> How is this achieved? Is there a coupled dead-reckoning system that updates 
> the timing location, or something else?

Hi BobS,

No need for dead-reckoning -- GPS gives you the location. And the time.

Take a step back and remember how GPS works. You have sats flying above that 
essentially send coordinated time down. The receiver solves N equations in 4 
variables (X,Y,Z,T). The solution is 3D position and time. In general, the 
larger N is (the number of sats received) the more accurate the position and 
time calculation, by sqrt(N). GPS has always worked this way, whether the 
receiver is moving or stationary.

In fact, "stationary" is a bit misleading. You may think of your home as 0 MPH 
and your car as 60 MPH or a plane at 500 MPH, but the sats themselves are 
moving at 8700 MPH and this motion is relative. Since the equations are already 
working doppler frequencies and velocities of thousands of miles an hour 
there's not much difference between what you call a stationary receiver and a 
moving receiver.

What you are probably thinking about is the "zero-D", or "overdetermined 
solution" timing trick that was created in the 90's(?). The idea is simply that 
*if* you already know X,Y,Z then the receiver only has to solve N equations in 
*1* variable (T). This gives you a more accurate time than in the 3D case. The 
other advantage is that the receiver will still output time even if N drops 
below 4.

Many of the cheap GPS/1PPS receivers we use these days (Sparkfun, Adafruit, 
Parallax) don't even bother with a 0-D mode. So theoretically they should work 
just as well in a car as at home.

Does anyone on the list already have 0D vs. 3D timing data for our favorite 
receivers like M12, ublox6, TBolt, etc.? As long as the survey position is 
ideal, we would expect 0D to outperform 3D. The question is, by how much.

/tvb

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