Tips on Buying Your First GPS Unit

Writen by Adrienne MacDonald

Anyone that enjoys the great outdoors has probably heard of GPS devices. They can come in handy when you are hiking, boating, biking, or doing just about anything else in the great outdoors. Twenty years ago, you had to rely on a compass the position of the sun and stars and your own common sense. Not anymore! Now you can have a handy little device that can pinpoint your exact location at any given time of day.

If you are in the market for a GPS device, it is important that you understand how it works. Since the GPS devices rely on air signals, you must have a GPS receiver and a clear view of the sky for them to work. When your device is turned on it is actually linking up with 27 orbital satellites in place around the planet. Four of the nearest satellites are located and the distance from them to you is calculated via the hand held device. The process is called trilateration. Based on that, the GPS device can determine where you are on the planet. Pretty neat huh?

When you look at the different types of GPS devices out there, you may wonder which one is right for you. Prices can range from $100- 5000 dollars, so it is important to do your homework. Find out what features each device has, and determine whether you need them or not. The following is a list of tips to get you started when you are shopping.

- Research the name brand. Though GPS technology is fairly new, the manufacturer should have a long track record of creating quality electronics.

- Don’t buy the cheapest or the most expensive GPS device out there. The cheapest may not meet your expectations and the most expensive one probably has too much extra stuff you will never use.

- Look for a large display, lighted if you are going to be traveling at night.

- If you plan on traveling by foot look for a model that is lightweight, and water resistant.

Once you decide on a model that you are interested in, head over to your local sports supply store. Get prices on the model above and below it for a good range. You can also try to look at auction sites like Ebay.com to find a good deal. If you are lucky enough to find one that is used, make sure to test it out first to make sure that it works properly.

Deciding to buy a GPS system is a personal one, so make sure that you understand the ins and outs of the technology. If you do a variety of different activities a good basic, waterproof model will do the trick. If you have friends or family members that own a GPS system, ask them if they are happy with their purchase. That way you can get an honest opinion on the different brands out there. An online opinion site like epinions.com is also a great place for honest answers.

Adrienne MacDonald is a freelance author and contributing writer to http://www.gpsresource.info – site that provides free information on global positioning systems.

OnStar Satellite System for Engine Efficiency

Writen by Lance Winslow

OnStar is a cool system for any family. There is even the ability to unlock your door from Space, no kidding, so if you lock yourself out of your car you simply call a number and they unlock it from space. With this great technology and the fact it always knows where you are with GPS, that means the OnStar system could do much more, if it were designed to do so.

Recently a friend on a road trip in a mini-van had been thinking that when going up and down hills the engine had a tough time at the higher altitudes. Having Onstar of course makes drivers feel safer when traveling on road trips; for instance if you get caught in a snow bank collapse or small avalanche. As more people get GPS in their vehicles it will adjust traffic thru an area due to how the display is set on everyone’s in car navigational devices.

Some GPS units suggest best routings and distances, by doing this on the more advanced units it will change traffic flows, for those who have such units. The programmer in Los Angeles could end up effecting traffic in Wyoming on a Device made in China sold with your German car. Go Figure? Currently not all GPS Navigational Systems are programmable and those which are, well like your home VCR, you may never figure out how to use all these cool options. It might be easier to learn a new language?

My friend said; “Wouldn’t it be cool if the Onstar had the capability of programming ones itinerary into an onboard computer, which would then program the engine to be more efficient?”

Well with GIS information data sets figured into the GPS Navigational system it would be easy. The XML database sets can be integrated that is not a problem. Then the Onstar could tell the navigational system that the elevation is changing for a hill. The engine would change for fuel setting for a lower gear or passing gear as the driver hit was one-third up the hill. The GIS-GPS system would tell satellite where it was and the satellite would tell the car that you were at higher altitude and to lean out the mixture of gas and air. Sure, I agree this would be a fuel efficient way to increase fuel mileage and performance and it is not only a smart idea, but also easy to engineer.

