................................................................... Fnwu n ies galu rnseupyu cesf pucieut. Aj yahltu tagu aj sfug nys bhgi - sfuq'lu ajsup tshbupst, jal funwup't tnzu. - Sullq Rlnsyfuss Quote Link to comment
Cpl Craig Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 According to posts on the Usenet Newsgroups alt.satellite.gps and sci.geo.satellite-nav we in the UK/Europe are scheduled to receive WAAS full-time from the 16th Dec 02. FWIW I currently get 15-25ft reported accuracy without WAAS on a GPSV. Cpl Craig Quote Link to comment
+Omally Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 Guys, check out the ESA website EGNOS newsletter archive for info on EGNOS. From what I gather, the EGNOS signal is still in test mode until maybe 2004, and therefore you may well get inaccurate readings on your GPS (due to deliberate errors in the signal). All in all, probably best to wait until ESA tell the world that EGNOS is deffo up and running before using the EGNOS signal. It's a tradition, or an old charter or something... [This message was edited by Omally on January 08, 2003 at 01:14 PM.] Quote Link to comment
+jeremyp Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Omally:you may well get inaccurate readings on your GPS (due to deliberate errors in the signal). To do a well worn joke to death: that wouldn't be errors of 35ft would it? Note that 35ft is almost exactly 10 metres - a suspiciously round number... ------- jeremyp The second ten million caches were the worst too. http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching Quote Link to comment
Morseman Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Omally:Guys, and therefore you may well get inaccurate readings on your GPS (due to deliberate errors in the signal). The deliberate errors were turned off a few years ago, but the urban myth/conspiracy theory that they've been turned back on keeps coming up again and again. The fact is that, despite the hype, these GPS things are not that good if the satellites are in an awkward geometry, or you loose signals due to buildings/trees etc. It's the reason why, as you get close to a cache, the GPS becomes amost useless at times as you appear to jump about as the signal conditions change. Reading up on what EPE and DOP tell you will show just how far away from where you really are you might be. --... ...-- Morseman Quote Link to comment
+jeremyp Posted January 9, 2003 Share Posted January 9, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Morseman: The deliberate errors were turned off a few years ago, but the urban myth/conspiracy theory that they've been turned back on keeps coming up again and again. He wasn't talking about selective availability, but about the EGNOS signal which is still being tested. ------- jeremyp The second ten million caches were the worst too. http://www.jeremyp.net/geocaching Quote Link to comment
+Omally Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 Absolutely, Jeremy, I wasn't refering to Selective Availability in standard GPS signals (which indeed was disabled a coupla years ago) but rather to the test signals for EGNOS. They are just that: test signals. There may be deliberate errors in the signal from the EGNOS satelite and, as such, EGNOS isn't ready to be trusted. It's not officially online, or so I gather, until maybe as late as 2005. I think I mentioned this in another thread, but I can't find it now... (so much for being a navigator!) It's a tradition, or an old charter or something... Quote Link to comment
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