GPS Radio
Looking for a simple explanation of how the internal radios in receivers work and maybe some tips on how to tweak the settings so the receivers operate as smoothly as possible.
The situation today:
I was working on a highway project in a quickly developing area. On the way to set up my base I passed a couple other receivers that were being used by some dirt contractors grading out new subdivisions along this highway. Normally I can reach well past the limits on my project even without an external antenna from this point but today I was having all kinds of hell maintaining a radio link as close as 500 feet from the base.
At one point I drove back to the base and changed my radio frequency because I thought these other contractors must be trampling on the one I was using. That seemed to work for a while but then as I was nearing the end of the day it went to hell again.
So my thoughts and/or questions are:
1.) My understanding is that these radio frequencies are completely unique and if I’m the only one using 464.500 (for example) then I should have zero problems maintaining a solid radio connection, even if other receivers are operating nearby. Is this correct? To put it another way, if I’m using 464.500 and another receiver 1000 feet away is using 464.250 and another receiver a half a mile away is using 464.725, can there be “noise” that spills over and affects my radio?
2.) I thought the radio or channel ID did something to help with this? If I have my receivers set to channel ID 7 and someone nearby is using the same frequency as me, doesn’t the ID keep our instruments talking to the proper counterparts?
3.) I’m using Trimble gear and late in the day I ran into a problem where my rover battery died, I popped in a fresh one but when I tried to start the rover again the data collector hung at the “building base list” screen. I don’t run into this problem often but it mostly seems to happen when there are other receivers in the area. Does anyone know what can cause a problem like this? Is it a radio problem or am I barking up the wrong tree?
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