I can tell you I have my generator in my motor coach set for about 1500 feet and when I am up at 7-8000′ it runs with extra soot coming out. It does not adjust properly itself. If Onstar adjusted for hills or down hill too that would be smart, it can be done, you know? My friend is correct, as it makes a lot of sense. Think on it.

Lance Winslow

How Accurate is GPS?

Writen by Dagfinn Rognerud

Today’s GPS receivers are extremely accurate, thanks to parallel multi-channel design. Garmin’s 12 parallel channel receivers are quick to lock onto satellites when first turned on and they maintain strong locks, even in dense foliage or urban settings with tall houses. Certain atmospheric factors and other sources of error can affect the accuracy of GPS receivers. Garmin

How Location Based Services Are Mis-used?

Writen by William Alexander

The Global Positions System (GPS) satellites are free for anyone to use. However, to use it, a GPS receiver is required which is not free. In recent years these GPS receivers have become very small and embedded in mobile phones. This has given rise to many location based services. Though there are many LBS applications that are very useful, there are a few applications that are misused.

One of the location-based services as mentioned at http://www.m-indya.com is Child Tracking. In a study carried out by New Media Technologies students (2005) in Australia, they have detailed how this service can be misused. They state that,

“In 1998 the US implemented the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act 1998 which limits the ways Web site operators and others may collect and disseminate information pertaining to customers under the age of 13. So far, Australia has not followed suit and does not seem to have a law, which directly protects children from technology such as the Internet. With the introduction of global positioning systems for tracking purposes, the issue of child protection needs to be addressed before this technology gets into the wrong hands and used for malicious purposes.”

Some of the other consequences that may occur due to these services are the problem of parent-child relationship and also marital relationship. In their study they point out “parents should negotiate with their teenagers an agreeable form of knowing where they are whether it be GPS on their phone or just a phone call to let them know where they are. This will ensure that the relationship will not be damaged through a form of mistrust.”

And even between spouses each needs a bit of their own space and privacy, which will be jeopardised by the use of this service and may cause problems in marital relationships.

In a ZDNet news by Lisa Bowman (1999) speaks of some scary scenarios where this technology can be misused such as, “Insurance companies could refuse to insure you, or charge you higher rates, unless you install a tracking system on your car. They could then tell if you drive over 55 or spend time in shady neighbourhoods where your car has a greater chance of being stolen.” Or “FBI and local police officials could have access to your whereabouts by simply logging onto a database attached to a cell phone, tollbooth or GPS tracker”.

In yet another case a rental car company was sued by the customer for tracking him down using GPS. “In a case that could help set the bar for the amount of privacy drivers of rental cars can expect, a Connecticut man is suing a local rental company, Acme Rent-a-Car, after it used GPS (Global Positioning System) technology to track him and then fined him $450 for speeding three times.” (Robert Lemos, 2001).

A Wireless week (2003) article lists how even location based games can be misused. “In Sweden, thousands of wireless game subscribers stalk each other using cell phones and location technology. In Japan, you can use a GPS-enabled cell phone to arrange a date, an application sometimes used by teenage prostitutes. In many countries around the world, a GPS-based game called “geocaching” is growing in popularity.” Ever since Princess Diana’s death the perils of stalking has come to the forefront in the media. The availability of such services will only help the stalkers.

As if these are not enough there are other privacy issues related to location based services. If you need further reference visit the website http://www.m-indya.com

William Alexander is a wireless solutions consultant based in Singapore. He has more than ten years of experience in architecting solutions based on many Wireless Technologies including GPS, 3G, GPRS, WAP, SMS, Bluetooth and GSM.

GPS Vehicle Tracking Data: What Do I Get?

Writen by Ken Sink

What information is provided by GPS vehicle tracking systems? Here is a summary and examples of how you could use data provided by GPS tracking devices:

Location data: Latitude and longitude provided in degrees, minutes and seconds. It is accurate to 33 feet, which is as accurate as any commercial GPS device. A vehicle’s location is updated at intervals of between 2 – 15 minutes. The standard update interval varies between manufacturers or can be set by the owner (optional).

