| Versions |
  |
|
|
Note: You must be registered in order to post a reply.
To register, click here. Registration is FREE!
|
| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| yossarian |
Posted - 21 juil. 2006 : 16:13:19
I was wondering what people thought was a normal length of time to locate satellites when powering on? I read about people who are locking on in 15-30 seconds and I am wondering how that is. I can lock on almost every time, but it can take up 4-5 minutes and 2 minutes is pretty routine for me. Is that normal? |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| danham |
Posted - 26 oct. 2008 : 15:50:24
We've had plenty of past discussion and disagreement about how necessary it is to sit still while acquiring sats, and also about whether the internal antenna nuvis are "less sensitive" than the flip-up models, so I thought I'd combine the two in this update.
Last night we left a party in a nearby town and as part of my continuing testing of my 760 and its various firmwares, I told it to navigate to Home even though I certainly know the way, even after a party [g]. I usually let it lock before driving, but decided this time to see how it did if I drove off right away. Its last lock had been about 3.5 hours earlier and the 760 is mounted way down on the center console with an adequate but not perfect view of the sky.
Normally if I allow full lock before moving, the 760 keeps on navigating with no probem, but last night not only did it go many miles (at least 6) before getting lock, but shortly after it got lock it displayed the "Lost Satellite Reception" message and the vehicle icon froze (though the nuvi had not crashed - it responded to screen presses).
I pulled over and let it re-acquire sats and drove the remaining 15 miles home with no further trouble.
So I'm not sure if this "proves" anything about sensitivity or about the need to obtain lock before driving, but I'm posting it to add to the anecdotal evidence.
-dan |
| danham |
Posted - 05 janv. 2007 : 19:36:01
Five minutes is on the high side but still well within normal for a cold start after traveling hundreds of miles with the unit off.
Also, if I interpret your message correctly, it sounds like you turned nuvi on in the parking garage and then drove outside. That can delay things because it gets "confused" by no signal in the garage. And if you were driving during those five minutes you're lucky it wasn't 10 -- it makes it much harder to get lock if you are in motion.
I find it best to turn on nuvi before arriving at the rental counter, near a window or outside if possible, and let it get its first lock and find out where it is. Then when you are set to go in the car it fires right up before you start trying to drive and navigate.
-dan |
| antheo |
Posted - 05 janv. 2007 : 19:16:01
I traveled yesterday from DC to Toronto. I installed the Nuvi 660 into the rental car, drove outside the parking and waited 5 minutes to have the nuvi get my new location.
Is it normal? |
| RedRover1 |
Posted - 26 sept. 2006 : 03:56:53
Take a look at this link and you'll see as many as three GPS satellites have been down through parts of August and September. May partly explain some of the differences in certain parts of the world.
http://www.gpsworld.com/gpsworld/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=374674 |
| danham |
Posted - 25 sept. 2006 : 20:43:13
Another possibility: RFI.
Radio Frequency Interference can scramble the sat signals enough to cause nuvi to have to download the data several times to get it right.
-dan |
| chrisvl |
Posted - 25 sept. 2006 : 20:03:19
Dan,
I did get a good lock right down to 29 feet. I would go in to the office and leave at end of day. It would then take approx. 3 minutes to lock again.
I suspect your comment about the blockage on the horizons might be true as they are mountains all around Denver. My friend commented about why is it taking so long to lock if we are so high up.
As for the windshield thing, it was a mitsubishi 4 X 4. |
| danham |
Posted - 25 sept. 2006 : 15:45:11
A few possibilities, in addition to your correct assumption about traveling to a distant location:
The rental car offered a less good view of the sky than your usual setup or had a coated windshield; nuvi never got a solid lock in Denver (if the first lock did not complete, subsequent ones can take longer too, until you let it really get a good fix with high accuracy); coincidence of obstructions on the horizon coupled with satellite geometry that placed birds near the horizon while you were in Denver.
Just guesses.
-dan |
| chrisvl |
Posted - 25 sept. 2006 : 15:29:01
Just thought I'd share my experience on this.
I live in Toronto and my Nuvi is always on. Normal lock time is about 15 seconds every day with the occasional 30 second lock.
Last week I was in Denver. Tried to get a lock on the plane both on the way there and back and I could not. No problem as the MP3 player was very useful.
