[TowerTalk] Strange behavior

[Roger (K8RI) on TT]

They can, or I should say, some can, but they may require movement while 
being held steady which is difficult.  Some may require walking in a 
straight line for as much as 10 feet while you hold the phone in a 
constant position. You are correct though as you can't expect to just 
pull a smartphone from your pocket and expect it to tell you which way 
is North. It could tell you your location though, but without movement 
it leaves the directions up to you.  They do not have near the precision 
of an aviation GPS, even without WAAS

A good GPS will give direction once it has initialized and it will do it 
from a stationary position, but those make smartphones look cheap.

I have a Garmin setting on the shelf that hasn't been used in many 
years.  It's one of the earlier "full featured" aviation models and too 
bulky to be of any use hiking.

73, Roger (K8RI)

On 1/22/2017 10:25 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
> On Sun,1/22/2017 7:15 PM, Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:
>> If I'm not mistaken the smart phones derive the compass from GPS
>
> Not all -- many phones have sensors for position and orientation 
> separate from GPS. That's how, for example, they know when to rotate 
> the image when you rotate the device.
>
>> which is true, not magnetic so it wouldn't require a correction.
>
> For GPS to determine azimuth the observer must be moving. That works 
> fine in a vehicle, but not when you're walking.  Ask me how I know. :)
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
>
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-- 

73

Roger (K8RI)


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