+WindChill Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 I was on my way to a cache the other day and had the legend sitting on my dash, like I usually do. I looked at it to see if it had acquired yet and was surprised to see it showing 8ft accuracy with good signal from 10 satellites. In addition to the 8ft, I noticed that each of the signal bar graphs had a 'D' in them. I dont have the unit handy right now, but I think I have v2.50 of the firmware installed. Anyone see this kind of accuracy before, or know what the 'D' represents? ------------------------------------------------ The world is a playground. Go outside and play! ------------------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment
+Desert_Warrior Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 8 ft is not unusual for me in the desert. If you have a clear view of the sky, it will do great. My best was 7 ft. The "D" in the bars indicates that you are getting a "Differential" fix for that satellite. This means that you had WAAS enabled. HTH. Mike. Desert_Warrior (aka KD9KC). El Paso, Texas. Citizens of this land may own guns. Not to threaten their neighbors, but to ensure themselves of liberty and freedom. They are not assault weapons anymore... they are HOMELAND DEFENSE WEAPONS! Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 I've had someone log one of my caches at 3' of accuracy. That's not something I've ever seen though but I don't keep WAAS on to ever find out. The cache is at a rest stop with nothing on the horizon for a hundred miles. ===================== Wherever you go there you are. Quote Link to comment
+graewulf Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 I can't turn off WAAS on my sporttrak but i regularly see 3-5' accuracy when i have a WAAS signal. Quote Link to comment
+WindChill Posted June 9, 2003 Author Share Posted June 9, 2003 Thanks Desert Warrior, I wondered if that was what the 'D' was. ------------------------------------------------ The world is a playground. Go outside and play! ------------------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment
VI Pirates Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 The best reading I have gotten is 18'. I have WAAS enabled but have never seen the D's. Am I too far north? Why can't I get better accuracy? Is there a way to calibrate the GPS? I notice on some caches I am off by quite a bit. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment
+apersson850 Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Don't forget that it's an estimation, and probably something like a 50% estimation, i.e. chances are about 50% that you are within the estimated range. Still 50% probability that you are somewhere else. Anders Quote Link to comment
+EScout Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 If you are in a good spot, with a clear view of the sky and a WAAS bird, and stay there for 10 to 15 minutes, you can get a very good reading. Two times at a NGS adjusted GPS benchmark, I calculated that my Legend was within 3' and 6' of true position. This is when the Legend reported 8' "accuracy." I was impressed. Do the same, and make sure you GPSr is truely as accurate as it says it is. Quote Link to comment
+Bent & Twisted Posted June 10, 2003 Share Posted June 10, 2003 We got a 5 ft accuracy on the weekend. We were in a heavily wooded area and searching in a rock crevice. Quote Link to comment
Jowe Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 quote:Originally posted by VI Pirates:The best reading I have gotten is 18'. I have WAAS enabled but have never seen the D's. Am I too far north? Why can't I get better accuracy? Is there a way to calibrate the GPS? I notice on some caches I am off by quite a bit. Thanks in advance. VI Pirates -- I live near Tacoma, WA and I have yet to acquire a WAAS signal. Could we be too far north? Has anyone acquired a WAAS signal north of 47 deg.? -- Jowe Quote Link to comment
+apersson850 Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Although not the same satellite, Egnos in Europe is an equivalent system to the North American WAAS. Egnos isn't fully operational, but the satellites are broadcasting, for testing purposes. These test broadcasts can be received where I live, provided the horizon isn't obscured by trees and such. I live at N59º E14º, which is in southern Sweden. Anders Quote Link to comment
+elmo-fried Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 For those interested, here is an interesting article talking about ESTB (EGNOS System Test Bed) and how it will now work with SBAS-compatible GPSr (WAAS is an SBAS). It also has maps showing the coverage areas of WAAS (looks like it goes all the way to Alaska), EGNOS, and MSAS. Jason Roysdon jason.roysdon.net Quote Link to comment
Kerry. Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Jowe:-- I live near Tacoma, WA and I have yet to acquire a WAAS signal. Could we be too far north? Has anyone acquired a WAAS signal north of 47 deg.? It's not only the Lat but the Longitude that will affect things. At 47N 122W the Brazil Sat is at 5 deg and the Pacific Sat at 11 deg so things are marginal especially to the Sat over Brazil. Actually the further north and west one goes (like Alaska) the elevation gets better to Pacific West, so some parts of Alaska would have a better chance of reception than where you are. Just as long as there's some ground stations in Alaska to make it useful anyway. Cheers, Kerry. I never get lost everybody keeps telling me where to go Quote Link to comment
+elmo-fried Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Jowe: quote:Originally posted by VI Pirates:The best reading I have gotten is 18'. I have WAAS enabled but have never seen the D's. Am I too far north? Why can't I get better accuracy? Is there a way to calibrate the GPS? I notice on some caches I am off by quite a bit. Thanks in advance. VI Pirates -- I live near Tacoma, WA and I have yet to acquire a WAAS signal. Could we be too far north? Has anyone acquired a WAAS signal north of 47 deg.? -- Jowe Supposedly it should work up in WA as well, but it's just on the "low horizon." Until they add a 3rd WAAS bird, I think reception will always be a bit spotty. WAAS Q&A: 06/21/2002 I am in Yakima Washington and have a challenge getting WAAS when I go into the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Can you comment on "Soon a Pacific satellite will also broadcast the WAAS correction, enabling the Pacific Northwest and Alaska to have full WAAS coverage."? I'm not sure how old that statement is ... there has been a transmitting GEO over the Pacific for several years now. Clearly, all GEOs are relatively low on the horizon, so it is certainly possible to get signal shielding on the north side of mountains and in canyons. The FAA is in the process of procuring a 3rd GEO, which may alleviate some of your signal problems. The location of this new GEO has still not been determined, but where ever it is, it will provide additional signals from a different azimuth ... reducing (but not necessarily eliminating) any shielding situations. Jason Roysdon jason.roysdon.net Quote Link to comment
+elmo-fried Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Sorry for all the posts, but I keep finding great info. Perhaps I should add it to my own personal GPSr/GeoCaching FAQ. WAAS coverage maps POR and AOR-W are the current operational WAAS birds. As you can see, AOR-W is right on the edge for Washington (it is located in Brazil). Jason Roysdon jason.roysdon.net Quote Link to comment
+GrnXnham Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 I'm in WA state and I have not gotten a WAAS signal either. But when I look at these maps we are well within the POR area. I have tried going to a big, wide open area where I could see the horizon all the way around but still no luck. I have only had the GPS for two months. Quote Link to comment
shabbasuraj Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 I have got 1 meter accuracy, many times in Ontario... lates... Quote Link to comment
+Folshen Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 I managed to get 7' accuracy today with my Legend but I was in the middle of a lake. Prior to that I'd never seen better than 16' and normally average around 20'. Quote Link to comment
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