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View Full Version : U.S. May Reduce Non-Military GPS Accuracy

blingbling
03-19-03, 07:29 AM
http://www.spacedaily.com/2003/030318154133.7p1uva5u.html

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/03/19/0340247
Nick
03-19-03, 06:06 PM
"AvD said it (GPS accuracy) could be reduced to more than 100 metres. It urged drivers to take precautions and bring along an old-fashioned map."

...and by all means, do not drive on the road shown by the map on your LCD display. Pehaps it would be best if you raised your eyes and looked out at the actual road through your windshield.

If, by chance, you parked your car in the garage last night and it isn't there today, ring up your neighbor down the block and inquire if your vehicle is in their garage.
Lee L
03-20-03, 06:21 AM
Funny, but Germans really belie in their GPS's. I remember a few years ago the couple that drove right into the water because the GPS showed a line as if the road continued when in reality they had to wait for a ferry boat.
blingbling
03-20-03, 06:29 AM
Call me crazy but if I pay for ACCURATE GPS service and I'm getting results that are consistently 100 meters off...erm...isn't that actionable?
James_F
03-20-03, 07:06 AM
According to my contact in the government who knows these GPS things (I work as a contractor for the Navy), he says they are just doing it in localized areas of the Middle East, not the CONUS. He assures me that they will not mess with the CONUS since Airlines are starting to use GPS to navigation and landing.
Neil Derryberry
03-20-03, 08:51 AM
I guess 100 meters might be important in that case, huh?
Scott Greczkowski
03-20-03, 08:58 AM
If I rememebr correctly, GPS's had a error factor in it up until a few years ago when President Clinton had the erros removed from the GPS stream.

If I also remember correctly many airports installed special transmitters which planes listened to which acted as a correction signal to help defuse the error signals. (Because these signal were low power and can be turned on and off as needed they were allowed by the government to help navigation of aircraft.)
James_F
03-20-03, 09:00 AM
I'd hope so...

Press release about a year old...

http://www.acpa.ca/safety/gpslnds.pdf