GPS technologies

A pedestrian alert system can help reduce deaths and injuries caused by vehicle collisions with pedestrians, and could be adapted for bicycle safety, airport-ramp and construction-site pedestrian safety.

As the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) nears its date for full certification – planned for some time in 2009 — the CEOs of the Members of the European Satellite Services Provider (ESSP) met in Rome on May 18 to agree on the process for incorporation of the new company ESSP Société par Actions simplifiée (SAS).  This company will be based in Toulouse and established under French Law in the coming weeks in order to become the certified service provider for EGNOS.

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression and when it comes to technology, that first chance is conveyed by the out-of-the-box experience, the industrial design of the device and then the user interface. Saying, “How do I turn this thing on?” and actually making the device spring to life can be independent and separate events interleaved with some fumbling and exploring. Once alive, the next challenge is figuring out how to navigate the on-screen menus and draw some level of correlation between physical buttons and a virtual screen world. Making a device work the way that the user intends is another giant step for mankind since there are potentially many concepts that the user needs to understand. Personal navigation devices have not escaped the first impression stakes. (more…)

Response to Don Jewell?s August 27 Military & Government PNT newsletter, online at www.gpsworld.com/comm.

General Hamel Determination Letter

Spirent Communications plc has officially announced that its GNSS RF signal simulator, the GSS800, now supports the Japanese Quasi Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), in addition to GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and satellite-based augmentation systems.

With voters having cast their ballots at the polling place in Savannah, Georgia, in September, the votes are tallied and it?s official: more folks want more satellites in orbit vs. having more signals. What? You thought we were talking about some other election?

Millions of dogs are lost ever year and many people are heartbroken about it. Some of recovered, but for the most part Fido is never returned which is something that the Garmin Astro 220/DC20 can help you do. Garmin has a strong following with hunters as they look for a reliable outdoors GPS unit and none is better than Garmin right now. Read Further and discover why the Astro 220 could reunite your dog and you if he or she ever gets lost again.

Once you unpack the DC20, you see that this system was intended to help dog owners to find their dog that either wandered away or just follow and make sure he is not straying too far away. Each unit comes with a neoprene harness that you can attach to a dog which houses a base plate chip that will let you actually follow your dog and where he or she is at all the time. Once the Astro is turned on the opening page, you will see a picture of a dog and which direction he is going and exactly how far away he is from you. This is very important information. If you have ever lost a dog and you have no idea, which direction he is headed it can be almost impossible to find him or her.

There are many different functions on the DC20 that make it very valuable. You will be able to see distance traveled direction, average speed, and even a map to help you out even more. You can also download maps for your area, which will make it much easier for you to track and find your dog. Once big question people ask about this unit was how well it would performed inside the city. When you are in a bigger city you must deal with buildings and I wondered if it would give a good accurate reading and It did extremely well in that aspect. Inside a city it is good for around a two mile range, but outside city limits where you do not deal with power lines and you have open area the range is much longer. Power lines seem to bounce signals, which you will not deal with in wide-open areas. The other thing is satellite signals are always stronger in open areas as well.

One feature I really like in the Garmin DC20 is if the dog makes a sudden change of direction from what they have been doing a flag will popup to alert you of this. This is something that I like because it makes you pay attention more and makes it easier to find the lost dog. Battery life on these models is very good and the one screen display is excellent with very good graphics and good detail. The battery that we used lasted around 17 hours before it needed recharged so that was very good in my opinion. Just like most GPS units, it has waypoints and many different options that make it a multi use tool that you will want to check out. Weather was another factored I worried about. How would the chip perform in colder weather especially traveling on a dog? I was surprised it did work very well and in the cold weather, the tracking was excellent so that will not be a problem for you at all. Many times cold weather will have an adverse effect on tracking and give false readings, but not on this unit. The Garmin DC20 performed well and beyond my expectations that are for sure.

Overall, this unit is a great to help find a lost dog or training aid as well. Garmin DC 20 is a top of the line receiver that is one of the better ones on the market right now. Most people do not realize that GPS can be used to track a lost dog and brought back home. These are also great training aids for outdoor training especially if you or your dog is separated. When loaded with the appropriate maps this is one powerful unit that you should have especially if you train dogs or your pet seems to wander away from the home often. This is one unit that can bring Fido back to his family. Toss in the Garmin name and all the other options that you get and I can see why hunters and dog lovers love the Astro DC20. This is necessary buy for dog owners and that hunter that you know.

Over the years, many myths will float around about different things and GPS systems are no different. Many times these are started by people and others just run with them and they seem to grow over a long period of time. Most of these myths though are just not true so it is time to bust some of these so if you’re planning on buying a GPS system you will know what to believe and what are just plain false. Read further and you will be able to discover what the truth is and you can bust the myths that do exist.

GPS systems is growing at a very fast rate and this means that people sometimes put things out there that is just not true. Today we are going to bust some of these so you will be able to know what is right and what is wrong. Let us get started so you will know exactly what is true and what a myth is.

One of the biggest myths that people have about GPS systems is they are not really that accurate. Many people doubt the accuracy of these systems because they really do not understand the process of how they work. Satellites are the main way that GPS systems are fed information. Most units fixed on four satellites, but there are much more than that so as far as the accuracy you will not find a better way to get the directions that you need. These units are constantly updated and the most accurate information is put into these units so you will always be updated no matter what.

Another big myth that has been going around is that you can only use a GPS system in your vehicle. Now it is true that you can use them in a vehicle and for the most part this is where people do use this unit. The truth is though most of the newer GPS units are now very portable and you can take them wherever you go these days. This just makes them even more valuable than ever before.

Third myth about GPS units that people have bounced around the internet and offline is these units are not very affordable. It is true when the GPS system first came out they were very expensive, but that is not true anymore. These systems come in all shapes, sizes, and prices as well. Each year GPS companies are making more affordable models so price should not be an issue at all anymore. You can actually decide what you want to spend and you should have no problem finding something you like in your price range. Starting with a budget is a very good idea that way you can see what is out there for the kind of money you want to spend.

Another myth that we need to dispel here as well and that is that GPS systems are just too tough to operate. When these units first came out that maybe true, but today that is the furthest from the truth. Most companies now make products that are ready to use right out of the box so you have no really learning curve at all. GPS systems are being more user friendly each year so do not think you will not be able to operate it because you will be able too.

These are some of the most popular myths about GPS systems. When you hear these and other myths, you should really look very close at them. Most are just false and come from people who do not understand the system and start them just as a way to justify their failures with the systems. It seems more and more companies are getting into the GPS market so you will get even more user-friendly models along with much lower prices. There probably is no better time than now to get your first GPS model. The future does look very bright for this market as more people are looking into these units.

Remember myths are just those myths. Do not believe in them when it comes to GPS systems until evidence can prove otherwise. Sometimes these myths also will be made up on certain models that people do not like. This is why you most get the best information possible before you make a decision on a GPS system. The informed consumer usually is the one who gets the best deals. Stay away from the myths and just look at the facts and you should be fine.