Did GPS go down earlier today?

[dontwalkhand]

Earlier today, I was trying to use my in-dash GPS to get to a wedding that was on the other side of town, it wasn't able to get a signal. I thought something was wrong with the GPS, until I decided to use the Nav application on my BlackBerry.

The BlackBerry wasn't able to connect to any satellites either. It wouldn't grab a signal. Same goes for the Google Maps where it places a blue dot.

Thats not where it stops...When I got back from the wedding, I hopped on a bus to go to the store to go meet some friends, the automated stop announcements were not functioning on the bus...This particular function relies on GPS to announce the stops. The "Stop Requested" and public service automated bus announcements still played fine, so the announcement system wasn't broken.

But on the bus ride home, the announcements were functioning again, the BlackBerry maps work, and the in-dash GPS works without a hitch.

Was there something wrong with GPS earlier today? Anyone else notice this?

 

[toxictrix]

I didn't see anything wrong, but I only used my gps tonight. Was it early afternoon?

 

[dontwalkhand]

I didn't see anything wrong, but I only used my gps tonight. Was it early afternoon?

Yeah, at around 3.

 

[yg17]

Yeah, at around 3.

I don't think so, if GPS were down on a large scale I think it would be all over the news and people would be acting like it's the end of the world. It is weird though, maybe it's something that was localized to your area

 

[dmr727]

I didn't seem to have any problem with GPS this afternoon (1-3pm) - I was using it for about two hours between Seattle down to Los Angeles.

 

[epyfa]

Yeah GPS down would be a pretty big thing. I mean all these planes and stuff that rely on GPS; I think someone would have noticed and you'd have seen it on the news and everywhere.

 

[Apple Ink]

If GPS goes down that probably means a lot of satellites 'in-the-sky' went down as well! Something I'm sure the media would've covered.

Must be some kind of a Jammer! These things jam a specific wavelength!

 

[dmr727]

Yeah GPS down would be a pretty big thing. I mean all these planes and stuff that rely on GPS

You're right that it'd be a big thing, although fortunately commercial aviation doesn't rely on GPS to get the job done. We just switch (actually, our FMSs switch) to another form of navigation and keep going.