WAAS - Why not?

 

I noticed that when my father and I both got our Garmin's (I have a 350, he has the 660) they come from the factory with WAAS turned OFF. I turned it on, of course, in both units - thinking about the accuracy. But then I started thinking... why would they not have this on out of the box?

So my question is - can anyone tell me if there is some reason why one would NOT want WAAS enabled on their GPS?

Thanks!

Ted

Personally, I have not seen

Personally, I have not seen any difference with it on or off (as far as accuracy). I alway range from 10-15 ft.

However, WAAS does make a difference on the battery life. It kills my battery, so I leave it off.

--
Charley - Nuvi 350 - Bel STI Driver - Cobra 29 w/ wilson 1000 - AIM: asianfire -

Ted1964 wrote: So my

Ted1964 wrote:

So my question is - can anyone tell me if there is some reason why one would NOT want WAAS enabled on their GPS?

Thanks!

Ted

Do a search of this site for WAAS. One thread is:
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/5698

RT

--
"Internet: As Yogi Berra would say, "Don't believe 90% of what you read, and verify the other half."

Can't turn it off on the nuvi 2xx.

Can't turn it off on the nuvi 2xx.

--
><> Glenn <>< Garmin nüvi 2598

Turn off WAAS by going to

Turn off WAAS by going to the wrench icon then system then WAAS/EGNOS.

waas will drain the battery,

waas will drain the battery, maybe give 5 ft better accuracy. that's all. just a series of satellite towers along the equator

So if you are like me and

So if you are like me and have a sp 2720, which is always pluged into the car lighter, there is no reason to have it off, is there?

Yes

gerrydrake wrote:

So if you are like me and have a sp 2720, which is always pluged into the car lighter, there is no reason to have it off, is there?

Yes, see the above link. WAAS will slow satellite access time and sometimes it can hurt accuracy.

WAAS accuracy is insignificant when used for mobile (automotive) applications. The nuvi 350 updates the display approximately every second; so when traveling at 60 mph, you have traveled approximately 88 feet between display updates, creating an 88 feet display error just prior to the display being updated. What difference is it if the GPS accuracy is off by 3 feet when the display is off by 88 feet?

RT

--
"Internet: As Yogi Berra would say, "Don't believe 90% of what you read, and verify the other half."

RT, I never thought about

RT, I never thought about that, but that is so true. Doesn't help correcting on bottle neck if there are others that can't be corrected.

--
Charley - Nuvi 350 - Bel STI Driver - Cobra 29 w/ wilson 1000 - AIM: asianfire -

.

retiredtechnician wrote:

WAAS accuracy is insignificant when used for mobile (automotive) applications.

If I remember correctly from Keith's past post, WAAS's primary application is for aircrafts because of its support of altitude. Unless you're like Aisnafire needing to determine how high he's off the ground when he's "cruising" at high speed, you're not going to benefit from it. wink

--
Garmin nüvi® 660, iPhone 8gb (Technology is not the solution. It's only a tool to help you achieve it.)

LOL...but after $600 worth

LOL...but after $600 worth of tickets this past year, my wife won't let me speed. She'll divorce me if I get another one anytime soon...lol.

--
Charley - Nuvi 350 - Bel STI Driver - Cobra 29 w/ wilson 1000 - AIM: asianfire -

$600?

asianfire wrote:

LOL...but after $600 worth of tickets this past year, my wife won't let me speed. She'll divorce me if I get another one anytime soon...lol.

$600? Man, you definitely need to get some lead out of your shoes wink That would've been enouch for the new 7xx...and you don't have to ask for $ you mentioned in other thread. grin

--
Garmin nüvi® 660, iPhone 8gb (Technology is not the solution. It's only a tool to help you achieve it.)

ROFL Yeap, could have bought

ROFL

Yeap, could have bought a V1 too!

--
Charley - Nuvi 350 - Bel STI Driver - Cobra 29 w/ wilson 1000 - AIM: asianfire -

This, from the FAA. It

This, from the FAA. It doens't necessarily dispute what has been said here.

Q. Can I use WAAS in my vehicle?

A. WAAS is extremely useful for vehicle navigation, as it increases accuracy from 10-12 meters with GPS alone, to 1-2 meters horizontal. This increase in accuracy can mean knowing which side of the highway a vehicle is on, lane determination,specific vehicle location, or where an exit is early enough so that you can make the turn before the exit is passed.

Because of this, WAAS is becoming more and more popular for use in vehicles. In fact, public safety departments including police, fire, rescue, and state transportation authorities are already using WAAS. CALTRANS has incorporated WAAS into the receivers used to layout construction and improvements of highways. Also, a number of vehicular navigation services are investigating WAAS for the future. OnStar will be incorporating WAAS into 2008 model year GM vehicles. OnStar provides notification of vehicle location to a given GPS location within 15 seconds of airbag deployment. The addition of WAAS provides greater accuracy in the location determination and contributes to this life saving benefit. It has provided vehicle tracking for stolen as well as carjacked vehicles and led to the recovery of infants in cars that have been carjacked. Also, DaimlerChrysler has tested WAAS as a part of an intelligent transportation system in development, and found it to be the best option to provide the accuracy needed for their utilization.

