Commercial GPS is only
95% accurate to 25.6 feet. Slight changes are more due to your GPS unit drifting than any imaginary "
protocols". U.S. policy on civilian GPS access has been stable and consistent for 30 years. There was
no change in policy or use post 911.
If you are using one of the Google mapping systems the drift you see may be from their own aerial photo updates which often change the position of ground objects in relation to their actual surface location. Google does not strive for accuracy nor do they encourage the use of their mapping for real world locations. Errors in mapping software are more common than errors in locational accuracy.
If you are using a cell phone your accuracy will typically be much less than a dedicated GPS unit. I've seen some pretty inaccurate commercial GPS units so ymmv. Not all GPS units are created equal.
All the
laws regarding the GPS system have been aimed at improving the accuracy of the system. None allow changes in positions of government offices or any other features. Selective Availability was eliminated in May of 2000 so there is no longer a limit on civilian use of GPS outside a battlefield.
To test your GPS for real life accuracy put the GPS unit on a stable surface with a clear view of the Southern sky. Turn on the tracking feature and allow the GPS unit to run undisturbed for at least 4 hours. The tracks created will form a rough circle around the general area of the stationary unit. Study the tracks created during that time. Any tracks created more than 25.6 foot away from the initial GPS position are in the 5% out of bounds range. If more than a very few track points exceed the 25.6 foot rule your GPS is possibly out of standards and may need to be recalibrated or replaced.
"What we are dealing with here, is a lack of communication...."
I was not saying that government offices were being manipulated, independently of the rest of the world.
The information that I passed along, was explained to me by a USDA FARM Agent. It was in answer to my question, about the differences on maps, printed from each of three government offices ( on three different days) concerning one single landmark.
All three maps were in front of both of us, in his office.
The other maps ( all were satellite maps) were printed from the county tax collector's office , and the county emergency 911 mapping department.
Each of them were using the same GPS Coordinates, yet each one was off by several feet when compared to the others.
He explained in depth about the slight changes made into the time transmission via satellites, that all GPS devices receive. ( not speaking in terms of receivers, whether public or private systems. )
I asked one simple question. "Why?"
His simple answer was. " it makes it difficult to send a smart bomb through that government window. " As he pointed to the window in his office.... implying all government windows.
His somewhat loosely worded answer, can be picked apart with a nit pick, but no one else had an answer to that question.
I simply passed along the answer that was given to me, by a government employee, while trying to help BLAIR IN HER QUEST.
For what its worth, I use a Garmin hand held unit and it never got off more than a few yards, for most of a decade in the field.
#/;0{>~
