GPS Connection status on AVIC-D2

[zupreme]

Hello!

 

In system options / hardware info you get a connection status bar. I think my gps-unit don't find any satellites. What color should the little satellites have when they're connected?

I get maximum 4 yellow satellites, sometimes the first one gets red.

 

I am using this unit in Europe

[Dubbedown]

if i recall correctly, the first icon is a measure of sensitivity. the icons afterwards mark the number of satellites you're connecting to. you need at least 3. i don't think the color codes mean anything... i think it's there to help u that yellow = first four, and starting from red is 5 and on... so basically u dont have to count the number of satellites.

[Itchy]

I've had the first 7 icons be red before and the last one yellow. I believe it's yellow when it finds a satellite, and red when it's connected to it. You actually need a minimum of 2 red icons to get GPS reception. However the more you have, the more accurate it'll be.

 

If you're only getting 1 red, your antenna is not in the best location. It's probably inside the vehicle somewhere, correct? I know certain glass types in vehicles have tinting properties which greatly reduce reception as well.

[hummer_h3]

One way to tell if red or yellow designates how many sats you are picking up. Drive into a parking garage with cement/steel floors and see which color is shown. You will have a hard time picking up sats in that type of environment, and whatever color is showing on almost all icons will be the color that says the sat are not picking up.

On a Z1, the signals are captured left to right, red is a sat is locked, yellow a sat is not locked. So I would assume the D2 is the same. In the AM, when leaving the garage, I have about one or two red, with the remainder yellow. When I leave the garage, red takes over, and the yellow starts to disappear.

There are 30 GPS sats in the atmospher at all times, and it is quite easy to lock onto six or seven at one time; depending on where in the US you are located. Two sats will give you a signal good enough to lock onto a road, three is better, and if the system had altitude, you would need 4 for a the 3D affect. The software inside the unit, will lock you onto a the nearest most logical road, so long as you receive enough sat information. This type of system is not accurate enough for mapping, especially since it does not have WAAS capability.

As for the strength meter, that is an overall calculation on the strength of all the sats combined. If you have ever used a handheld like a Garmin 60 csx, each sat has a bar in a graph that displays its strength to the unit.

[zupreme]

Thanx very much for great answers

 

I have only tried to connect to GPS with the antenna inside my car. Maybe I should try holding it outside

 

The color codes for locked/not locked satellites sounds natural for me. Doesn't say anything about this in my user manual... Just wondered if they should go green or something.

 

I have heard so much rumours about using USA-type navigation in Europe, but I think it should work.

[zupreme]

After adjusting the placement of my GPS antenna, I managed to lock several satellites (see pic)

 

But it doesn't seem like the navi-unit figures out where I am on the map...what should I do?

[jhoglesr]

Are you using Europe or US maps ? US pioneer units only come with US/Canada maps.

[zupreme]

I am using map for Europe, CNDV-60M (2006-version). It is a downloaded version though, maybe something is wrong? I can't search for POI or city/street. It says NO DATA ON DISC. The US map discs that followed my AVIC works fine, but don't cover my area

 

This map is originally for AVIC-Z1, but Pioneer service in Norway ment it should work on AVIC-D2 also.

[jhoglesr]

Probably your best bet is to make sure you have a working disc . Maybe a shop that installs Pioneer units would allow you to insert an original disc to see if that clears your problem ?

[hummer_h3]

Not sure where you live in Norway, but on Jan. 3rd In Oslo, (date of your posting), during most of the 24 hour period, there were some periods when only three of four sats were visible in that area. Six AM is one time. However most of the time, there were around six to eight sats visible. Now, depending on where your antenna is mounted, some sats may be blocked. For example, mine is under the dash, so any sats behind me, blocked by my roof will not be shown; however, those to the front, sides and above will be picked up at different strengths.

 

(If you need to know an exact number of visible sats in a specific place at a specific time, PM me via this website. Just give me a few days to respond, so pick a date a week in advance. Also, let me know the closest large city in the country.)

 

GPS coverage does tend to be better in the USA at all times.

 

If you are receiving at least three sats, and your map has you off course, it almost has to be either:

the software of the unit, or the software of the MAP source. I believe your problem is the map software. Reason is, somewhere on my journey via the Internet, and researching Tele Atlas maps, and different company's websites in regard to Navigation units, I ran across some type of statement about the discs containing different internal operating software for the units that require a disc inserted at all times, versus a unit that loads the mapping software totally on a hard drive.