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GPS May Be Less Accurate in 2010
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GPS May Be Less Accurate in 2010 |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
05/14/09
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GPS in terms of what you put on your dashboard isn't all that accurate. It doesn't need to be, since you're not likely to end up wondering which of three different roads you're supposed to take when the map says "turn here", but I've noticed at least one time when the screen stated that I was 500 feet away from my next turn when I was probably only 50 feet from the corner. Then again, I know of at least one place where there's a street sign warning that the road ends in 500 feet, and it can't be more than 100 feet from the intersection.
05/15/09
05/15/09
Civilian GPS is all kinds of inaccurate. Again, you don't need to know the specific inch of road where you should begin making the turn. Chances are if you're licensed to drive, you can spot it even if the map's off by a few feet. But if you ever want to see just how wonky it is, Turn on a GPS unit, zoom in as far as you can, and then just stand near an intersection or other noted landmark for a while. Your icon will probably wobble all over the place (refresh your trip log before doing this if you want to see the spider's web of "travel" you've just done). I just bought a Nuvi 265WT a few months ago, and discovered that the location of my home can vary by probably 100' or more.
05/14/09
just get a map off the internet, with an address, print it out ... paper can still be used, right ?
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Yes, it can, but what it can't do is tell you where you botched your navigation, how to get back to where you thought you were before, and how to negotiate unexpected roadwork. They also aren't all that great for warning you when you're going to miss one of those rare left-hand exit ramps because you just scooted all the way over into the right-hand lane through rush-hour traffic. That's how I used to deal with it before I got my GPS, and I hope I never have to go back. All that other stuff was annoying, but one instance of being right in the middle of a maze of unfamiliar one-way streets when I discovered that I was just about to drive past the far edge of my only close-up map is enough for me.
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The Prussian Glonass system is only partial operational all because of financial reasons.
The European system is Galileo ... should be operational by 2013 but like some many other European projects ...
Chinas Compass system is far from complete and apparently will interfere with Galileo.
As a GPS user both privately and commercially I have always though that receiver manufactures should be charged a fee to pay system upkeep. They wouldn't have business if the american tax payer hadn't payed for GPS development and operation.
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