| GPS Military gain
However, John Pike, a space policy analyst at the Federation
of American Scientists think tank, believes the action was not
entirely altruistic.
The US plans more, upgraded GPS satellites
He said the US would benefit from the continued global use of
its system, meaning the US military retains control of the GPS
technology. Offering the better US gpssystem for free takes away
some of the incentive for another country or consortium to build
a competing gps system, he added.
Announcing the GPS upgrade, US President Bill Clinton said: "The
decision to discontinue [signal degradation] is supported by threat
assessments which conclude it would have minimal impact on national
security."
GPS World shows how gps is starting
to be used in every day life.
GPS
Terminology
8
Channel GPS
A GPS Unit which can handle 8 Satellites at one time.
12
Channel GPS
A GPS Unit which can handle 12 Satellites at one time.
20
Channel GPS
A GPS Unit which can handle 20 Satellites at one time.
32
Channel GPS
A GPS Unit which can handle 32 Satellites at one time. Most consistent
and accurate
ActiveSync
A Microsoft programme used for connecting PDA devices to computers
for synchronizing data
A-GPS (Assisted GPS)
Existing GPS receivers are improved with this positioning system
which enables better reception within built-up or high foliage
environments. This is done by taking positioning data from an
assistance server by cell phone communication.
Altimeter
Calculates Altitude or Elevation of points
Automatic Routing
The GIS calculates the optimal driving route. All car units have
this, as well as some outdoor handheld GPS units; eg. the Garmin
GPS Map 60csx
Basemap
A Map that is pre-loaded in the GPS Receiver. Garmin units have
a worldwide basemap, with an outline of every country in the world.
Bearing
Bearing denotes the direction of the route, after you enter the
coordinates of your actual destination; GPS calculates the direction
of each point you want to cover. So bearing is the direction of
the next waypoint stored in your GPS receiver.
Bluechart
Garmin's most detailed mapping system. Including detailed nautical
chart information. Featuring shading and countours
Bluetooth
Wireless technology used for connecting peripherals to a device
without cables. Capable of also creating limited peer to peer
networks. GPS Units with a bluetooth receiver connect your cellphone
to the unit, and allow handsfree calling. These units include
Nuvi, 310 and 360, as well; Nuvi 610, 660 and TomTom GO 500, 700,
520,720 and 920
Cache
A small container hidden at a particular location by a geographer
Chartplotters
Marine units with detailed mapping capabilities. See our Marine-->
fixed chartplotter menu on the left
Electronic Compass
A compass with a digital heading. Used in many of our watches
and outdoor handheld GPS units.
EDGE- (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution)
This is an enhancement to mobile data service which improves upon
data transmission rate and reliability, resulting in download
rate of up to 236Kbits/s. This improves access to mobile data
communication services like the Internet.
EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay
Service)
Geostationary satellites and ground stations are used to improve
the accuracy to less than 7 metres.
Fishfinder
Uses sonar technology to locate fish
Frequency
The rate at which a cycle is repeated. High frequency signals
are more accurate. But low frequency signals can travel a greater
distance
Geocaching
Geocacher's share the locations of caches which can be found by
other participants with GPS Receivers
GPS (Global Positioning System)
A system which provides user location based on obtaining a fix
on satellites orbiting the Earth. Having determined the distance
to the satellites triangulation is used to acquire the location.
Used for many types of navigation including road, motorcycle,
walking, cycling, and on the boat.
GPS Receiver
An electronic device used for measuring ranges of GPS satellites
to determine GPS coordinates
IPX7 waterproof
Can be under water of 1m depth for up to 30 minutes
Lattitude and Longitude
The horizontal and vertical measurement of location, in proportion
to the North and South Pole for Longitude and Greenwich for Lattitude
LCD- Liquid Crystal Display
Mapsource
a detailed mapping programme to be loaded into Garmin units.
Nautical Charts
Detailed mapping programme for Garmin Marine Navigation Units
NMEA
A U.S standards committee that defines data protocols used in
GPS units
PDA
Compact computer used for storing personal appointment and contacts
data. Recent versions include Wireless Networking, Bluetooth and
high resolution screens. Also known as handheld or plamtop. Browse
our PDA menu down the left hand side!
PNA
Personal Navigation Assistant. Computer designed specifically
to provide GPS Navigation. Examples are the Tom Tom Go or Mio
Digiwalker ranges which are available.
POIs/ Points of Interest
These are destinations and facilities of general interest, which
can be shown on GPS maps and navigated to. These include cafes,
diners, ATMs, theatres, and much more.
Route
Route is created by the combination of a number of waypoints and
so it is important for the receiver to store coordinates of certain
places for setting a route. A route should be in the direction
that one wants to travel. So you can prepare your own route by
marking the waypoints in the order you want to cover. On the basis
of which GPS guides you to your destinations. By taking help of
a digital map you can determine the coordinates of the route and
later taking help of software those can be entered in the GPS
system.
Route Leg
It is the straight-line between two adjacent waypoints in a route.
Satnav- Satellite Navigation
SD Card- Secure Digital Storage Card.
Available miniSD and microSD. Most GPS units have an SD Card slot
for additional maps and additional storage
Sounder
A device that determines water depth by the echoes through the
water
TTFF
TTFF stands for ‘time to first fix’ and represents
the time period that one GPS receiver takes to calculate a single
position immediately after its turn on.
Track Log
Track log in a GPS unit records the coordinates of the waypoints
automatically with time to its memory, which can be seen on the
maps of your receiver. So its better to keep your track log button
on while moving from one place to another.
TMC (Traffic Message Channel)
A technology which plots the location of traffic jams aiding users
to avoid congestions. TMC utilizes radio transmissions for delivery
of the data. It will calculate the length of the traffic jam,
and suggest alternative routes
Voice Enabled
Accepts spoken instructions to go to the destination. This is
in TomTom Go 520, 720 and 920 units
WAAS- (Wide Area Augmentation System)
WAAS is a system of satellites and ground stations that provide
GPS signal corrections, giving you even better position accuracy.
Less than 3 metre accuracy!
Way
Point
These are a set of coordinates representing some important places
of the route, which can be stored on the GPS unit. One can determine
the coordinates with the help of a map and compass and store them
by giving some unique name.
More
info on What is GPS
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