Any ideas why I only get 4-5 sats on my internal GPS?

Hi,

I was testing between my External USB GPS and my internal one my CF-29.

I noticed on the external it would rang 6-8 Sats but on my internal I got Solid 5 outdoors but 3-5 on porch.

My main concern is why I only get 5 instead of 7-8 like the other unit. Maybe I have something confirgured Wrong or Maybe my unit is messed up or is the Antenna not as Good on the CF-29?

I am open to Ideas, not that I guess its too important, but since the GPS in the CF-29 should be a HIGH quality built unit it should be tracking more Sats than it is now.

I did this test to remove the theory of Not enough Sats in the area hence why only 4-5.

 

The antenna is not as good on the 29. It sticks out a little on the left of your palm rest and I don't believe it is an active antenna. I have ordered a Jim Gray geohelix antenna and will see the difference once that arrives. The only problem I forsee right now is where to locate that antenna. I am going to try the stock RIM location as we did the 28's, but there doesn't appear to be the same amount of room under the lid that the 28 has. We shall see I guess....

 

I'd sure like to see how that Jim Gray works out for you.

 

Compared to the CF-28, the GPS in your 29 is high quality... But it has a not so great location to get the best signal quality.

All you really need is 3-5 though. 3 sats will get you longitude and latitude, and 4-5 will get you altitude.

With that said... Try these;
http://panasonic.ca/PDP/Drivers/gpsfilter-050926a.zip
http://panasonic.ca/PDP/Drivers/gps_29_2_d040227.exe (For CF-29E only)
http://panasonic.ca/PDP/Drivers/gps_29_3_d040227.exe (For CF-29H only)
http://panasonic.ca/PDP/Drivers/gps_29_4_d040227.exe (For CF-29L only)
http://panasonic.ca/PDP/Software/gps_29_5_d040227.exe (For CF-29N only)

Grab the first link, then the link for which 29 model you have after that.

Just curious, which USB model do you have? Either your location is bad, or the USB one isn't too great either, because my old BU-353 would hold a solid 8-10 inside my brother's truck the whole way we drive from Michigan to California.

 

It's also useful to know the number of satellites which are potentially visible. This can vary significantly through the day as they move around.

One program which can tell you what's available is the Leica Satellite Availability program. It's quite simple to use: Unzip the program into a folder, add the almanac file then run SurDes. Then select the almanac file, define a location and click on availability. You can not only see how many satellites are potential visible but the sky view will show where they are. A porch with a limited view of the sky will see fewer satellites than if you are in an open area.

The program's real purpose in life is to guide people using survey grade GPS equipment on the better and worse times of day to do their observations. Have fun!

John

 

The USB is a GlobalSat BU-353 SiRF III USB GPS. So it works pretty good. I think its my location limiting it. But stil it gets about 7-8 solid 8 at times and my CF-29 gets 4-5 and at the end of the porch got a solid 5.

So I FIGURED it may be antenna location on the unit.

I too am interested how that project turns out?

Thanks for the replies, I really enjoy this forum as everyone here is willing to to help.