When the vehicle's position info is selected, the height above sea level reading is about 150 feet higher than the actual height.  I have confirmed this by taking readings at known height locations, and using a Nuovi-Garmin SatNav which is accurate.

 

A Skoda dealer checked several other Amundsens in vehicles on his forecourt, and these all over read by about the same amount as mine does.   

 

There were good and ample satellite signals in all cases.

 

Skoda UK are being consulted, and I shall announce their verdict in this forum i.d.c.

 

Meanwhile, has anyone else noticed this error?

Thread moved to yeti section.

I've never noticed in mine. I live at sea level so will check when I'm home at the weekend :-)

Same in my Passat.

Just in case I'm not the only one who couldn't find the information, the card slot is shown in both the manual and the specification sheet as for an "SD card", however it handles SDHC cards as well as I found out by trying them. So you can use the larger SDHC cards if you wish.

The Amundsen does not sort tracks by the id3 tag like most mp3 players (Album/Artist/Track etc) but by file name which mp3 players ignore. If you copy all your files from your mp3 player to an SD/SDHC card they will show up as one big list sorted by file name in alphabetical order which is quite scary. The cure is to pre-organise tracks into folders of Artist, Album etc before copying to the SD/SDHC card then they will show up on the screen in a much more manageable form.

When the tracks play, the Amundsen then reads the id3 tag and displays the album, track title & artist.

I hope this helps anyone battling with the manual.

Further to my original post, Skoda UK told my local Skoda dealer that the discrepancy I had reported was within the normal parameters for this SatNav.  That's absurd, because if the speedometer or fuel gauge were "out" by simiIar proportions, what then?  I put my complaint to the Motor Industry Code Advisory and Conciliation Service, whom I assume are the UK Motor Manufacturers' trade association.

They have replied as follows: 

 

" Skoda have advised that they will pass your feedback to the manufacturers of the unit via their internal channels so that they are aware that this issue has caused some dissatisfaction.

 

In the mean time, as there is no defect present there would be no valid warranty claim to pursue. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary I am satisfied with the decision of Skoda in this instance."

 

Their statements which I have typed in bold beggar belief, so I shall now get out my big stick and try to get something constructive out of Skoda UK. 

OFFS!!

 

Does it matter?

A sat nav is for giving directions. That isn't affected by this.

 

What is so important about your height above sea level? :think:

 

If that is the only thing you have got to worry about, be happy!!

Indeed as far as I am aware the yeti can't fly so the northing easting should be sufficient for rescue services.

Ref previous two posts, think the writers have missed the point,viz:  (a) On a modern car costing over £20k one should be able to rely on all metered reading being correct.  If not why is an altitude facility,which is so inaccurate, provided? and ( If this gizmo provides a false altitude reading, who knows whether some of its other functions can be relied on.   

 

If the argument of "Does it matter?" is pursued, supposing the fuel gauge was inaccurate to the same degree, it could be said that the amount of fuel in the tank could always be assessed by knowing how what distance had been covered since the last fill-up.

 

 

 

 

At least the topic has brought to my mind that I have an altitude feature. I will select it prior to journeying to Homebase!

Sorry, but the comparison between the fuel gauge and the misreading height is fatuous.

You do not need to know how high you are!!

It has no safety importance or relevance.

It is a little gew-gaw in the system.

Nothing more than that.

 

You are nit-picking and if that is the only thing that you have got to complain about then be thankful and ignore it.

 

I'm out of here!!

The altitude error is most likely due to the military owned satellites that provide the data. They provide a deliberate offset to non military users so that they cannot be used by the ungodly for weapon targeting purposes.

Edited 20 September, 201312 yr by Genstabler

You'd have to be one mixed-up individual to want to bomb a Yeti :sun:

Perhaps there's a terrorist cell in Banham, Norfolk?

The Freedom for Norfolk Party?

 

Wonder if Bob is a member?

 

I'm on my way to the corner...................................

Well I quickly bobbed through the settings at a set of traffic lights and I didn't find any altitude.

The altitude error is most likely due to the military owned satellites that provide the data. They provide a deliberate offset to non military users so that they cannot be used by the ungodly for weapon targeting purposes.

 

Selective Availability has not been generally active for years; I think it was Clinton who ordered it turned off.  Most satnavs would struggle if GPS accuracy lapsed back to the +/-100m that used to be the norm under SA.  Also, SA caused a positional fix to "wander": it wasn't a fixed offset, which is what the OP is seeing.

 

I believe the US still reserves the right to re-enable SA if the need arises.  I've heard rumours that SA is sometimes enabled in certain locales where it would be useful for the US military to have a better idea of where they are than their opponents do, but I don't know whether that's actually true or even technically possible.  Then again, there's GLONASS now as well (and Galileo on the way) so more up-to-date GPS units aren't tied to a single signal provider.

