GPS accuracy.

[shoturtle]

Certain areas google earth is correct, others they are not as correct.

[TCav]

Originally Posted by shoturtle

Certain areas google earth is correct, others they are not as correct.

... and some are intentionally misleading.

But if the Washington, DC , suburbs, within spitting distance of Andrews AFB, is ok, I think the island of Jamaica should be ok too.

[TCav]

If anything, I think we're seeing the difference between a dedicated, stand-alone GPS device and a cheap afterthough device intended for entertainment purposes only.

[shoturtle]

Originally Posted by TCav

... and some are intentionally misleading.

But if the Washington, DC , suburbs, within spitting distance of Andrews AFB, is ok, I think the island of Jamaica should be ok too.

The google earth guys sampled the dc area way more then jamaica. So they have multiple gps samples to update their site. I am not sure how often google earth sample the jamaica.

[VTphotog]

I believe that higher latitudes show more discrepancy. At 45 degrees or more, the angular calculations don't account for altitude as well.
I once looked at the Google Earth map superimposed on the actual satellite picture of my location, and found that if Google had been correct, I would be living in the Province of Quebec instead of the State of Vermont. (probably would be better off, too, except I don't speak French)

brian

[shoturtle]

Google earth is for fun. High grade GPS chipsets are for real world applications, they calculate for attitude, and works better in bad atmospheric conditions.