• Who is closest to the customer that just called? See where all your employees are by checking the map. Never again call an employee just to find out where they are!

Speed calculation: Rate of movement in miles per hour. Movement in excess of a preset speed (standard) or owner-set speed (optional) triggers an alert, sent to the owner.

• Are employees routinely speeding? Speeding causes excessive wear and wastes gasoline. Your vehicles represent your company to the public; what kind of an image is presented by a speeding or recklessly-driven company vehicle?

Present direction: Compass direction the vehicle is traveling, expressed as north, south, east or west.

• Is employee ‘X’ en route to the customer or leaving their location?

Geofence use: A ‘virtual’ geographic boundary, created by the owner. Crossing this boundary triggers an alert which is sent to the owner. The alerts are usually e-mail messages or automated telephone calls from the system to the user, including the vehicle identification, date/time of crossing, location of crossing and more, depending upon the system. A Geofence can be 1/4 mile to 20+ miles in diameter.

• Is a delivery truck approaching the warehouse? Is the gate open?

Alerts: An automatic e-mail, sent to the owner, with the date, time, location, identification and other details related to some event which has occurred and deserves your attention. Alerts are triggered when a vehicle exceeds a preset speed or crosses a Geofence boundary, for example.

• Email alerts can be sent to your Blackberry or portable device. You can monitor your company while out of the office or away from your desk.

Fastest speed report: A daily report of each vehicle’s fastest speed.

• Why was employee ‘Y’ driving 80 m.p.h.?

Historical data: A record of all data related to each vehicle, maintained for 90 days.

• Which vehicles averaged the most miles driven each day? Export vehicle data to an Excel Worksheet to compare productivity between employees.

Ignition on/off: Time, date and location of each instance where a vehicle’s ignition was turned on or off.

• When was Hooter’s restaurant put on employee ‘Z’s route?

Idle report: Time, date, location and duration of each instance where a vehicle remained motionless while the engine was running. Owner can adjust the duration of idle allowed before a report is generated.

• Idling the engine wastes fuel and causes unnecessary wear. Employee ‘Z’s vehicle idled twice as long as employee ‘Y’s vehicle; perhaps employee ‘Z’ should shut off his vehicle’s engine when making deliveries.

Accumulated mileage alert: An alert sent at 3,000 miles, 5,000 miles or at an owner-set interval (optional) as a reminder to perform preventative maintenance.

• Email: time to have the oil changed on vehicle ‘A’.

Location on demand: The ability to locate and display location info when requested, regardless of when the last scheduled update occurred.

• Where is employee ‘Y’? I need to find him right now!

Map detail: Vehicle location is displayed on a street map, which the owner can enlarge or reduce to see more or less map detail.

• Employee ‘A’ says Main Street is closed for construction, what is the next street West?

Landmarks: Reference points which may or may not be visible on the map created to designate locations important to the system user. Landmarks could be customer locations, the user’s shop, warehouse, satellite offices, etc.

• Who has been to the warehouse today?

Breadcrumbs: When requested by the owner, a trail of points can be displayed on the map, indicating a vehicle’s route during a certain time period.

• Do routes overlap between vehicle ‘A’ and vehicle ‘B’?

Many GPS tracking system providers offer additional information, but, as I hope you can see, even this list of basic data will give you all the info you need to manage your vehicles.

Ken Sink, owner of My Vehicle WatchDog, is a veteran with 20+ years of transportation experience, including fleet management of over 800 vehicles. Visit http://www.MyVehicleWatchDog.Info for more information about GPS vehicle tracking systems from Fleet Management Solutions, Networkfleet and Sprint/Nextel. Submit your info for a quick, no-obligation system quote. Quantity discounts for volume purchases.

GPS Tracking: Hundreds Of Ways

Writen by Leon Chaddock

GPS tracking is an excellent tool to use and take advantage of throughout our lives. This was once thought of as a system that only could be used for government and state agencies. But, through its development, it has become a force to contend with. There are many ways in which you can benefit from using GPS tracking in your daily lives. And, you will not believe how easy it is to use either!

