Average number of satellites seen

FlushVision · Jul 3, 2017

The idea for this thread came to me from posts in another thread.

It appears that some pilots are having trouble seeing more than 16 satellites, some have trouble seeing 11 or 12, and I wondered if their location in the world and whether they are using EU or american firmware has any influence.

So, this is a somewhat unscientific survey to determine if where you are in the world and what firmware you are using has any impact on the number of satellites you expect to see by the time you are ready to take off.

How many satellites, on average, do you expect to see, where are you (roughly) in the world, what version of firmware do you have: EU or American? This is by the time you are normally ready to press the red button and not after a prolonged wait.

I expect to see 18 satellites on average by the time I'm ready to take off. I'm using the EU firmware and most of my flights are in the North West of England. (seeing 20 satellites, for me, is not uncommon)

gwhuntoon · Jul 3, 2017

In the Unites States, specifically Michigan, I typically see 12 to 15.

Typhoon Charlie · Jul 3, 2017

USA.. Montana. 15 to 20 average 18

Good satellite days and bad satellite days - GPS Tracklog

NorWiscPilot · Jul 3, 2017

I am on the 45th parallel, a couple hundred miles south of the Canadian border, almost center of the United States (East to West).

On a good day, away from the cover of trees, I will see 14-16 satellites within 3-5 minutes of power up for first flight. If I am at the edge of my lake shore, or elsewhere among the 70-100 foot trees, I may be lucky to get my minimum 15 satellites, if I wait what seems like ten minutes. Once I am in the air, I will often see twenty show up. Subsequent flights start with 15-17, depending on the day and location

What I found interesting during the winter when I could get out on the lake far away from the trees, I would expect the satellites to be more abundant and hook-up time faster on clear days than on cloudy or overcast. Often I would experience just the opposite. What I do not recall is if these observations coincided with my frequency of flight; perhaps the longer satellite acquisition times were simply a factor of not having flown for awhile. Would make sense considering the season and the likelihood of cloudy, snowy, just not conducive to flight type of days.

I'm too lazy, or enjoying the currently great weather to go back and check my flight logs!

Jeff

FlushVision · Jul 3, 2017

Typhoon Charlie said:
USA.. Montana. 15 to 20 average 18

Good satellite days and bad satellite days - GPS Tracklog

Nice link that.

Steve Carr · Jul 3, 2017

Northern Michigan. N46.5 W-90 12-20 sats depending on tree cover and cloud cover.

The only difference between EU and US firmware is the RF power output and RF channels. Yuneec copters use both Glonass and US sats.

Ty Pilot · Jul 3, 2017

Central Florida, USA. Expect 18, Normally see between 17 and 22.

nechsproject · Jul 3, 2017

Denver area, I see about 15-18 regularly. Once up and away I will get 20 on the board.

old curmudgeon · Jul 3, 2017

I don't bother looking for satellites. If the H starts up, it flies. No problems so far.

ArnhemAnt · Jul 3, 2017

Northern Territory, Australia. Running latest FW - not EU, although, as stated above by Steve, the FW shouldn't have any impact on the sats.
I generally see 17 sats on average from the H and 15-17 on the ST16. I have seen up to 20 on both units, however, this is not that often.

Photo · Jul 3, 2017

FlushVision said:
The idea for this thread came to me from posts in another thread.

It appears that some pilots are having trouble seeing more than 16 satellites, some have trouble seeing 11 or 12, and I wondered if their location in the world and whether they are using EU or american firmware has any influence.

So, this is a somewhat unscientific survey to determine if where you are in the world and what firmware you are using has any impact on the number of satellites you expect to see by the time you are ready to take off.

How many satellites, on average, do you expect to see, where are you (roughly) in the world, what version of firmware do you have: EU or American? This is by the time you are normally ready to press the red button and not after a prolonged wait.

I expect to see 18 satellites on average by the time I'm ready to take off. I'm using the EU firmware and most of my flights are in the North West of England. (seeing 20 satellites, for me, is not uncommon)

Stockholm - Sweden (Europe) Long 59.334, Lat 18.063. Between 15-17sats, never seen 20 Distans to the Northpole 3380km

FlushVision · Jul 3, 2017

ArnhemAnt said:
...<snip>... Running latest FW - not EU, although, as stated above by Steve, the FW shouldn't have any impact on the sats.
...<snip>...

I agree. Firmware should only impact on RF power, but I have noticed some indications, probably a coincidence I don't know, that the version of firmware could be a factor. For example, I switched in the DNG +JPG photographic mode instead of just JPG some weeks ago and I immediately noticed that the video footage was a bit sharper. No good reason for this since switching in DNG+JPG should have had no impact whatsoever on the video quality...but there it was. Coincidence? well that's the only logical explanation, but just suppose...

Rayray · Jul 3, 2017

Interesting poll. Typically on initial takeoff at home I'll have 14 to 18 indicated Sats on the craft and 10 to 14 on the ST16 side.
Height usually adds to the craft number and time to the ST16, although my ST16 never sees as many as the TH.

Of course most of us know those indicated Sat numbers have little to do with the number actually used. Nevertheless, they are a rough guide to conditions, geo-magnetic, etc., in the Solar atmosphere between your Earth location and the GPS Sat band.

Dr Delta · Jul 3, 2017

old curmudgeon said:
I don't bother looking for satellites. If the H starts up, it flies. No problems so far.

lol....

Texy · Jul 4, 2017

In Dallas, Texas I'll see 9-15. Once I saw 17 satellites.

FlushVision · Jul 4, 2017

Rayray said:
...<snip>...
Of course most of us know those indicated Sat numbers have little to do with the number actually used. Nevertheless, they are a rough guide to conditions, geo-magnetic, etc., in the Solar atmosphere between your Earth location and the GPS Sat band.

Indeed. For that reason I was careful in my opening post not to say 'satellites locked' but used 'satellites seen'. Your system seeing the satellites does not mean your system is using them. Using satellites seen on the screen I hope to divine some indication, if any, as to whether where a person in the world has on average any impact on the expected number of satellites seen...all other things being equal.

On the face of it, given the nature of the GPS and GLONASS constellations, I would have thought that you would/should expect there to be, on average, no discernible difference in satellites seen whether you live in central North America or 10 miles to the North East of Manchester, England. But some pilots have difficulty seeing a satellite count in the teens while others report regularly seeing counts in the high teens...occasionally more than 20! What this unscientific poll is trying to do is to see if there is any pattern going on.

Still not enough responses yet to see any pattern...if a pattern does exist at all.

This, of course, could be a complete waste of time. I could be barking up the wrong tree since I don't claim to be any more knowledgeable about GPS systems than the next guy, but I do feel that something is going on. Hence the poll.