GPS altitude again is close to actual

Recently, Ron Lee posted:

"Neil Gould" wrote:

Recently, Ron Lee posted:

"Neil Gould" wrote:

So, haven't you any idea about how we arrive at the notion that for
aviators WAAS is indeed "part of GPS", or is there some value to
your pedantry that we are missing? You have yet to answer my
earlier question: what piece of equipment in the cockpit involves
WAAS but not a GPS?

Because it is irrelevant. WAAS needs a GPS receiver to work but
that does not make WAAS a part of the DoD operated GPS system.

As I've mentioned several times now, while it may be a true
statement, who cares what the DoD operated GPS system was, and how
does that change anything with regards to our use of GPS today?

And I am a pilot who uses GPS for navigation and fully understand
which system does what.

Which only makes it more puzzling that you want to go on about this.

Neil

Neil, what is amazing is that you won't differentiate between
different systems and use of those where they are almost
complementary.

I have no idea what you are referring to, here, but it sounds like an
inaccurate assessement of what I will or won't do. For one thing, we are
talking about one "system" with different components (more on that point
below).

Actually, WAAS is basically useless without GPS.

On this, we completely agree. And, it is what makes WAAS "a part of" GPS
systems.

It
augments GPS much as EGNOS does in Europe yet do you call EGNOS part
of GPS?

I probably would, if my GPS receiver integrated EGNOS data to enhance the
accuracy of the positional information.

By definition, a system can have a number of interrelated components, and
there is no requirement that those components be operated by (or the
responsibility of) a single entity. As a _user_ of such systems, one's
concerns are focused on the ability to properly integrate system
information into the primary task at hand. How would it help the primary
task to focus on components of a system that can not be isolated? The only
thing we can do as pilots is know whether the information we are getting
is useful, and what to do if it isn't. I'm comfortable with that.

I am far less concerned about who is responsible for operating and
maintaining the components of the GPS system than I am about who is
responsible for operating and maintaining my water supply, and I recognize
that in either case I am powerless to affect either of those components or
their managers. So, I focus my attention on using both systems in the best
way to get the results I need, and anything beyond that is a distraction
and a waste of time.

Neil