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April 27, 2007

Swedish Study says Fast PCs Could Interfere With GPS

Intel Xeon CPU

According to a study by the Swedish Defense Research Agency (I'm guessing this is a pretty small agency), computers used anywhere near a GPS receiver can block GPS signal reception. The study specifically called out newer, high-speed CPUs in the 1.7GHz and up range as causing interference.

All electronic devices emit some level of electromagnetic radiation, but modern computers can actually produce interference in the GPS signal frequency range.

What to do if your GPS suddenly starts acting up? The study suggests turning off all near-by electronics, and computers especially. Probably doesn't bode well for the whole PC-in-your-car trend.

Oh, and the study also said cell phones can also cause interference. For more details, read all about it in this TechBeta UK article. Having never personally experienced any GPS interference, I'd be curious to know if anyone out there can confirm this latest study. Experienced CPU/GPS interference? Leave a comment and let us know.

Posted by Fletch on April 27, 2007 | Comments (3)