Number of Satellites in view - other apps

Hello

I am trying to use third party apps like Nuwa, Survey Master and Surpad, in some cases I have been successful in connecting via NMEA and/or bluetooth. However, I have been able to notice that the number of satellites shown in the app is much less (I see 8 sat) than what can be seen in the reach panel (I see 33 sat).
What I can be doing wrong? Is there a setting I’m missing?
In SURPAD 4.2
surpad1



In Reach Panel

Hi ! The third-party app can show different sat number for several reasons. Based on NMEA sentences it receives, such as GGA, GSV and GSA, it can show either :

  • the number of satellites used in the position computation, which is < or = to the number of sats in view when doing differential GNSS
  • the number of sats in view with respect to a given SNR threshold
  • some other internal and hidden logics…

8 sats vs 33 is a big difference. Seing the Reach panel sky view and SNRs, I would say it is because of the SNR threshold of the 3rd-party app.

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Hi Florian

Thanks for answering.
At some point I thought it was something from Talker ID, however I am seeing that when selecting GN or GP in the Talker ID I have no variation in the third-party app, regardless of the selection I do not see the GPS constellation in the third-party app .

Hi Oscar,

Do I get it right that you use Lefebure to get Reach coordinates in third-party apps via NMEA? If so, please check what satellites’ number Lefebure shows. Most likely, Lefebure displays fewer satellites than you see in Reach Panel. Hence, fewer satellites you see in third-party apps.

Hi…

I understand that when the third-party app does not have a direct connection to NMEA and only access to the internal GPS of the mobile, then I must use Lefebure to make a mock location. In any case, Lefebure also reads me a smaller number of satellites than I can see in the reach panel. :confused:

Hi Oscar,

So, that’s the reason you see less satellites in third-party app. Most likely, Lefebure shows the number of satellites used for calculating the solution, and transmits it further. In the meantime, Reach Panel shows all observed satellites.

According to your screenshots, SNR is pretty low, so I assume the sky view was partially blocked. Just in case, you can check the number of satellites in an open field. I believe it should be more than 8 in the range of 10-15.

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