4 ms·
The age isn't the only explanation for the low data rate- it's not simply low tech. GPS relies on receiving extremely weak signals, often with a very limited r
by leecb 8y ago
The age isn't the only explanation for the low data rate- it's not simply low tech.
GPS relies on receiving extremely weak signals, often with a very limited receive antenna. This means there's a real trade off- you can send a limited amount of data over a given communication channel. Increasing the data rate might require increasing the transmit power / antenna gain of the GPS satellites, or requiring bigger / better receive antennas on GPS receivers.
Here are the parameters involved: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon%E2%80%93Hartley_theorem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon%E2%80%93Hartley_theore...
- caf 8y agoWhen you consider that you're listening to a ~500W EIRP transmitter that's >20,000km away, with a handheld receiver that usually has a pretty omnidirectional antenna... 50 bps starts to sound quite impressive!
- jacquesm 8y agoMore so when you realize the signal level is under the noisefloor!
- bookofjoe 8y agoI will never again get annoyed because my $140 Garmin Forerunner 35 watch takes up to a minute to lock onto GPS. That it does so at all is the real wonder, a là Samuel Johnson's remark about the dog that walked poorly on its hind legs.