This may come as a surprise...
you do not have to be a technical person to use a GPS.
Although the concept and technology of Global Positioning Satellite systems was originally created by the Department of Defense for military uses, it has lately been made useable to the general public and today you will be able to get an automatic GPS system easily and promptly to keep you on track while driving.
An automatic GPS system is becoming more and more popular amongst people and the latest vehicles actually include it among the vehicle accessories.
An auto GPS system is basically a GPS receiver that's put on the dashboard of the vehicle.
You program in the address you're thinking of going and the system will provide you stepwise directions -audio directions in the latest ones.
The days of paper maps and argument over whether or not men could ask for directions are all over.
Nowadays, all you require is an auto GPS system and you're ready to go where you wish.
The automatic GPS system receives its signal from four out of twenty-four possible orbiters that are constantly revolving the Earth.
The receiver overlays this positioning data onto map files stored on the unit, to provide a present location on the map in addition to previous course.
The receiver perpetually recalculates location, passing on real time location.
A regular auto GPS system comprises: * A twelve channel receiver - the quality of the receiver decides how long it takes the device to acquire a 3-D fix.
* Antenna to receive satellite signals - placed to get an unobstructed view of the sky.
* Central processing unit to process the information and place on maps * A DVD Hard-drive - where maps on DVD's or those downloaded from the net are uploaded and put in.
Some cheaper units don't upload the maps; they just reference them off the DVD or CD.
* A Display Screen - generally color with hand-held units using black-and-white * Audio Interface The first time you switch on your automatic GPS system, its information store is empty so it has to gather satellite data to find out your location.
This is named as cold start.
Some units just take thirty to forty-five seconds to get a 3-D fix during a cold start, while others could take several minutes.
Future position updates just takes three to four seconds.
Whenever you go out of range from losing line of vision, like passing behind a large building or through a tunnel, a good receiver will immediately recover, whereas weaker units will need more time to reacquire a 3-D fix.
Nowadays, automatic GPS systems are not as costly as you guess they might be.
A few of the automatic GPS systems could be obtained for under two hundred dollars and the flashier devices will cost you as much as a thousand dollars.
However there's no doubt that owning an automatic GPS system could surely make life more comfortable for everybody.