What is WAAS? Why is a GPS receiver that utilizes WAAS better than the others?
With more and more GPS receivers coming out with WAAS, it might help to understand what WAAS is and how it works better for your GPS. WAAS stands for Wide Area Augmentation System. The FAA states that WAAS is based on a network of approximately 25 ground reference stations that covers a very large service area. Each of these precisely surveyed reference stations receive GPS signals and determine if any errors exist. Each wide area ground reference station in the network relays the data to the wide area master station (WMS) where correction information is computed. The WMS calculates correction algorithms and assesses the integrity of the system. A correction message is prepared and uplinked to a geosynchronous satellite via a ground uplink system (GUS). The message is then broadcast from the satellite on the same frequency as GPS (L1, 1575.42MHz) to GPS receivers, which are within the broadcast coverage area of the WAAS.
