Re: Configuring FreeBSD 6.2 for use with Garmin GPS 18 LVC

David J Taylor wrote:
Dennis Hilberg, Jr. wrote:
[]
I knew you weren't joking. However, I need to solve my sudden
lack-of-signal issue before I do anything. GPS satellites don't
change orbits suddenly do they? Or at all?
[]
Dennis

Dennis,

Satellites do fail, and are replaced. Batteries wear out, thruster fuel comes exhausted and so forth.

They do not change orbit suddenly, however....

The Chinese recently did shoot down a satellite of their own in a much lower orbit, creating lots of debris which could affect other low-earth-orbit satellites. GPS satellites orbit higher than this, and are unlikely to be affected.

You could use a terminal emulation program (in Windows, FreeBSD or whatever) to see what is coming down the line from the GPS18 LVC. I also have a Windows program which will plot the signal strength received from each of the 12 channels.

One possibility may be that the GBS18 has switched to "Garmin" mode instead of NMEA mode.

Cheers,
David

Well I am getting signal, but it's intermittent. I know it's in NMEA mode as I've tailed the clockstats file, and have run gpsd and used the 'cgps' test client.

I have yet to move the GPS 18 LVC around to see if I can get a better signal from somewhere else. It's just odd that it would work fine for a number of months as is and then all of a sudden stop receiving a steady signal.

I will try your WXtrack program too.

--
Dennis Hilberg, Jr. timekeeper(at)dennishilberg(dot)com
NTP Server Information: http://saturn.dennishilberg.com/ntp.php
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Configuring FreeBSD 6.2 for use with Garmin GPS 18 LVC
    ... GPS satellites don't ... change orbits suddenly do they? ... Satellites do fail, and are replaced. ... instead of NMEA mode. ...
    (comp.protocols.time.ntp)
  • Re: GPS and Iridium
    ... Note I'm not asking about how long the GPS satellites remain ... They might last years in safe mode, ... how long can Iridium and Inmaresat and so on remain useful ...
    (rec.arts.sf.science)
  • Re: EGNOS working at last!
    ... Once a normal GPS satellite has been tracked for long enough the receiver will have the required data to use it in the solution and it will turn black. ... As they are not transmitting ranging data they cannot be used in the position solution. ... They probably will transmit ranging data in the future and then will be able to be used as additional GPS satellites in the position solution. ...
    (uk.rec.walking)
  • Re: Kiss your GPS units goodbye.. China destroys Satellite with missile
    ... I think GPS satellites are safe from this particular weapon. ... missile carried a "kill vehicle" and destroyed the satellite by ramming ... The Chinese test highlights the satellites' ...
    (sci.geo.satellite-nav)
  • Re: Kiss your GPS units goodbye.. China destroys Satellite with missile
    ... missile carried a "kill vehicle" and destroyed the satellite by ramming ... GPS satellites are a lot higher than that, approx 12,000 miles. ... The Chinese test highlights the satellites' ...
    (sci.geo.satellite-nav)
Loading