Lowrance electronic 540c Baja User Manual

Page 15

Like most GPS receivers, this unit doesn’t have a compass or any other

navigation aid built inside. It relies solely on the signals from the satel-

lites to calculate a position. Speed, direction of travel, and distance are

all calculated from position information. Therefore, in order for the

GlobalMap 540c to determine direction of travel, you must be moving

and the faster, the better. This is not to say that it won’t work at walk-

ing or trolling speeds — it will. There will simply be more "wandering"

of the data shown on the display.
GPS alone is accurate for route navigation, but the U.S. Federal Avia-

tion Administration has special aircraft navigation needs that go be-

yond basic GPS. So, the FAA has developed a program to boost GPS

performance with its Wide Area Augmentation System, or WAAS. The

FAA commissioned the system on July 11, 2003.
WAAS is designed to increase GPS accuracy to within 7.6 meters verti-

cally and horizontally, but it consistently delivers accuracies within 1-2

meters horizontal and 2-3 meters vertical, according to the FAA. It does

this by broadcasting correction signals on GPS frequencies. Your unit

automatically receives both GPS and WAAS signals.
There, however, are some fringe areas of the U.S., including parts of

Alaska that do not yet receive robust WAAS coverage. Continued

WAAS development is planned to extend WAAS coverage in the years

to come.
WAAS boosts the accuracy of land GPS navigation, but the system is

designed for aircraft. The satellites are in a fixed orbit around the

Equator, so they appear very low in the sky to someone on the ground

in North America. Aircraft and vessels on open water can get consis-

tently good WAAS reception, but terrain, foliage or even large man-

made structures can sometimes block the WAAS signal from ground

receivers.
You'll find that using your GPS receiver is both easy and amazingly

accurate. It’s easily the most accurate method of electronic navigation

available to the general public today. Remember that this receiver is

only a tool. Always have another method of navigation available, such

as a map or chart and a compass.
Also remember that this unit will always show navigation information

in the shortest line from your present position to a waypoint, regardless

of terrain! It only calculates position, it can’t know what’s between you

and your destination, for example. It’s up to you to safely navigate

around obstacles, no matter how you’re using this product.