GPS coverage planning software/site

[h8id]

Back 15-20 years ago we had to deal with GPS signal being scrambled by the US military.. and there were way fewer sat's. I would be bashing my way through the tree's with a backpack and an antenna on a pole. Poking the pole up through the branches. You wanted to make sure you could get something done in a day, so we used to use Trip Planner from Trimble... I imagine you can still download it somewhere... but have a look at their online tool..

GNSS Planning Online

You should be able to evaluate how your reception is regardless of which GPS you are using. It will also help you understand why V1 green (gps only) typically gets the 10 or so range of satellites, while the upgraded one sees 20 or better (check the number of sats tab). There's tonnes of useful information you can glean out of this to have as safe a flight as possible... or at least avoid crappy times.

 

[mrreddog]

VERY NICE,THANKS.....

 

[jimloss]

An Android app to try is UAV Forecast.

It brings everything important to flying to one screen - daylight, wind, wind direction, temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, visibility, visible satellites (configurable for US or US and GLONASS satellites), Kp, the estimated satellites that the drone can get a lock on based on Kp, and proximity to No-Fly areas. The thresholds for the display are all configurable.

The free version provides a forecast for 24 hours out - the purchased version for even further out.

At this moment It shows visibility of 8 satellites, Kp of 5, and an estimated lock of only 7.7 - I wouldn't fly now if relying on GPS (I have a rev B GPS).

 

[h8id]

Nice. Thanks. The Trimble thing uses Silverlight... so its a PC only thing. Also... after I posted this I realized I hadn't put "Caution... still use some common sense"... if your going to be flying in a canyon with only a few degrees of sky "visibility" and you leave your elevation mask at 10%... there are no "black box" solutions. The people who think there is are likely to eventually experience a "Fly-Away".