Re: Recalculating . . . -- Spearfish Lake Tales

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Subject: Re: Recalculating . . .

Author:
Dmitri

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Date Posted: 21:23:53 10/21/14 Tue
In reply to: Sharon 's message, "Re: Recalculating . . ." on 17:17:33 10/21/14 Tue

The GPS, or Global Positioning System, is actually a whole string of satellites in orbit (24 or more of them?), all of which continuously transmit an individual signal that can be used for positioning by someone with a "GPS receiver."

The "GPS receiver" thingie that you hold in your hand or mount in your vehicle is actually a passive receiver (a real, single-use computer) and doesn't transmit anything at all. It just picks up the continuously transmitted signals from the various satellites and uses them to triangulate and compute where on the earth (or above it) the receiver is located at that specific instant (which continuously updates itself very quickly). It requires a signal from at least three satellites simultaneously to do the locating, but it's more accurate if more than three satellite signals are available.

Sharon is correct that the navigation system is extra software that the GPS receiver manufacturer loads into the receiver they make to give you directions. All the satellites transmit is the signal for the receiver to figure out where it is, and the navigation software you listen to tells you how to get from where the receiver is located at a given instant to the destination location you specify. I'm sure instruction quality varies considerably.

Dmitri

Sharon said:

>ACTUAL GPS is a satellite that receives a signal from
>your "GPS transmitter" and then transmits the location
>of your transmitter to your computer! "GPS" does NOT
>give you directions for that you need a NAVIGATION
>SYSTEM, which usually includes per-programed maps and
>routing software.
>
>There are also setting within the NAV System where you
>can tell it to avoid all/certain major highways
>(freeways, interstates, etc), avoid traffic, avoid
>toll roads, etc.
>

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