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EGNOS in the UK


stubaby

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Hi,

I've had my eTrex venture GPS unit for 5 days now, and I'm yet to pick up a signal from an EGNOS satellite.

My questions are ..

Are the EGNOS satellites currently broadcasting ?

Should I be able to receive them in Sheffield?

Is anyody else in the UK receiving an EGNOS signal?

 

I have the latest software, 2.50, and have WAAS enabled my GPS.

I notice that my GPS is looking for satellite no.44 (if I remember correctly) close to the horizon (sort of south, I think) but receives no signal.

 

Thank in advance

 

Stuart

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HI!

Yes, you can receive and use the EGNOS signal.

By default this option is disabled in Garmin units (in Magellan it's enabled by default). Go to This SiteThis for more information about EGNOS and how to enable it in Your Unit.

I use Magellan Meridian usually with WAAS/EGNOS enabled, but it's not so easy to say (a plenty of discussions in this Forum about it), how much this mode increase/decrease EPE/DOP in Europe (I live in Latvia, Eastern Europe). According russian GPS_related Forums, EGNOS "on" does not make more inaccurate readings until Volga river (when you go in direction West to East. In Sibiria and far East the EGNOS signals just increase position Error (I heard the same about WAAS in Australia and NewZealand. I think, in UK/WestEuropa EGNOS make the readings more presise, as without EGNOS. But EGNOS/WAAS calculations costs a bit more processing power=more battery drain.

rgrds, Mix_

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Not too long ago, Garmin upgraded the firmware for most (every?) WAAS capable receiver, to use the corrections only where applicable. That is, if you receive a WAAS satellite in the UK, which is possible, it would not apply any corrections, since WAAS is valid over North America only. Vice versa is also true.

 

Receiving Egnos in the UK is certainly possible. I happened to visit your country at April 1st, when Egnos test transmissions started, and got a good signal. After a while, the EPE on my Vista indicated 2 meters, which I hadn't seen before, without Egnos.

Admittedly, this was in Falmouth, but I can get that signal up here in Sweden too, so Sheffield in itself doesn't present any problem

 

However, especially the first time, getting Egnos going may require half an hour at a steady position, with a good view of the augmentation satellite. You should be able to receive not only #44 (IOR), but also #33 (AOR-E). The latter ought to be easier to receive in the UK. Check that your unit does try to receive #33 too. If #44 is the only number above #32, then you have got an almanac that is incomplete, i.e. it doesn't have any information about AOR-E.

If so, clear the almanac and start over again.

 

Anders

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See below for info from

http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/egnos/estb/schedule.htm

 

In the period before the activation of the satellite Artemis, due to

the absence of the signal coming from the satellite AOR-E, the users

situated near the edge of the IOR satellite coverage may experience a

significant reduction in the ESTB signal level received. Most likely,

this circumstance will prevent these users to perform their

experiments under nominal conditions from June 2003 up to October

2003.

Please see the IOR satellite cover map computed as a function of

user’s position where 3 selected masking angles over the horizon have

been considered.

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Just to complete the story. I did recieve an EGNOS signal (from satellites 33 and 44) on the way to the newsagents. This gave me a 'D' (differential ?) signal and an estimated positional error of 8 feet :-)

 

I noticed, that as the satellites are reasonably close to the horizon, the signals kept coming and going as I passed buildings an trees.

 

[This message was edited by Stubaby on September 24, 2003 at 12:01 AM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by Stubaby:

I notices, that as the satellites are reasonably close to the horizon, the signals kept coming and going as I passed buildings an trees.


Sounds about right. When we were on Dartmoor recently, we had a brilliant reception (way down south, nice and high up). On coming home further up north, the reception is only occasional.

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