GPS coverage of Antarctica

[fsjbkbdfjgku2]

I have a Garmin GPS but it has no coverage of Antarctica whatsoever. At around 60°S the world just stops, as if Antarctica doesn't even exist. My question is: does anyone know of any commercially-available GPS device (Garmin or otherwise) which has coverage of Antarctica? I've done a Google search but couldn't find anything.

By "coverage" I mean a device which is capable of finding one's location in latitudes such as the 60°S to 80°S range and capable of showing where a person is on a given landmass.

I am also wondering if there are any GPS devices which have a non-mercator projection of Antarctica -- i.e. a GPS in which Antarctica is seen the way it is in this image:

http://icestories.exploratorium.edu...uploads/assets/maps/antarctica_with_agaps.jpg

(in other words, a projection in which Antarctica is not distorted)

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

I have always assumed that the 24 satellites that make up the working constellation of the 'GPS' system, covers every part of the worlds surface equally, as in the example movie HERE, I wonder if the limitation is built into the Garmin GPS for some reason. I found a website that mentions using GPS in antactica HERE, so it must be possible, it might be worth contacting this site for info. As far as GPS mapping of the area goes, I drew a blank, the Open Street Maps has some mapping, their maps are produced by members of the public submitting GPS tracks / details etc. to build the map so anyone with a 'working' GPS can add to it
EDIT
The current OSM mapping of Antarctica Link is HERE

 

[fsjbkbdfjgku2]

I've discovered that Australia's Casey base uses the following models:

Garmin GPS 45XL
Garmin GPS 128
Garmin GPS 126

These appear to be hiking-style models but more technical (i.e. more for maritime use, no user-friendly map interface, etc.) I am also wondering if these models have Antarctica coverage by default (i.e. literally anywhere on the surface of the Earth is navigable), or whether some special adaptation was added to them to make them compatible with Antarctica.

Another issue is that the mentioned models all appear to be old, out-of-stock or unavailable. Does anyone know of any more recent version of the mentioned models and whether they are capable of working in Antarctica?

I also found a model called "Garmin eTrex 10 Worldwide Handheld GPS Navigator" -- because it says "worldwide", does that mean it would include Antarctica?

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

I would not recommend purchasing any of the above GPS's (very difficult to find anyway), because GPS has moved on since 1997/8, these units are very insensitive compare to modern GPS's, I wouldn't hold out much hope with the Garmin eTrex 10 Worldwide Handheld GPS Navigator either, the other suppliers (apart from Amazon), call the same model simply Etrex 10, the worldwide map will be a basemap of the world with country outlines and limited details and as far as I know the Garmin World map does not cover Antarctica. It looks like OSM has a page covering the mapping of Antarctica HERE and some limited mapping HERE, this could be installed onto a Garmin GPS unit

 

[fsjbkbdfjgku2]

I would not recommend purchasing any of the above GPS's (very difficult to find anyway), because GPS has moved on since 1997/8, these units are very insensitive compare to modern GPS's, I wouldn't hold out much hope with the Garmin eTrex 10 Worldwide Handheld GPS Navigator either, the other suppliers (apart from Amazon), call the same model simply Etrex 10, the worldwide map will be a basemap of the world with country outlines and limited details and as far as I know the Garmin World map does not cover Antarctica. It looks like OSM has a page covering the mapping of Antarctica HERE and some limited mapping HERE, this could be installed onto a Garmin GPS unit

I tried Open Street Maps (OSM) and the GPS still doesn't recognize Antarctica, at least with my Garmin Nuvi. I downloaded map data from garmin.openstreetmap.nl (in which I specifically selected tiles which included Antarctica). Then I put the downloaded data onto the microSD card for my Garmi Nuvi as a gmapsupp.img file. I know that it worked because the map data file (under the "info" section of map data) showed the OSM with a check-mark next to it. And I know it worked because the northernmost part of one of the tiles I selected included Cape Town (South Africa), and when I zoomed in on Cape Town there was street data there that was not previously there.

The problem is that my Garmi Nuvi still won't scroll below 60°S, even with the Antarctica/Cape Town data installed/loaded. I even tried forcing it to go to a high latitude (85°S) and the car view appeared as glitched boxes, and when I zoomed out it reverted to 59.59°S (just north of 60°S). It's weird that the "base map" won't let you go below 60°S.

Any solutions? I'm still frustratingly stuck with the issue. I'd be willing to get a new GPS model but I don't know which commercially-available GPS models have a pre-loaded map of Antarctica, even if it is a basic one.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

Rather than installing as a gmapsupp.img file onto your Nuvi, I would download Garmin Basecamp (if you haven't already done so) and then install the Antarctic maps osm_generic_windows.exe downloaded from garmin.openstreetmap.nl into Basecamp, this will allow you to examine the new maps and then download them to your Nuvi by connecting it to your computer. My Nuvi won't zoom out beyond Europe but I haven't loaded my Antarctic maps onto it yet, if I view my Antarctic maps in Basecamp it looks like this, the blue 'tiles' are what the selected map covers :-

I have a GPSmap60Cx with world map on it, that will only scroll up to 75 Deg North and 60Deg South but I think that is because that is where the map stops

 

[jzip]

I have always assumed that the 24 satellites that make up the working constellation of the 'GPS' system, covers every part of the worlds surface equally, as in the example movie HERE,

Actually the GPS constellation does not cover the globe equally. Each of the planes of orbit it as a 55deg angle in regards to the equator. What that means is that in the Northern Hemisphere you will never see GPS Satellites due north (and the reverse for the southern), and the further you go north, the lower to the horizon the satellites will be. I can't say for certain if you would see any satellites at all at the poles, but if you did they would just rise and fall very low to the horizon, making positioning difficult if not outright impossible.

