Egnos

[FGV]

Hi.

 

I use a Garmin 60C in Europe and I would like to hear some opinions regarding the use of the "Waas enabled" functionality. Does it help increasing the accuracy? I also heard that enabling Waas in Europe (using EGNOS) doesn't make such a difference and can slow down the GPS. Is this true?

 

I would appreciate any help.

 

best regards

Francisco

[+zensunni]

Hi

 

I use a Magellan Sportrax and I always have WAAS enabled. There are a number of comments which have been made regarding the time taken to get a WAAS lock however this does not affect the speed of my GPS getting a satellite lock and giving a position. A few minutes after switching it on it will change from giving a 'traditional' non WAAS estimated position to displaying a WAAS position. I find the use of WAAS only beneficial.

 

Comments have also been made that it is no help with caches placed using a conventional GPS position. However I think it is preferrable that one position is as accurate as possible. If the placer had 5m EPE and you have 5m EPE then you can be 10 m away. With WAAS/EGNOS on then you know you only have to allow for the error ( if any ) in the placer's GPSr.

 

From the above you can see I like the use and provision of WAAS javascript:emoticon('')

smilie

 

Regards - Ken

[+DanAL70]

This is up on what you want to do.

 

when you are speeding up on the highway with more than 100Km/h, do you think is importand to have an accuracy of 1 - 2m , instead of 5 -6 m ? nope! you may disable WAAS/EGNOS reception in such condition.

 

when you are navigating to find a big thing like "Tour Effel" in Paris, would it matter if your accuracy bring you to 1m or 5 m away from the tower? nope! i'm sure you'll not missed if you don't have WAAS/EGNOS activated.

 

but when you are geocaching, or you do something that require accuracy, than WAAS/EGNOS is just great.

someone said on the forum that when geocaching is fine to get in the range of 5m from the cache.

right. if needed, you will have extra clues on the page. but with some caches you must be on that range to figure out the clues.

 

if WAAS/EGNOS is getting more time for calculation (i'm not sure it does), would it matter when you are close to the point, and just need a more accurate indication? don't worry! it wouldn't slow you down.

 

Dan

[+Gonzo-YT]

Garmin's FAQ says that you might need 15-20 minutes of clear signal to get WAAS with a Vista or Legend (different antenna than the 60C).

 

However, it does point out a very good tip: find out which satellite number refers to EGNOS, and then read your satellite page.

 

I live North of 60, which means that the WAAS satellites are low on the horizon and hard to pick up. My Vista C will read it but hasn't shown a differential fix as of yet.

 

I recently did a GPS exercise for search and rescue. I decided to use two receivers at once: my Vista C and a GPS 72. The 72 picked up WAAS almost right away, and the Vista never did. The difference? None... Both GPS were getting 3-5m accuracy, and their readings never differed by more than 1-2m between each other.

 

The most important thing is the position of the satellites. If you have enough in view, with the right geometry, you get the best fix.

 

My opinion on WAAS (or EGNOS) -- WAAS has no purpose in wilderness navigation or geocaching. Any modern recreational-grade receiever is more than sufficient. After all, we're not surveyors!

 

Regards,

Anthony