 

I tend to agree with Llanigraham, I can't think of a circumstance in which you'd really need to know your altitude in a car.  If you're at a significantly higher altitude than the road you're driving along, you're likely to become aware of that fact very quickly...not that there would be much you could do about it anyway.  For example.

 

Come to think, though, could there be a role for satnav to help you find your way out of a multi-storey car park?  For example, it could tell you how many levels you have to go down to get out.  (In case anyone does think that's a great idea, bear in mind that GPS vertical precision is generally ~3 times worse than horizontal.  It should not, however, have a constant error as reported by the OP.)

Edited 20 September, 201312 yr by ejstubbs

Well I quickly bobbed through the settings at a set of traffic lights and I didn't find any altitude.

 

Most traffic lights only have the red, red and amber, green and amber settings.  I don't think I've ever seen one which showed altitude.

 

I'll get my coat.

Most traffic lights only have the red, red and amber, green and amber settings.  I don't think I've ever seen one which showed altitude.

 

I'll get my coat.

 

I deserved that...

Correct altitude data are not available to the general public in British counties with American Airforce bases...

 

 

 

 

I must check my handheld Garmin against the OS map for this house, in that case.

Want to know your altitude...................LINK   -  "Google Maps Find Altitude" 

 

Anywhere in the world and it works right down to street level & individual houses etc)

 

I’m surprised that my throwaway comments have stirred such a large amount of correspondence.  To the naughty person who accused me of being a nit-picker, I would suggest that I believe that I’m synhwyrol which is better.

 

Thanks to the Great Yeti for the info for obtaining an altitude.  Nice to see a synhwyrol comment.

 

Now a para just for Brikodian’s eyes:

 

I don’t know why in your wisdom you assume I’m familiar with Banham :wonder: .   I believe NR16 covers a wide area, and in any case do you think that I would disclose my correct post code on a public forum?  I also wonder whether you need 4 w.d. in Llanidloes.   We can discuss these small matters further around noon on 22^nd Sept 2013 when I shall be in your vicinity.  I do know your address, and I shall be in one of my other cars  - the black  G-class Merc   (reg LJ63VLS).  And by the way, I do need 4 w.d. on my estate in North Wales.  If you need to phone me beforehand, try 07433 248 8799, as I shall have no broadband access for a while.  Must “fly” now – and my Cessna 462 does have an accurate altimeter!  Meanwhile, be good, and don't overdo the            , cheers, I'm out. 

Having recently moved to west Norfolk, and having been flooded 3 times over last winter when I lived in south Leics,  I was fairly picky about the height above MSL.  However the MLC reassured me. 

The short road between Nordelph and Salters Lode varies by roughly +1 and - 2 metres, you drive along beside the unseen Well Creek - its above your head. There's even a trig point just visible on the dyke.

So for some people, altitude is important.

 

I don’t know why in your wisdom you assume I’m familiar with Banham :wonder: .   I believe NR16 covers a wide area, and in any case do you think that I would disclose my correct post code on a public forum?  I also wonder whether you need 4 w.d. in Llanidloes.   We can discuss these small matters further around noon on 22^nd Sept 2013 when I shall be in your vicinity.  I do know your address, and I shall be in one of my other cars  - the black  G-class Merc   (reg LJ63VLS).  And by the way, I do need 4 w.d. on my estate in North Wales.  If you need to phone me beforehand, try 07433 248 8799, as I shall have no broadband access for a while.  Must “fly” now – and my Cessna 462 does have an accurate altimeter!  Meanwhile, be good, and don't overdo the            , cheers, I'm out. 

 

Why the pinkness?

Banham, because when you put your post code into Google Maps, that is what it centres on. And it was a bit of banter and a JOKE!! See reference to the "Freedom for Norfolk" Party.

 

My name, address, and telephone numbers are published widely, and to be honest, it doesn't bother me one little bit. I cannot see the risk, myself, a bit like people blurring out reg numbers.

 

Why a 4x4? Because I am involved with 4x4 Response Wales, because I am a Rally Safety Radio operator so have to drive on poor quality tracks, because I have to drive across mountains to get to work, because I often tow a caravan on wet fields, and most importantly, because I want to!!

 

Hope you have a nice time in Wales.

 

EDIT.

Lots of us are Briskodians. It follows various other descriptions, such as you are a "Newbie" and depends on the number of postings made. Our Forum names are the names in the light grey strip above that.

perhaps the OP needs a reliable height in case his Yeti begins to suffer altitude sickness. Knowing the correct height above sea level could affect when Viagra^TM needs to be administered to prevent the Yeti suffering from altitude sickness. Or not :think: