Garmin i3 Sat Nac back at 99.99 at comet

Poppycat

He means locked on to satellites whist. It will say on gps acquiring satellite or something to that effect.

Dan29

AlastairI wrote:

It takes on average up to 45 minutes to get your initial satellite lock, make sure you're outside with a clear view of the sky and no large buildings as this can cause rebounded signals.

Hi Alastair

Thanks very much for the useful information you've posted on this thread.

As NickMidgley said, it's a shame there's nothing in the (very limited) instructions you get with the i3 to indicate that this is necessary; when many of us bought i3s from Somerfield in January there was much confusion and several returned units due to this point. Please note that I'm not holding you personally responsible for this

Has the i3 now been replaced by a new device?

Cheers
Dan

Dan29

Poppycat wrote:

He means locked on to satellites whist. It will say on gps acquiring satellite or something to that effect.

Indeed. Some people have found that the first time they switch on the i3, they have to leave it on for an hour or more before it knows where it is.

syledis

Dont know if this will help anyone, but you need 1 sat to gather Almanac info, 3 for a 2D position, and 4 for a 3D position, and there is no such thing as a black spot for GPS coverage as there is a full complement of Sats in orbit now.The only problem you might see is multipath, which is caused by signals bouncing off large structures next to you, also solar activity can affect the signals somewhat.

I know, a bit geeky but it may help someone!!!

brad

I think the time of day you set it up may also effect how quickly it finds the sats. I.e. Their orbital positions

Miss-spent_2

O.K. got it working now, thanks to those who explained it could take a long time and needed an open space. In the end I drove out of town and parked up by a field. However, next problem is it doesn't find exact addresses. When I put my post code in it finds an address near by, same when I put my mums in.
As I travel quite a bit for work and am usually looking for schools I need to find the exact street, not just the area.
Any suggestions?

AlastairI

Dan29 wrote:

Hi Alastair

Thanks very much for the useful information you've posted on this thread.

As NickMidgley said, it's a shame there's nothing in the (very limited) instructions you get with the i3 to indicate that this is necessary; when many of us bought i3s from Somerfield in January there was much confusion and several returned units due to this point. Please note that I'm not holding you personally responsible for this

Has the i3 now been replaced by a new device?

Cheers
Dan

Hi Dan,

No problem at all, the unit has not been replaced and is still the cheapest in car unit we produce. I agree with the instruction manual or should I say reference guide, it is very poor and lacks a lot of information. We have suggested adding more to this but so far nothing extra has been produced in terms of paper work for this unit.

I have no idea what the replacement for this will be, in terms of price there is currently no new unit in development. Although people tend to be going for the new C500 series and Nuvi units at the moment.

northern_munky

Dan29 wrote:

As NickMidgley said, it's a shame there's nothing in the (very limited) instructions you get with the i3 to indicate that this is necessary

Theres a better owners manual to download from here:

http://www.garmin.com/products/manual.jsp?product=010-00434-00

scoop211

next problem is it doesn't find exact addresses. When I put my post code in it finds an address near by, same when I put my mums in.
As I travel quite a bit for work and am usually looking for schools I need to find the exact street, not just the area.
Any suggestions?

A post code will cover a number of houses, so you also need the house number. And I think this unit is accurate to about 50yds. Mine says I am two houses away when I am on my drive.

timbouk

scoop211 wrote:

next problem is it doesn't find exact addresses. When I put my post code in it finds an address near by, same when I put my mums in.
As I travel quite a bit for work and am usually looking for schools I need to find the exact street, not just the area.
Any suggestions?

A post code will cover a number of houses, so you also need the house number. And I think this unit is accurate to about 50yds. Mine says I am two houses away when I am on my drive.

You should enable error correction reception.

SETTINGS, SYSTEM, GPS MODE, WAAS/EGNOS

This should improve it a lot.

What is WAAS?

You've heard the term WAAS, seen it on packaging and ads for Garmin® products, and maybe even know it stands for Wide Area Augmentation System. Okay, so what the heck is it? Basically, it's a system of satellites and ground stations that provide GPS signal corrections, giving you even better position accuracy. How much better? Try an average of up to five times better. A WAAS-capable receiver can give you a position accuracy of better than three meters 95 percent of the time. And you don't have to purchase additional receiving equipment or pay service fees to utilize WAAS.

The origins of WAAS

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) are developing the WAAS program for use in precision flight approaches. Currently, GPS alone does not meet the FAA's navigation requirements for accuracy, integrity, and availability. WAAS corrects for GPS signal errors caused by ionospheric disturbances, timing, and satellite orbit errors, and it provides vital integrity information regarding the health of each GPS satellite.

How it Works

WAAS consists of approximately 25 ground reference stations positioned across the United States that monitor GPS satellite data. Two master stations, located on either coast, collect data from the reference stations and create a GPS correction message. This correction accounts for GPS satellite orbit and clock drift plus signal delays caused by the atmosphere and ionosphere. The corrected differential message is then broadcast through one of two geostationary satellites, or satellites with a fixed position over the equator. The information is compatible with the basic GPS signal structure, which means any WAAS-enabled GPS receiver can read the signal.

Who benefits from WAAS?

Currently, WAAS satellite coverage is only available in North America. There are no ground reference stations in South America, so even though GPS users there can receive WAAS, the signal has not been corrected and thus would not improve the accuracy of their unit. For some users in the U.S., the position of the satellites over the equator makes it difficult to receive the signals when trees or mountains obstruct the view of the horizon. WAAS signal reception is ideal for open land and marine applications. WAAS provides extended coverage both inland and offshore compared to the land-based DGPS (differential GPS) system. Another benefit of WAAS is that it does not require additional receiving equipment, while DGPS does.

Other governments are developing similar satellite-based differential systems. In Asia, it's the Japanese Multi-Functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), while Europe has the Euro Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). Eventually, GPS users around the world will have access to precise position data using these and other compatible systems.

It just keeps getting better