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WHAT IS GPS ?
The Global Positioning System is a constellation of satellites that orbit the earth twice a day, transmitting precise time and position ( latitude, longitude and altitude) information. With a GPS receiver, users can determine their location anywhere on the Earth. Position and navigation information is vital to a broad range of professional and personal activities, including hiking, hunting, camping, boating, surveying, aviation, national defense, vehicle tracking, navigation and more.
The complete system consists of 24 satellites orbiting about 12,000 miles above the Earth, and five ground stations to monitor and manage the satellite constellation. These satellites provide 24-hour-a-day coverage for both two-and three-dimensional positioning anywhere on Earth.
Development of the $10 billion GPS satellite navigation system was begun in the 1970s by the US Department of Defense, which continues to manage the system, to provide continuous, worldwide positioning and navigation data to US military forces around the globe. However, GPS has an even broader civilian commercial application. To meet these needs, GPS offers two levels of service, one for civilian access and the second encrypted for exclusive military use. The GPS signals are available to an unlimited number of users simultaneously, and there is NO CHARGE for using the GPS Satellites either.
HOW DOES GPS WORK?
The basis of GPS technology is precise time and position information. Using atomic clocks and location data, each satellite continuously broadcast the time and it's position. A GPS receiver receives these signals, Listening to three or more satellites at once, to determine the users position on earth.
By measuring the time interval between the transmission and the reception of a satellite signal, the GPS receiver calculates the user and each satellite. Using the distance measurements of at least three satellites in an algorithm computation, the GPS receiver arrives at an accurate position fix. Information must be received from three satellites in order to obtain two-dimensional fixes (latitude and longitude), and four satellites are required for three dimensional positioning (latitude, longitude, and altitude).
WHO USES GPS?
GPS receivers provide positioning, velocity and navigation information for a variety of markets and purposes. Anyone who needs to know the precise time or the exact location of people or objects will benefit from GPS. In turn, this information can be used in charting and mapping, plotting a course, navigating from point to point, tracking vehicle movement, locating previously identified sites or any number of similar functions.
How do you keep your GPS firmware and software updated?
Updates for your GPS unit and related map software can be downloaded from the web site of your unit's manufacturer. Just click on either link below for the brand names we sell on our site:
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL US WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE at sales@advancedgpsstore.com.
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