Perhaps that is why Garmin prevents you from even viewing that far south.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

It may be that the poles don't get satellites directly overhead, but they do 'see' them, here is a website that will calculate visible satellites for any location on earth :-
http://www.calsky.com/cs.cgi/Satellites/12?
As you can see below Antarctica (and the North Pole), 'see' GPS satellites over 40 Deg. above the horizon, I set this up to show all satellites above 35 Degrees, you get more if you set the limit at say 25 Degrees :-

The coverage is a lot better if you add Glonass satellites as well - almost 60 Deg. above the horizon :-

 

[jzip]

Gotcha. I never checked before.
Here are the results from Trimble's planning tool.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

I couldn't find a download for the Windows Trimble planning tool, but I did find an On-Line Version here :-
http://www.trimble.com/GNSSPlanningOnline/#/Settings
BTW
Even though your 'Sky Plot' indicates that both GPS and Glonass have been selected, I think only GPS is being displayed

 

[jzip]

Nah. I had definitely turned off GLONASS. Not sure why it shows selected on the top of the screen.
Huh, didn't realize Trimble had pulled the Planning utility executable off the site entirely. The utility has become less and less valuable over time since there are so many more satellites at our disposal now. The utility used to be part of Pathfinder Office, then was removed but still available as a standalone downloadable utility. I do have the .exe if you'd like, but the online tool is as good if not better as you don't have to update the almanac to use it. (BTW, I work for a Trimble dealer)
I still don't know why Garmin prevents you from scrolling as far south as you'd like tho. I grabbed my Nuvi and tried heading south but it only allowed me to go as far as I have maps installed, which is just N. America, which stands to reason.
Regardless, fun conversation. Interested in the outcome.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

Thanks for the offer of the exe but the on-line version is probably all I need, I have never been lucky enough to work with anything more accurate than GPS L1 1575.42 MHz + Glonass L1OF 1602MHz, working with Trimble stuff at 5mm accuracy must make standard GPS seem pretty crude.

If you want some Antarctica maps to try on your Nuvi (as in #6 above), you can download some from the OSMs garmin site :-
http://www.gps-forums.net/threads/garmin-faqs.46082/#post-225279
You can load them into Garmin Basecamp and then onto your Nuvi
BTW
If you have any old Trimble Epoch 50's lying around not doing anything, I can find one a good home

 

[Omar]

I have a GPSmap60Cx with world map on it, that will only scroll up to 75 Deg North and 60Deg South but I think that is because that is where the map stops

Hello,
I would like to give an answer. GPS stops there where the transmitted signal stops. I've been searching the whole day for where the presumed satellites are transmitting from if they are not in space!!! The answer is Antarctica. It is the highest land on earth (if you can admit it's flat) and it is very safe for builiding secret facilities due to the strong and continious survey. Satellites are aligned along the very long coast of Antarctica. Our dishes for TV and Internet reception are pointing south to Antarctica. GPS uses at least 4 satellites which are aligned there. So there can't be any signal if you are behind or between those ''satellites".
The proof? Here in this article is someone who failed to fly his drone in the Antarctica itsself using GPS because he could not catch any signal and he suspected the strong magnetic pull of the South Pole was to blame. Btw flying leasure drones over Antarctica is now forbidden.
http://www.livescience.com/53536-drones-record-sea-ice.html

 

[jzip]

Omar, you are terribly mistaken. And your comment borders on nutty.
There most definitely is GPS (GNSS) coverage in Antarctica, and it is not due to "secret facilites" and "satellites" you propose are ground based.

Please, if you don't know what you're talking about, just listen. You might learn something.

UNAVCO runs multiple base stations in Antarctica and surveys out of other posts:
https://www.unavco.org/projects/project-support/polar/polar.html
https://www.unavco.org/projects/pro...tations_and_survey_systems/palmer/palmer.html
http://www.unavco.org/highlights/2011/antarctica.html


The Brits survey in Antarctica using GPS, as does the Museum of Natural History as does Australia, Scripps (https://scrippsonice.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/my-science-in-antarctica/) and numerous others.

and the article you linked in no way supports your claim.

Dude, you just don't know what the hell you're talking about, so please, don't make shit up.

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

1) I've been searching the whole day for where the presumed satellites are transmitting from if they are not in space!!! The answer is Antarctica.

2) Our dishes for TV and Internet reception are pointing south to Antarctica. GPS uses at least 4 satellites which are aligned there.

1) Why do you think the GPS satellites are not in space ?

2) The satellites used to transmit TV are not the same ones used for GPS, they are geo-stationary i.e. they don't appear to move in the sky, the GPS satellites (IN SPACE) track across the sky.

You can see the 'tracks' in posts #9 and #10

 

[Omar]

Thank you Jzip for the advice and for the links. They are informative and better than the one I gave and they are funding what I am saying. (e.g. A continuously operating GPS station with Iridium comms was installed on the Ross Ice Shelf for the ANDRILL project in an area known as Coulman High.)
Now I can correct myself: GPS needs at least two satellites and not foor. For triangulation you need three points. L1 signal (1575.42 MHz) L2 signal (1227.6 MHz bradcasting from the Palmer station , Coulman high, McMurdo , Casey , or Dumont d'Urville) and your GPS device is the third point of the triangle.

@Nuvi-Nebie: Both type of "satellites" are geostationary. For TV and for GPS. Just check.

I studied telecommunications at the HS-university in Hamburg for four years. If you don't believe me you can believe the NASA ans its Hollywood simulations.

Every signal we catch is nothing else than radio waves. Everything works with an IN-ATMOSPHERE-system.

Even high speed internet at home works with LTE and 4g-5g now. Presumed satellites in space and fiberglass are very expensive. Radio communication is cheap and works just fine.
I hope that makes sense.