+Mr. Snazz Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 was out caching today, had a weird signal burp. For about 20 minutes, GPSr only saw two satelites (four and six), and they alternately went from full signal to nothing. Eventually got enough back to navigate. First time I've had this happen. Anybody else notice weirdness today around 1:00pm pacific? Thought maybe we had started bombing Iraq or something. photo of GPSr display Quote Link to comment
+Fatboy Slim & Rainey Belle Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 We've been bombing Iraq for quite a while now. bomb watch another example of what you DON'T see on the major news networks. Quote Link to comment
+Treasure Hunters Inc. Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 We went out last Sat. morning to do some caching but had difficulty with an easy cache because there were only 4 Sats up at the time and two of them kept fading in and out. One was barely above the horizon. I have an older GM100 without WAAS ability. We haven't cached much lately. Are there fewer Sats up much of the time lately? Have their orbits been changed to get ready for better coverage over Iraq? $1000 Bill geocaching is living in a 30 foot circle Quote Link to comment
+Kewaneh & Shark Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 I was out today from about 11:00 to 15:30 and didn't see anything too strange. I did see a few low numbers in the sats I was getting signals from, however I was in locations that would have caused that. I know there are certain times of the day that have better or worse coverage than others. Surveyors around here tend to plan for their GPS jobs to be around the mornings and late afternoons because the satellite configuration is fairly weak between about 11:00-14:00. It could be that you have a similar type of weak satellite configuration time in your area. Another thing to consider would be whether or not you were near any thick trees, tall mountains, or buildings. GPS signals are not like radio waves that can go just about anywhere, but more like sunlight which cannot go through objects like this. There are places where GPS signal shadows exist, and I was in a few such places today. As far as if there are fewer sats of if their orbits are changing, the answer would be no on both counts. However, the military may be doing things to them, or with them, which may be affecting the signals we're all receiving. Only the DOD would know for sure. Keep on Caching! - Kewaneh Quote Link to comment
+Mr. Snazz Posted February 8, 2003 Author Share Posted February 8, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Kewaneh & Shark:Another thing to consider would be whether or not you were near any thick trees, tall mountains, or buildings. GPS signals are not like radio waves that can go just about anywhere, but more like sunlight which cannot go through objects like this. There are places where GPS signal shadows exist, and I was in a few such places today. Thanks for the tips, I should have qualified my post by stating that I know all about things which can affect GPS reception, I know to reset my unit, etc. It was just one of those weird things I suppose. Climbed up to a high spot, perfect view of the sky, but kept loosing reception to satelite 4, even though it was directly above us, according to the gps satelite display. Oh well Quote Link to comment
+DustyJacket Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 There are times of the day where the number of visible satellites change. Download "Satellite Availability" from Leica at: http://www.leica-geosystems.com/gps/almanac/ Enter the coordinates of your target area, and it will plot out the best and worst times of day for the number of satellites available. Mountainous terrain or heavy tree cover can shield signls. Plus, an older unit might have a higher Mask Angle, making it skip satellites too close to the horizon. DustyJacket ...If life was fair, a banana split would cure cancer. Quote Link to comment
+Mr. Snazz Posted February 8, 2003 Author Share Posted February 8, 2003 I didn't ask about what problems *can* occur with GPS reception, I asked if anybody else had an odd problem *today*. Quote Link to comment
+Logscaler and Red Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 None for me snazz. Red and I where out and about but nothing we noticed. Now, if you want, I am sure we could markwell you the list of problems that can happen with a GPSR signal. Like if your.... logscaler. Quote Link to comment
+Mr. Snazz Posted February 8, 2003 Author Share Posted February 8, 2003 ...like if my head explodes, and I'm unable to read the GPSr display? Quote Link to comment
