How accurate are the latitude and longitude reported on the API? How are the coordinates acquired? Is there a GPS system in the sensors?
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Hello @Alisha_Jimenez ,
The coordinates are set and reported by the user installing a Purpleair sensor. Users can be as accurate as they want. If you navigate to map.purpleair.com and filter by “Position Rating (stars)” you’ll see a confidence rating of the location reported by users.
For reference here is what the Purpleair API documentation says:
position_rating Integer
A 'star' rating of position accuracy. 0 stars is nowhere near the claimed location whereas 5 stars is close to the map location as indicated by the latitude and longitude values.
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Hello @carlkidcrypto-paa,
Do you know how the Position Rating (stars) is calculated? Who assigns the rating?
Unfortunately, I do not know how it is calculated.
All I know is that users are prompted to place their sensors on a map during setup.
I imagine PurpleAir might use a combo of shipping address versus where a user says the sensor is on a map. (this is just a guess). PurpleAir assigns the rating.
You can always reach out to support@purpleair.com for more information.