Navigation Center
United States Coast Guard
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

GPS Incidents and Anomalies

GPS performance may affected in several ways:

  • SIGNAL IN SPACE is a category of problems in satellite transmission, code generation, satellite upload, satellite position, space environmental degradation, etc.

  • BLOCKAGE / MASKING occurs when radiated SV signals are unable to reach the receiver antenna systems, such as when traveling through a tunnel, under a dense forest canopy, when indoors, etc.

  • INTERFERENCE can occur when high electromagnetic conditions exist.

  • EQUIPMENT FAILURES (either hardware or software) can include loss of power supply, software bugs, physical damage to the system, etc.

  • INTEGRATIONS are sources of discrepancies due to interfaces with host vehicles, embedded systems, power, antenna orientation, output formats, etc.

  • OPERATOR ERROR occurs by inadequate training, miss-keying, improper installation or use and set-up, etc.

Return to the problem reporting page.