+Sissy-n-CR Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 Last Saturday was weird for me. It was the first weekend out with the replacement unit Magellan had sent me. I was trying to place a cache and get good readings. I, too, know about signal shadows and such. I could hold my unit perfectly still--hanging from a tree limb--and the screen on the sat screen. I had 5 or 6 satellites, most of which had full power. Then all of a sudden the signals would go away! Just blip... gone. A few seconds later, they'd slowly, one by one, come back. I was POed! I though Magellan had sent a bum unit. We sat and watched the unit and when I had 3D signal, I'd take a waypoint. Some were a mile away from were we were, most in one spot--which I assumed was where we were at. Ended up taking about 12-15 waypoints and averaging the ones that were in one general spot. We went back out the next day and followed those coordinates and got to 15' from the cache. Took a few more waypoints and watched the sat screen for the anomaly. Everything seemed normal. Posted the new averaged coords. No one has complained yet. Obviously, something is going on. CR Quote Link to comment
+DustyJacket Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 ...Obviously, something is going on./QUOTE] I wonder if it is something with the GPS constellation? or with the Meridian? The government must be rearranging the orbits to bring more focus on Iraq, just like they did for the Gulf war. I heard this left California with minimum coverage for a while. I did not heard if there were any glitches during "the move". Sorry, [bOLD]Mr. Snazz[/bOLD], about answering the wrong question. My GPS was on and I was traveling 65 mph at that time - no problems that I noticed. DustyJacket ...If life was fair, a banana split would cure cancer. Quote Link to comment
+Beagle Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 Could it have just been something going on with satellite signals in whole? I came home around 6:30 PM CST and turned on the T.V. hooked up to DirecTV. I had MANY instances of what appeared to be a lost signal. Similar to when there is torrential downpour happing during a storm. I pulled up the setup menu and checked the signal strength and everything there was A-OK. I then wen upstairs to check the second receiver and it was acting the exact same way. I figured that since my receive signals looked fine, that maybe DirecTV was having a problem with the uplink. Right around 7:00 PM, everything settled down and I didn't have any picture problems the rest of the evening. That's a good thing because I had been waiting to watch the Bud Shootout for days.... Maybe there was a magnetic disturbance from a solar flare-up? Quote Link to comment
+vicam Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 I was hiking last Saturday at about 5 pm GMT+1 (Greenwhich Meridian Time) in the NorthEast tip of Spain, near the Mediterranean Sea when I noticed that I had lost signal. Only 2 satellites were on the screen and in some moments none at all! The place was in an open field, with a mountain only in one side, no clouds, no storm, plenty of open sky. When this happened I was near a meteo radar, so I thought that maybe the reason was the signal from the radar interfering with the GPS. In the end I switched off my GPS and when I switched it on again some minutes later, I got a normal lock. Things like this make me wait in earnest for the set up of the european GPS satellite system (Galileo). Quote Link to comment
+MaxEntropy Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 These wierd signal problems seem to be happening predominately to Meridians. A friend of mine had his jump recently showing him about 60 miles from his location. I've seen this with another Meridian. Is this a bug or a coincidence? Mickey Max Entropy More than just a name, a lifestyle. Quote Link to comment
+Criminal Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 It's actually a common problem mr snazz. Every time you look at your receiver, a sensor tells it to shut down sat reception. When you look away they will all come back full strength. Try it sometimes, you'll see......or maybe you won't http://fp1.centurytel.net/Criminal_Page/ Quote Link to comment
+Freelens&Mosie Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 I didn't turn it on. My knees got a little weak about 0930 tho. I think it must have been an especially strong gravity wave. I have my own little world. But it's OK...they know me here. Quote Link to comment
the federation Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 mr snazz, ididn't originally post to this because of the time frame. but while I was caching saturday my meridian was weird also I was traveling north on hwy 17 with 4 strong satellites for 30 minutes or so looked over and ha nothing. 0 satellites turned off unit, plugged in to cigarette lighter in case of batteries. pulled over to side of road, nothing seem to work. i knew the general area i was searching for 35 to 40 minute later satellites came back up and I had no problem the rest of the day. curious about time differences we all seem to be experiencing similar problems. Quote Link to comment
Nascat Posted February 9, 2003 Share Posted February 9, 2003 At least I'm not alone. Feb. 8th around 9:00am EST I was showing my Brother in Law my ETREX and I kept losing lock on two satellites. I just figured that I'm new at this and was doing something wrong. Take Care, Michael Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.