The only way ...

The only way to tell if WAAS is good for you and your model GPS is to do some real-time number crunching. It's easy. This I did at http://www.poi-factory.com/node/5698 If everyone would do this, we'd have some real data to compile and compare.

I found that for 'driving down the road', for me WAAS was not worth its weight in salt; in fact, sometimes "WAAS was worse than no WAAS at all".

For me, I'm leaving WAAS off. I'd rather have the faster satellite access time, longer battery life, and (believe it or not) sometimes better accuracy.

RT

--
"Internet: As Yogi Berra would say, "Don't believe 90% of what you read, and verify the other half."

off course?

Ted1964 wrote:

I noticed that when my father and I both got our Garmin's (I have a 350, he has the 660) they come from the factory with WAAS turned OFF. I turned it on, of course, in both units - thinking about the accuracy. But then I started thinking... why would they not have this on out of the box?

So my question is - can anyone tell me if there is some reason why one would NOT want WAAS enabled on their GPS?

Thanks!

Ted

Not sure if some replys got a bit "off course"

WAAS does use more battery power, if using a pwr cable in the vehicle, not a problem. WAAS while in the vehicle also is not a problem, external antenna may help, but not a necessity.

WAAS uses ground stations to help accuracy (from my experience, I haven't notice marked accuracy), However, with this in mind, WAAS may not be the best choice when traveling through areas without fairly clear lines to the horizon. For example through heavily wooded areas, mountainous / canyon areas or when surrounded by tall buildings (unless you can leap in a single bound!)

WAAS info

--
........Garmin StreetPilot c550 / Nüvi 765...........

Must be a reason...

The 660s come from manufacturing with WAAS disabled by default...If it was better with it, I'd think Garmin would have it enabled out of the box.

--
Garmin nüvi® 660, iPhone 8gb (Technology is not the solution. It's only a tool to help you achieve it.)

Either WAAS or SiRF

When I 1st got my 660, I called Mr. Garmin & asked him the same question. He said if you turn on WAAS, you don't have SiRF.

In my opinion the much added sensitivity of SiRF is better than WAAS for our auto application. I feel WAAS can put you in the left or right lane, but without it, you are still put on the same road.

Since Garmin already has the code to implement WAAS and WAAS is a BIG buzzword, looks great in marketing brochures, they need to include it. Since it seems like SiRF provides added sensitivity, and they say you can't have both, Garmin decided turning WAAS on by default was not the best implementation in these auto devices.

The next time someone asks Garmin questions, you should ask if it is true either WAAS or SiRF. It would be great to confirm my findings.

--
~~~~_/)~~~~ Norm, Nuvi 660

WAAS vs. SiRF

CaptNorm wrote:

When I 1st got my 660, I called Mr. Garmin & asked him the same question. He said if you turn on WAAS, you don't have SiRF.

In my opinion the much added sensitivity of SiRF is better than WAAS for our auto application. I feel WAAS can put you in the left or right lane, but without it, you are still put on the same road.

Since Garmin already has the code to implement WAAS and WAAS is a BIG buzzword, looks great in marketing brochures, they need to include it. Since it seems like SiRF provides added sensitivity, and they say you can't have both, Garmin decided turning WAAS on by default was not the best implementation in these auto devices.

The next time someone asks Garmin questions, you should ask if it is true either WAAS or SiRF. It would be great to confirm my findings.

Almost certainly not true. Now WAAS may (possibly) increase lock time and reduce sensitivity, but they can't disable the SiRF chipset - they can't possibly have 2 separate chipsets!!

Accuracy or Sensitivity

ahmadr wrote:
CaptNorm wrote:

When I 1st got my 660, I called Mr. Garmin & asked him the same question. He said if you turn on WAAS, you don't have SiRF.

In my opinion the much added sensitivity of SiRF is better than WAAS for our auto application. I feel WAAS can put you in the left or right lane, but without it, you are still put on the same road.

Since Garmin already has the code to implement WAAS and WAAS is a BIG buzzword, looks great in marketing brochures, they need to include it. Since it seems like SiRF provides added sensitivity, and they say you can't have both, Garmin decided turning WAAS on by default was not the best implementation in these auto devices.

The next time someone asks Garmin questions, you should ask if it is true either WAAS or SiRF. It would be great to confirm my findings.

Almost certainly not true. Now WAAS may (possibly) increase lock time and reduce sensitivity, but they can't disable the SiRF chipset - they can't possibly have 2 separate chipsets!!

Look like you either have to choose accuracy or sensitivity.