As a simple definition of how it works, we’ll tell you this. In space, orbiting around the earth are satellites. They help us to use GPS tracking by allowing us to connect with them and they can then tell us where we are going or where we are. It happens instantly and is capable of reaching destinations around the world.

Here are some ways that you will find GPS tracking working for you.

GPS tracking can help you on any hike that you take, any outing that you take in which it is just you and nature. It can help to steer you and tell you which way is the right way to go.

It can also help you within a car. Many cars are being equipped with GPS tracking devices. If you need to go to one location or the next, you simply input this and it will tell you where you are, how to get there and even talk to you about each step that you are going to need to take. It can also help in your safety as well as your cars. If your car is stolen or you are taken against your will, many GPS tracking systems can be used to track down just where the car is heading and where it is.

GPS tracking helps ships guide you from one place to the next as well.

In fact, GPS tracking can even help you monitor your health. Wearing a heart rate monitor with GPS tracking is a great way to know when you have reached your goals. But you will also be able to know how long it took you to get from point A to point B as well.

For more information please see http://www.gps-tracking-info.co.uk

GPS Buyer’s Guide

Writen by David Stone

For drivers in North America who are tired of staring at maps and pulling into gas stations to get directions the new technology of GPS may be the answer. GPS or Global Positioning Systems are an inexpensive and reliable way of finding your exact position on the globe at any given time. For the driver this can mean never having to look a road map again. This is a brief introduction to the major brands of GPS units and some information about each.

Garmin offers two different types of GPS units and many models for each type. The larger of the two the Streetpilot is meant to be mounted in your car and provides street to street directions map and much more useful information during you trip. Some of the more recent models of the Streetpilot offer voicecapabilities and will vocally give a driver directions. The Quest offer many of the same features as the Streetpilot but it comes in a smaller handheld size and is battery powered. The Quest may be a better option if you often find your self leaving the car behind and need directions on foot.

Magellan is one of the oldest consumer level GPS manufacturers and they are still one of the finest. The Roadmates line of GPS units have been around for a while and the newest models are still in competition for the highest in quality. The newest models of Roadmates provide turn by turn directions to your destination with its internal speaker. This line of GPS units are powered by the cars cigarette lighter and mounts easily to most automobiles. The Roadmate 800 provides color 3-D maps on its 3″ screen.

The newest brand of GPS unit comes from Tom-Tom. The Tom-Tom Go700 provides directions on it’s 3.5″ screen which gives its display in 3-D. The Go700 can give vocal directions in dozens of languages. The most interesting feature about this unit is it’s Bluetooth capability allowing it to connect to cell phones to give weather, traffic and road conditions for your trip.

Find out more about GPS at http://gps-go.info.

Do You Really Need GPS?

Writen by John T Jones, Ph.D.

Throughout all time the big question has been and still is: Where in the heck am I?

Adam said, “Where are you going, Eve?”

Eve shook her blond hair and said, “Darned if I know, Adam. I’m just bored with this place.”

“Well, stay here then if you don’t know where you are going. You might get lost.”

Adam set on a rock and waited for her answer.

Eve said, “I won’t get lost, Adam. Besides, I’m not a man. If I do get lost, I’ll ask for directions.”

Adam said, “You must have some idea where you want to go, Eve. You can’t just go wondering off into the dark and dreary world.

She looked at Adam with her pale blue eyes and said, “I was thinking more of Paris than the dark and dreary world.

Back in those days folks tried to keep track of where they were by looking at the stars. The great explorer, Phendom, used the stars to navigate. In 45678 b.c. on his first trip to Greenland his chief navigator, Sogbottom, said, “I think we had better head back north, Phendom. I think that is the Southern Cross.”

I found only one reference to Phendom on Google.com. That is how unknown he is. The reference was cached, but the ever-loving Google.com said I could read the text if I liked. I decided to do that until one of those little boxes popped up and told me I would have to install the Korean Language module to read it.

That is how I learned that Phendom, who was probably the first Sea Explorer, was Korean.

