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Help GPS sucks?
- Thread starter w0rd
- Start date
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- Tags
- htc evo v 4g
a12tmoreno
Newbie
Could have something to do with the data fluctuation issues we've been having. I live in Southern California and been having that issue since I bought my phone last week.
thesingularity
Newbie
I wonder if it's an interference issue. Yesterday I was in an area with great coverage because it was right next to the cell tower. But I couldn't get gps to lock on. Then when I drove into an area with so-so coverage, it started working. Don't remember having that problem with my blackberry. That could also just be a coincidence. Maybe I just had to give it a chance to download the ephemeris data.
hurricane1091
Newbie
I drove an hour and a half today to do some flounder fishing. Lost signal like four times, but I attributed it to being in the middle of no where because that is where it seems to have lost connection. Who knows.
greysonbotts
Member
Erm...
GPS only receives a timing signal from a bunch of geosychronous satellites... It works independently from cell data
It is quite possible that our new phones have a slightly less capable gps receiver, however google maps normally continues to work without cell data connection ( as I found out in Arizona on a trip) it just won't give you surrounding area streets ( mine still gave nav directions even) until you get to a data connection again but I think you do need to keep nav running for it to work this way...
Hope that helps
GPS only receives a timing signal from a bunch of geosychronous satellites... It works independently from cell data
It is quite possible that our new phones have a slightly less capable gps receiver, however google maps normally continues to work without cell data connection ( as I found out in Arizona on a trip) it just won't give you surrounding area streets ( mine still gave nav directions even) until you get to a data connection again but I think you do need to keep nav running for it to work this way...
Hope that helps
thesingularity
Newbie
You're partly right. A gps also needs to download ephemeris data in order to calculate your position. This can either be done directly from the gps satellite or using the data connection (assisted gps) If downloaded from the satellite, you need really good signal strength and it can take 2-12 minutes. If downloaded from the network, it's almost instant. Assisted gps can also offload some of the signal processing to the cell tower to improve lock time and location accuracy. So it's not just the map data that gets downloaded from the network.
Once the gps has locked on, you can usually maintain a lock after you lose network connectivity. But if you're driving through a canyon or something where there's significant multi-path, you will probably lose the lock. By using assisted gps, phone makers can get by with using weaker gps antennas than you would find in a dedicated gps unit like a garmin etrex.
Once the gps has locked on, you can usually maintain a lock after you lose network connectivity. But if you're driving through a canyon or something where there's significant multi-path, you will probably lose the lock. By using assisted gps, phone makers can get by with using weaker gps antennas than you would find in a dedicated gps unit like a garmin etrex.