"GPS" icon in Nav display

saty said:

Couple of questions:

a) does the "GPS" icon which shows up under the time (upper left corner) represent actual reception from the satelite(s) ????

b) Last week for about 20 minutes my Nav was "lost" - it showed about 1/8 mile off from the actual road. The car moved parallel to the road, but not on it. Coincident with this the "GPS" letters seemed to be missing.

c) is this normal ? today I noticed (never looked before) that the GPS is not always there, off for a few seconds, then comes back. Should this be on ALL the time ?

d) It has been working since then .....

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Rotus8 said:

Yes, the GPS icon means the satellites are being received. When it is off, the nav goes by dead reckoning which uses wheel speed and a gyro to try to keep your position until the GPS reception improves. The GPS is reception from satelites which can be obscured by trees, buildings, canyons, and other stuff. The nav needs to see at least two to work at all and three for any accuracy. The satelites move around so you can be in the same location and it will not work one day, but might the next.

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saty said:

OK, it was over the course of traveling to work, a distance of more than 15 miles, seems like localized obstructions would not account for it.

I guess I'm trying to get a sense whether I should suspect the unit itself ........

so, if it didn't see at least two, it wouldn't have been doing the parallel track either ??? it would not do anything ?

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Rotus8 said:

You can try to go into the Nav service screens. It tells how here:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123662460
There is a screen that shows all the satelites currently in view.

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saty said:

So, if it didn't see at least two, it wouldn't have been doing the parallel track either ??? it would not do anything ?

Click to expand...

saty said:

OK, it was over the course of traveling to work, a distance of more than 15 miles, seems like localized obstructions would not account for it.

I guess I'm trying to get a sense whether I should suspect the unit itself ........

so, if it didn't see at least two, it wouldn't have been doing the parallel track either ??? it would not do anything ?

Click to expand...