Re: New GPS comming soon/rumors?

From: Gavin Scott (gavin_at_allegro.com)
Date: 06/07/04 

Date: Mon, 07 Jun 2004 21:07:06 -0000

Joe Foe <fluffy@adelphia.net> wrote:
> Does anyone have some exacts on the new GPS units comming out soon? Please
> post details.

No rumors, but I can make an educated prediction or two. The first
GPS satellite with the new second frequency CA channel is (was?) due
to be launched about now. An even later generation of sats will add
the "L5" frequency designed for aviation applications. It will still
be several years before even the new CA channel is really practical
to rely on.

Sam and others have posted links here to documents describing this new
plethora of frequencies that will be available for manufacturers to
choose from, and these discussions have universally waxed poetically
about how for this application one might choose this and that frequency
while an entry level model might just use that one, etc.

Each time I read this I start to giggle helplessly as I know what the
GPS-buying public wants, which is of course "all mode all frequencies
all-in-view all the time dammit". About 10 minutes after the first
of the new CA supporting sats goes up I expect people here to start
whining about wanting support for it in any new GPS they buy. The
first consumer GPS company that can advertise their models as having
a new "all frequency" receiver is going to clean up, even if the new
capability really isn't all that useful for a few years.

So, my prediction is that Garmin and/or Magellan or others will very
shortly announce that they have a new "all frequency" receiver that
will support at least the new CA frequency if not L5 as well. This
will probably be available in the higher-end models initially (just
to try to get people to buy a more expensive model than they otherwise
would) but will eventually be standard across the entire product line.

G.

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