In Denver when picking up the rental car the lock took about 4 minutes. I'm assuming because I had travelled a great distance since my last lock. No problem so far.
But everyday the lock would take 2 to 3 minutes in Denver no matter what the conditions.
Get back to Toronto and after the initial lock (4 minutes wait) everything is back to normal wth 15 second lock every time I turn it on.
Why would the Dever location be so difficult to get a lock? So for those of you experiencing locking problems it could just be your location.
|
| apersson850 |
Posted - 22 sept. 2006 : 11:21:24
I tried the Nüvi 360 now. It was already on when I opened the antenna, so that would be quicker than starting from scratch, of course.
It took six seconds, but that would perhaps be a bit quicker, if I had been outdoors, not inside my office.
When I turned it off, then back on, with the antenna already open, it took 20 seconds of booting, before I could check GPS status. At that time, the position was already determined, but how long that really took, you can't see. |
| QDeath |
Posted - 22 sept. 2006 : 01:09:59
I have a Saab -- works somedays pretty quickly (30seconds) and other days a while (8-9 minutes). Doing the SAME trip in the SAME location to acquire a signal. |
| apersson850 |
Posted - 22 sept. 2006 : 00:40:12
"Instant" requires assisted GPS. Or predictive ephemeris calculation, at least to get an estimate of the position quickly.
Some fire brigades and similar have their GPS units on all the time. Then they have a re-radiating antenna, where they receive the GPS signals on the roof, and retransmit them in the garage. Thus the unit is ready for action as soon as they go out the door.
I just started my c550, which is sitting on the table beside me. This is indoors, that is.
It takes about 20 seconds to "boot" (loading maps etc.), during which it's impossible to see if it's finding any satellites. After 20 seconds, I can see the signal strength. In this case, it took 26 seconds to get a position.
I think the Nüvi works about the same, but I can't check right now. |
| bruceb123 |
Posted - 21 sept. 2006 : 06:36:51
quote:
Originally posted by danham
Simple answer: they don't.
Slightly more helpful answer: they have roof or trunk-mounted external "active" (amplified) antennas which run circles around the ones supplied with handheld GPS units. You can get one for your nuvi and perhaps see dramatic improvement, but my personal experience is that it is not necessary.
I do have an external, active antenna for my GPS III+ so I can use it below decks for sailing navigation, however, and under dense leaf cover in the woods.
-dan
I have a panel mount GPS in my airplane, with a powered external amplified antenna positioned at the highest point over the cabin. Even with nothing around me but blue sky and a 360 degree horizon it will take a while to acquire and lock if I cycle the power. It would be interesting to hear about observed lock times from somebody that's had first hand experience with the latest and greatest factory installed auto navigation system. I would expect they are getting a bit faster every year but "instant" would floor me.
|
| ZX14NINJA |
Posted - 21 sept. 2006 : 03:19:36
quote:
Originally posted by QDeath
Still no luck here, maybe the next firmware will have more luck?
Qdeath, what type of vehicle is it in? Just wondering if it isn't being blocked by the windshield...a number of vehicles have these types of plated windshields that typically don't allow RF/GPS/Radar signal to pass through. Pontiac Trans-Sports, till 2001 for example...Ford's equipped with the insta-clear windshield as well as some older Cadillac's and certain recent model Mercedez Benz's are just a few amongst many of these types of vehicles. If you want to be sure, step outside the vehicle with your nuvi, a few feet away, then see how long it takes to lock on. That might just tell you something and if it's that, just buy an external antenna and mount it on the roof or at the back glass. |
| ZX14NINJA |
Posted - 21 sept. 2006 : 02:49:10
They also have dead reackoning...a feature found on the 2650 and the 7500 only. Instant navigation without GPS...for a limited distance anyway, but enough to lose the signal and stay on course. |
| danham |
Posted - 21 sept. 2006 : 02:43:12
Simple answer: they don't.
Slightly more helpful answer: they have roof or trunk-mounted external "active" (amplified) antennas which run circles around the ones supplied with handheld GPS units. You can get one for your nuvi and perhaps see dramatic improvement, but my personal experience is that it is not necessary.
I do have an external, active antenna for my GPS III+ so I can use it below decks for sailing navigation, however, and under dense leaf cover in the woods.
-dan |
|
|
| This page was generated in 0,42 seconds. |
 |
|
- 
- 
