Discovering How GPS Units Guide Us

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February 18th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Whenever we’ve a superior understanding of a technology such as GPS systems and how they function, it helps us appreciate that technology and comprehend its cost. More and more often, GPS units are being added as standard features in the latest vehicles and personal electronics such as PDAs and cellular phones. The succeeding paragraphs will endeavor to provide a easy overview of how GPS systems operate. If you were hoping for all of the technical details, you certainly should have no difficulty finding that information elsewhere on the web.

Here We Go

Circling our planet right now, you’ll find about 2500 satellites. Quite a significant percentage of them are global positioning satellites. I know that sounds dramatic, but only about 36 of them are really in operation. A big number consists of retired global positioning satellites. A low-power radio signal, which can be received by your GPS unit, is constantly sent by the global positioning satellites. By receiving a signal from three of these satellites, a GPS is capable of measuring the distance from each and calculates a position based on that information.

You might be interested to know what a GPS satellite looks like. Photos can be viewed on the net, but basically they’re around 17 feet across with soloar panels that are spread on either side. Yep, they work on solar power and also have backup batteries installed for use when solar isn’t available. They are designed to be functional for a minimum of ten years and weigh some 2,000 pounds. The earliest satellite is from 1978. Rumor has it that this one often relates stories from the old days when satellites had it much tougher than they do this day. Yes, I’m joking!

But Seriously

Earlier I wrote a tiny about GPS receivers. So what are they exactly? Any electronic device that is able to receive signals transmitted by the GPS satellites is a GPS receiver. There was in all probability a GPS receiver on that cruise ship you were on last summer, another in the taxicab you took to the airport last week and then there’s that Navigon 7100 GPS that your boss just purchased for his vehicle. Personal GPS systems presently average approximately $300 for a well-equipped model. Considering you didn’t have to pay to design, build and launch the satellite into space, $300 is a pretty conservative price.

It’s the US government who picks up the tab for building the satellites and launching them into space. All you have to do is power on your GPS system in order to make use of the information that is freely broadcast by them. So the next time you power on your GPS system, you should feel that you have a functioning knowledge of how GPS works.

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