On 04/25/06 05:03, John Theune wrote:
Roy Smith wrote:
"Will" wrote:

It may just be personal preference, but I see a lot of value in user
interfaces that make the data quality a primary display attribute at all
times. That way I not only know I have a GPS signal, but I can quickly
assess the quality of the signal. I see value in making this more than just
a binary state ("good enough for the FAA" GPS signal quality / "not good
enough for the FAA" GPS signal quality). Possibly that data could be
colored or made to blink in situations where integrity is compromised
sufficiently.


I disagree. We already have information overload. A binary "go/no-go" is
exactly what you want. If I told you that the SNR from satellite 17 was
down 6dB, what would you do with that information?

RAIM factors in signal strength as well as satellite geometry. To get a
good fix, you need to be getting a good signal from 4 satellites positioned
appropriately in both azimuth and elevation. Figuring out if the signal
strength and geometry is "good enough" is not the kind of problem people
can do in their heads.
I'm somewhat surprised that no one has mentioned that both the Garmin
and Lowrance units that I'm familiar with have a page for satelitte
signal strength. I've never felt the need to run thru the 430/530 pages
to find a similar page but would not be surprised to find it buried in
there somewhere. To answer the OP's question it's there you just need
to read the manual to find which sub-menu it's on. If he's using a
non-aviation unit then all bets are off but again I would think it would
be there somewhere. Also on the units I use regularly the airplane icon
flashs on the main display when the signal is lost ala a pseudo RAIM
indicator

The OP was asking why this can't be displayed on the main page...

You snipped it from your response. Here it is:

Is there any way to have the Garmin 430/530 put its current display accuracy
on the primary display as an ongoing statistic, based on the number of
satellites in view?




--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA