Using WAAS on Nuvi350?

[commie]

What does people do with their WAAS setting? Have it 'off or on'?
does it make a difference in finding signals?

[luvs2drive]

WAAS is feature that uses a correction signal to improve location accuracy. It corrects for clock drift and signal delays induced by atmospheric conditions, and satellite orbit shifts.

For more detailed info on what WAAS is try Garmins website
http://www.garmin.com/aboutGPS/waas.html

I live in Toronto Canada and found on many of my trips that WAAS did little to improve my accuracy. It could be due to the satellite not transmitting, or being out of my range. It works best in the lower 48.

I can tell you though that it sucks up battery power, as it means the Nuvi is constantly processing a high amount of data.

[Holydoc]

I keep my WAAS on since there is no concern for battery power since it is plugged into my dash. If I ever decide to walk around with it where I cannot plug it in, I may consider turning it off. However why not use it if it does hurt?

[Tim]

Great answer, luvs2drive. WAAS was developed in part for pilots as it dramatically improves the vertical (altitude) accuracy of GPS. Another note about WAAS is that it is derived from ground based stations. There are 25 of these stations located in the USA.

[calpalmer]

I'm confused here, at least for the nuvi 660 and I thought earlier models -- is WAAS important to be on? My understanding was that these models use an alternate positioning methodology that is inherently more accurate already making WAAS enabling not beneficial. Please clear this up for me if I have it wrong. Thanks,
Cal

[Tim]

WAAS will provide additional sensitivity to GPS and thus produce a more accurate location. So if your GPS ever has trouble providing a precise location and you live in a location served by WAAS, turning it on can help.

[calpalmer]

Tim, I knew that was the case with earlier models, I thought I had read that the Nuvi 660 used a different technology ("RIfSr" or something like that?) that made WAAS enabling of no additional value. I probably misunderstood.
Cal

[Tim]

The Nuvi 660 uses a SiRF chipset which are known to be very fast and accurate even without WAAS... perhaps that is what you were thinking of?

[Traum]

[Tim]

Possibly. It depends where you are. If you are in BC you might be in luck. You can view a live map of WAAS coverage through this link. Right now there is some testing going on which is impacting WAAS coverage in the Northeast USA, but that should be restored in a few days.

[Traum]

Thanks for the link, Tim. I suppose whatever area within the red border is within WAAS coverage?

-Lik

[Tim]

Yes, the red border is a good line to follow. I think technically is the line where pilots can make approaches to airports using a WAAS (LVP) approach, so you might be able to pickup a signal even outside of that line, but that line is a good area where you would be likely to get coverage.

[jim1969]

So I should switch the WAAS to the ON position on my Nuvi 660? I've noticed the accuracy is a little off. My positon is actually ahead of where the arrow cursor on the display is. Not good if I miss my turn and have to wait for a new route.

[Traum]

Considering that you're in NY, I don't see why you shouldn't turn it on. All that will happen is you drain your battery a bit faster. Certainly that's better than having your position a bit off?

-Lik

[GeekyMom]

Thanks for the clarity everyone, I'm a Newbie to GPS systems and was wondering the function as well as benefit of this feature.

[tomj03]

I am a member of the Geocaching forum.
Some of them said that WAAS was an overhyped feature, and I could not agree more. We are talking about Geocaching, which needs even more accuracy than Car Navigation !