WAAS in Canada?

[Guest blackjak]

Does WAAS work in Calgary AB Canada? I have had connections to a WAAS station with my etrex venture, and noticed that diff data was sent (by the D indications on the sat strength bars), but my accuracy never changes. I get a maximum of 6 meters (18 feet) doesn't matter if I am WAAS enabled or disabled. I look forward to your comments.

[Guest TeamCNJC]

Using a Venture in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, I don't get much of a bump in accuracy, either. I get about 18-22 feet most of the time, and sometimes 16 feet in battery saver mode. Turning on WAAS/normal battery operation has gotten me to 14 feet, but only once for a few minutes, but usually doesn't seem to make a difference. It probably depends on where the ground stations are, but I'm no WAAS expert. -Craig

[Guest mazda626]

WAAS will work partially in Canada if you have a clear view to the south for the geosynchronus sats. However there are no ground reference stations in Canada so some of the corrections in the WAAS signal will not be applied. WAAS corrects for ionospheric, satellite clock and orbital errors. The largest error is ionospheric(5 metres)and you have to be close to a ground reference station to get the full benefit.

 

Correcting the clock and orbit alone errors should improve accuracy by about four metres.

[Guest Prime Suspect]

As WAAS was developed by and is a product of the government of the United States Of America, a license is required to utilize the signals anywhere outside US borders.

 

To receive a license, send $50 (US funds only) to

Prime Suspect WAAS Licensing

PO Box 298798376467

Dallas, TX

 

Allow 4 to 6 years for processing.

 

[Guest Prime Suspect]

As WAAS was developed by and is a product of the government of the United States Of America, a license is required to utilize the signals anywhere outside US borders.

 

To receive a license, send $50 (US funds only) to

Prime Suspect WAAS Licensing

PO Box 298798376467

Dallas, TX

 

Allow 4 to 6 years for processing.

 

[Guest Splitshot]

I live in MI and just purchased a garmin 176C a couple of weeks ago. I have had my unit on for about 40 hours now, and it has not found the WAAS satilite yet. Any thoughts?

[Guest Prime Suspect]

quote:

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Originally posted by Splitshot:

I live in MI and just purchased a garmin 176C a couple of weeks ago. I have had my unit on for about 40 hours now, and it has not found the WAAS satilite yet. Any thoughts?

---

 

Ah, you need the special Michigan license - it's only $35. See details 2 messages up.

[Guest Prime Suspect]

quote:

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Originally posted by Splitshot:

I live in MI and just purchased a garmin 176C a couple of weeks ago. I have had my unit on for about 40 hours now, and it has not found the WAAS satilite yet. Any thoughts?

---

 

Seriously, though, you may need to activate the WAAS option. I don't know if that unit ships with it set on or off.

 

And just curious - how does that unit work for geocaching? I'm sure it does fine for locating, but doesn't it weigh something like a pound and a half?

[Guest TeamCNJC]

Make sure that you have WAAS enabled on the system screen and that you are in NORMAL, not BATTERY SAVER mode. That's that way other Garmins work, and the manual isn't too clear on that. Make sure the antenna is pointed to the SE, and look for bird #35 on the satellite screen. After a few minutes, you should start seeing "D" markings in the strength bars. That's the indication that you are receiving WAAS differential information.

 

Does the differential screen even show that the 176C is "Searching for WAAS?" -Craig

[Guest bwolv]

w

G176C. I spent enormous time and frustration

on the phone with Garmin. I sent my new unit to them twice. They sent it back twice, both

time telling me WAAS doesn't work in my area.

This despite the fact that it works fine with

other models/brands, and that we discussed that particular issue on the phone and agreed that it should be working. (I've owned at least 6 Garmin models, 2 with WAAS that work fine, yes, WAAS was enabled)

 

The issue was resolved by upgrading software version to 4. But I am very disapointed in the support (or lack thereof) and sheer ignorance from Garmin tech support. They have lost a loyal customer.

[Guest Splitshot]

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. My waas was turned on but Garmin said it doesn't work well this far north. They said another sattalite would solve the problem and is going up in 2002.

 

That isn't what they told me when I purchased the unit. I'm suprised! It doesn't get the recption my 12XL got either. I bought the 128 meg chip with topo and map source and I can tell you that is great. Except for reception and WAAS I like it a lot.

[Guest Hamster]

Works fine in Cleveland, however, the WAAS satellite we use #35, is very low on the horrizon, so in hilly areas, it may not work. Not sure how hilly lansing is, but I get WAAS pretty reliably here, when I'm in the wide open, however when I drive or move though the woods, it kindof comes and goes. The Best accuracy I've seen so far was 9ft I think... only once, usually I get 16 without Waas, and 14 with.

[Guest blscearce]

quote:

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Originally posted by Prime Suspect:

As WAAS was developed by and is a product of the government of the United States Of America, a license is required to utilize the signals anywhere outside US borders.

---

 

A little-known fact is that GPS and WAAS were developed by the USA in order to avoid paying licensing fees to Canada for use of the magnetic north pole with compasses.

 

If you're in the USA or Canada, and you're using both GPS/WAAS and a magnetic compass, a trade treaty allows you to avoid paying either fee.

[Guest blscearce]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Prime Suspect:

As WAAS was developed by and is a product of the government of the United States Of America, a license is required to utilize the signals anywhere outside US borders.

---

 

A little-known fact is that GPS and WAAS were developed by the USA in order to avoid paying licensing fees to Canada for use of the magnetic north pole with compasses.

 

If you're in the USA or Canada, and you're using both GPS/WAAS and a magnetic compass, a trade treaty allows you to avoid paying either fee.

[Guest blackjak]

quote:

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Originally posted by blscearce:

A little-known fact is that GPS and WAAS were developed by the USA in order to avoid paying licensing fees to Canada for use of the magnetic north pole with compasses.

 

If you're in the USA or Canada, and you're using both GPS/WAAS and a magnetic compass, a trade treaty allows you to avoid paying either fee.

---

 

Brilliant!!

[Guest blackjak]

quote:

---

Originally posted by blscearce:

A little-known fact is that GPS and WAAS were developed by the USA in order to avoid paying licensing fees to Canada for use of the magnetic north pole with compasses.

 

If you're in the USA or Canada, and you're using both GPS/WAAS and a magnetic compass, a trade treaty allows you to avoid paying either fee.

---

 

Brilliant!!

[Guest mrcpu]

Ok, all the kidding aside, I have a Garmin Venture. When I turn on WAAS I USUALLY don't get anything special, however, when I'm down by the lake and have a clear view of the south east sky I get a little "D" on some of the sats and my accuracy increases down to 3-5 meter range.

 

The bottom line is that there are 2 WAAS sats, both over the equator, one over the Atlantic and one over the Pacific. If you can get clear sight to either of those And your GPS supports WAAS and it is turned on then you should see your accuracy go from 8-10m down to 3-5m.

 

Rob

[Guest mrgigabyte]

quote:

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If you can get clear sight to either of those And your GPS supports WAAS and it is turned on then you should see your accuracy go from 8-10m down to 3-5m.

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Your increased accuracy is dependent on your proximity to a ground station. Just because you receive the corrections does in no way ensure those corrections will increase your accuracy. Outside a ground stations radius of coverage, WAAS corrections received for ionosphere will be erroneous and likely degrade your accuracy. This new error will outweigh any minor orbit and clock corrections that would otherwise be applied.

 

As you are from Toronto, you need to realize that there are currently no active ground stations in Canada.