I still remember three words in Korean from my Korean War days. I can say, “How are you? (awnyahasiminiga)” I can say, “Come here,” to a man (erioseeo). And I can call a dog (ereereereere, etc.). It’s best in Korea not to get the last two mixed up. Koreans like to throw rocks.

Back to the stars: If you measure the angle from the horizon to Polaris, you will know your latitude. Polaris is the “Pole Star.” You may know it as the “North Star.” To find Polaris, look for the big dipper. If you can’t find the Big Dipper, it is opposite the “W” which is also known as Cassiopeia. To see how this is all done go to: http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_kids/AskKids/northstar.shtml

You can see why I just love Google.com. “I love those goo goo googlely eyes!” You might try: http://pub2.bravenet.com/forum/167551711/show/337617 for more on Barney Google with the goo goo googlely eyes!”

Don’t forget to drop in to see Barney Google himnself at: http://www.toonopedia.com/google.htm. You will be glad you did.

At this point it would be proper to discuss how the early mariners determined longitude. Darned if I know how they did it. I do know that Captain James 1768-1780 A.D. was the first to use a chronometer to determine longitude. It says so at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_exploration.

The chronometer will just get us into a flimditty just as the sextant would. Let’s move on.

(I made up the word flimditty because it is just what we needed in that last sentence, right? You won’t find it in your dictionary or at Google.com. You must be thrilled to be reading the writings of a modern creative literary genious.)

There is no reason to get into a fitznizzle over longitude and the chronometer.

Skipping history, modern day navigators have a number of ways to find their way home. Some years back a friend of mine told me that he had bought a fishing boat at a sheriff’s sale for $800.00. He was very excited about that boat and so was I. He put a new V-8 engine in the boat and off we went fishing on Delaware Bay, God’s great gift to ardent fishermen.

My son and son-in-law tagged along and we cought a boodle of fish. Toward evening, I put my hand up to measure the altitude of the sun and I said, “In 40 minutes it will be dark. We’d better head in.”

Well, nobody wanted to quit fishing and my friend assured me that we would be able to get in by looking for the navigation light at the mouth of the Maurice River. We would follow the light and slip up the river to the dock.

Finally as the sun dropped into the abyse of spacetime my friend decided it was time to leave. He cranked up the engine but the boat didn’t move. Poking our heads to see what was below deck we found water. The boat had such a tonage of water that it would not move.

My friend had installed a pump so he flipped it on. That didn’t help, so we started bailing out the water. Eventually, we got the boat moving.

I suggested that we put on the lifejackets. The Delaware is full of ugly tankers and cargo ships and such. I could see us in the water screaming at the top of our lungs, HELP!

We headed east but we could not see the blasted navigational light. We moved south and finally we could see it. We motored up the river at a slow pace because the docks on the river had signs that said: NO WAKE!

We moved slower and slower as we took on more water. The musquitos got thicker and thicker. We thought we were with Bogey on the African Queen.

Finally, we arrived at the dock. That’s where we learned that we could not move to the dock because the boat would not steer properly. Then by luck on the 70th try, we pulled up to the dock.

I grabbed two five gallon cans of fish and ran for my Volkswagen bus, ten zillion mosquitoes helping me along.

The next morning, my friend went down to the dock to check on his bargain boat.

He couldn’t see it at first.

Then he found that it was only a few feet away.

Unfortunately, the direction was down!

Glub, glub!

Sorry for that major diversion from our very serious discussion on navigation and all.

Sometime after the compus was discovered, man discovered radio navigation. Transmitters along the cost sent out a characteristic bleep that boats could triangulate on or dead recon on to find their way home. We learn the following at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_navigation

“The first system of radio navigation was the radio direction finder, or RDF. By tuning in a radio station and then using a directional antenna to find the direction to the broadcasting antenna, radio sources replaced the stars and planets of celestial navigation with a system that could be used in all weather and times of day. Taking two such measurements and plotting the directions on a map will result in an intersection, your current location. Commercial AM radio stations can be used for this task due to their long range and high power, but strings of low-power radio beacons were also set up specifically for this task. Early systems used a loop antenna that was rotated by hand to find the angle to the signal, while modern systems use a much more directional solenoid that is rotated rapidly by a motor, with electronics calculating the angle.”

