Why is GPS draining battery so fast?

Question

satellite navigation

I was looking for a detailed answer to this question, but I did not find a clear answer anywhere. There are suspicions that the signal transmitted by the satellite is very weak, and a powerful amplifier is switched on on the mobile phone, which actually drains the battery. But this is nothing more than my unsubstantiated guess. I would like to know the real cause of this phenomenon.

Answer 1

The GPS navigation module is a receiver, not a transmitter. The signal is transmitted from satellites. The module itself is engaged in receiving data from several satellites and processing them non-stop in order to inform the user of the current coordinates. Contrary to common misconception, satellites do not transmit ready-made coordinates, the GPS module is responsible for calculating the coordinates. The operation of the antenna itself, calculations and software for working with the GPS module - all this significantly consumes electricity within a single device.

Answer 2

Hm. I had a hunch that the battery runs out quickly, because when GPS is on, the phone is constantly in the “talk” mode of the device with satellites, constant packet data transfer back and forth, and so on.
But the guess is also unfounded.

Answer 3

And I'll blurt out past the cash register. The iPad is great as a navigator, the battery lasts 5-6 hours in navigation mode, a hefty screen, a fast processor, a large selection of various software. The beauty.
This is how I went to St. Petersburg the other day, four days in St. Petersburg and back: Two navigators, each with two navigation programs with different maps)

Answer 4

Buy a normal GPS navigator and don't suffer: 20+ hours from 2 batteries.

Answer 5

It all depends on the GPS chip. You most likely have SiRFstarIII which is characterized by increased power consumption. According to the manufacturer, the new version of the SiRFatlasIV chip is 60% more economical.

Answer 6

Another answer is that the GPS should work constantly and not lose frequency.
You probably noticed that the GPS does not turn on instantly - sometimes it takes almost a minute until it finds you for sure.
Various A-GPS and other memories of his last inclusion help him in this.
If you can turn off the screen, if WiFi can wake up once a minute to find the base, if the SIM card and the processor also take care of your battery… in general, GPS from its physics cannot turn off even for a second, but must follow its quartz…

Answer 7

Do you mean a specific phone model or a general question?
The amount of energy consumption is affected not only by the hardware itself, but also by the type of operating system and software that is used for GPS.
IMHO The battery drains faster due to the constant reception of a signal from satellites (several, not one), the backlit screen, the workload of hardware (especially the processor) Modern GPS programs are demanding on hardware, some objects are displayed in 3D.

Answer 8

MrCrock, as far as I understand, the GPS module converts the data received from the satellite and simply transfers it to the software. Why would the software suddenly drain the battery like that? I can chat for several hours on WiFi via Skype and nothing, but here 1-2 hours and that's it.

Answer 9

The battery is not drained by the GPS itself, but by the navigation programs. I have a program on the Nokia N900 that only writes GPS data to the log, so it does not drain the battery much if the navigation through the network is turned off.
And some programs have a bad habit of downloading maps from the Internet. Maybe this is your case?

Answer 10

Determining the coordinates requires a huge amount of computing power. The processor performs complex calculations (more difficult than in games) that require a lot of energy. So the battery drains quickly.