Changing of batteries during an observation can cause the receiver to lose lock on satellites, resulting in a major which?

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Multiple Choice

Changing of batteries during an observation can cause the receiver to lose lock on satellites, resulting in a major which?

Losing lock on a satellite during observation breaks the continuity of the carrier-phase measurements. When the receiver briefly drops the signal and then reacquires it, the phase data can experience a sudden jump in value that corresponds to an unknown integer number of wavelength cycles. This jump is called a cycle slip. Describing the situation this way makes it clear why this is the best answer: switching batteries can interrupt the signal lock, and the resulting disruption is the classic cycle slip—the specific term for a loss-and-recovery event in carrier-phase data. It’s more precise than calling it a general error or a data lapse, and it isn’t about an accident. In practice, a cycle slip signals that the phase observations from that satellite are no longer continuous and reliable until the receiver re-establishes a clean lock. Processing methods typically detect and handle such slips to avoid corrupting the position solution.

Losing lock on a satellite during observation breaks the continuity of the carrier-phase measurements. When the receiver briefly drops the signal and then reacquires it, the phase data can experience a sudden jump in value that corresponds to an unknown integer number of wavelength cycles. This jump is called a cycle slip.

Describing the situation this way makes it clear why this is the best answer: switching batteries can interrupt the signal lock, and the resulting disruption is the classic cycle slip—the specific term for a loss-and-recovery event in carrier-phase data. It’s more precise than calling it a general error or a data lapse, and it isn’t about an accident.

In practice, a cycle slip signals that the phase observations from that satellite are no longer continuous and reliable until the receiver re-establishes a clean lock. Processing methods typically detect and handle such slips to avoid corrupting the position solution.

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