Placing transmitters on Global Positioning Satellites solved all of our navigational problems except during heavy sunspot activity or overlyactive solarwinds.

The End

copyright©John T. Jones, Ph.D. 2005

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com)is a retired R&D engineer and VP of a Fortune 500 company. He is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering), poetry, etc. Former editor of international trade magazine. More info: http://www.tjbooks.com. Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (wealth-success books / flagpoles)

Using GPS Tracking to Protect Your Vehicles

Writen by Kingston Amadan

It is no secret that police cars are equipped with GPS tracking theft recovery devices. These items are meant to allow a stolen police car to be found rather easily by simply using GPS tracking technology to locate the car. Then further police are dispatched to the location to apprehend the criminal and recover the car. The good news is that it is possible to use the same technology to protect your car.

GPS tracking is not a very new technology. It has been around since the 1980s, when it first began being developed for the military. It was originally meant to help keep track of troops and movements, as well as create a sophisticated mapping system to help commanders find their way over rough and unknown terrain. Today that same technology is so advanced that it is possible to track in real time and create histories of where the device has been. And GPS technology is available to anyone, and at a fairly reasonable price.

When you use GPS tracking in your car, you receive more than just driving directions in an unfamiliar city. You can also know where your car is. While it is nice to have this information to keep tabs on partying teenagers, it can also help you in the event that your car is stolen. When you have a tracking system, and your car is stolen, you are more likely to get it back relatively unharmed. This is because you can find it immediately, rather than having it discovered in pieces weeks later as part of an illegal car parts ring.

Your GPS tracking system can help you get your car back and have the satisfaction of knowing that the person who stole it is off the streets and headed to jail. You can let the police see where your car is (and where it is headed) and this is an immense help to them. One of the best ways to protect your property is to know where it is. And you can always know where your car is when you have it equipped with GPS tracking.

(c) 2005 Copyright www.spyassociates.com. This article is about: GPS Tracking.

About The Author
Kingston Amadan To learn more about Spy and Surveillance Products visit http://www.spyassociates.com. Read other related articles at http://spyassociates.blogspot.com/

Find All The GPS Systems Information You Need

Writen by J Herrera

Are you looking for some GPS systems information? Then come to see us. We have been providing technical courses and advanced GPS training on GPS systems information since a long time ago. We offer more than 20 courses on professional GPS and all you want to know about GPS systems information.

But, first than anything, what is exactly a Global Positioning System (GPS)?

It is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. At first, GPS was going to be used by military applications, but later in the 1980s, the government allowed it to be available for civilian use. It doesn’t matter the weather conditions, GPS keeps working anywhere in the world and the whole day. It is not necessary any subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS.

The second question would be: How it works?

GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in a very precise orbit and transmit signal information to earth. GPS receivers can calculate exactly where the user is by taking this information and using triangulation. In other words, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is. And by repeating this procedure with a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user’s position and show it on the unit’s electronic map.

A GPS receiver can calculate the latitude and longitude and track movement if it is locked on to the signal of at least three satellites. And it can determine the user’s latitude, longitude and altitude using four or more satellites. But it doesn’t end with this, because once we have the user’s position, the GPS unit can calculate other information, such as speed, bearing, track, trip distance, distance to destination, and much more. So not just you can know where exactly somebody is, but also you can know a lot of things about that person, and it doesn’t matter where in the world that person may be.

There is so much more GPS systems information and a lot of things you can learn to understand and use a GPS system correctly and you can find all of them just by looking for us.

Browse our list of course schedules, course descriptions, locations, and the incredible low prices and discounts we have for you. We also have an extensive selection of books, software, and equipment for GPS users of all types.

http://www.gps-system-vehicle-tracking.com/gpssystem/11/gps-vehicle-tracking-system.html

About The Author
J Herrera is a freelance writer for GPS topics. http://www.gps-system-vehicle-tracking.com/gpssystem/11/gps-vehicle-tracking-system.html