What is GPS – Global Positioning System?

The purpose of this article and hopefully other GPS (Global Positioning System) articles that I write, is to provide the user with relevant information about this technology and then if interested, allow the reader the opportunity to purchase GPS tracking systems whether for personal use or business use from a related site called SecureWithGPS.

So what is GPS you are wondering or perhaps you already know and are just looking for a refresher course? Basically, with the use of a radio receiver, i.e. a device which receives signals from the GPS satellites that orbit the Earth, you can locate yourself or the position of a vehicle for that matter anywhere on the Earth. Assuming of course, that the area you are trying to locate is covered by the GPS satellites. So in other words GPS tracking and receiving simply consists of buying a receiver, popping in some batteries, turning it on and if you have done everything right, the co-ordinates of where you are should appear on your GPS device.

One should note that there is more than one GPS system but for this article, I am referring to the Global Positioning System which is operated by the United States government and similar technology that is based on such a system. To provide a quick history, radio signals have been used for navigation dating back to the 1920s. The first step to GPS came way back in 1957 when the Russians launched Sputnik, which was the first satellite to orbit Earth. Eventually American scientists figured out that if they knew a satellite’s precise orbital position, they could accurately locate their position on Earth. The first GPS satellite was then launched in 1974 and by 1994, the full constellation of 24 satellites were in place. Hence these satellites make up the GPS system as we know it today.

Finally, one might be wondering why this technology is so widely in use or what is the big deal about it? Well, to mention a few reasons, which will hopefully be expanded on in other GPS articles, is that almost anything which has a GPS transmitter on it, it can be tracked and located fairly accurately around the world. You can attach a GPS receiver to your personal car, your children’s car, a fleet of vehicles that you may own and wish to monitor or even to locate your pet if it were to wander away and get lost. But with reference to the personal and business aspect however the website SecureWithGPS provides a great overview of what the current technology can be used for.

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2 Responses to “What is GPS – Global Positioning System?”

  1. Looks like the Trackstick would do the trick.

  2. A.Jain says:

    Before I decided to buy this Nuvi 265wt model, I had bought the Nuvi 760 model on Black Friday. The 760 model was okay at best. I had it for about three weeks until I realized that the upper right hand corner would not respond until after pressing that corner at least five times. So I decided to return the Garmin and I was thinking about getting a tomtom or magellan. But then I saw the 265wt on sale for $200 and I decided, since I bought the 760 for $250, maybe I could save money and just give Garmin one last try…As soon as I opened the 265wt, I fell in love with it!

    The 265wt FAR OUTWEIGHS the Nuvi 760 by a mile! The screen refresh rate on the 265wt is much better, the satellite locks on faster, the colors are brighter in my opinion (and yes, they were at the same brightness level!), and the free traffic is so much better on the 265wt. With the 760, I had free MSN Traffic for three months and comparing that with the 265wt traffic, they are exactly the same. Except with the 760, you have to pay a yearly subscription. Furthermore, with the 265wt, you can custom load POI’s (Points of Interest) and so I have loaded mine with all the locations of In-N-Out Burger and Rudy’s BBQ in America, which is awesome. They also have Custom POI’s which show you where speed camera’s and red light camera’s are, if that’s your kind of thing. But I’m a law abiding Texan, so I never mess with Texas and that kind of illegal stuff…

    The only thing that the 760 had that the 265wt doesn’t have is mp3/audiobook and the FM Transmitter with audio jack.
    About the FM Transmitter – it was a cool feature but it wasn’t practical because in Dallas, where I live, there are thousands of radio stations. There are hardly any open radio stations. You think there’s an open one, but then all of a sudden, you hear the voice of a person speaking a different language (must have been Chinese Talk Radio) or you hear a Mariachi Band playing. Then you go one decimal point higher, and there’s the Hip-Hop Station. With so much static in Dallas, the MP3/Audiobook Player really becomes useless…

    The only time I was able to use the transmitter without static was when I took a trip up to Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, there isn’t much radio stations as there are only cows and fields in Oklahoma. I finally was able to put the 760 to the true test of using the MP3 player. However, what I found really dissappointing was that as I was listening to Richard P. Feynman’s Audiobook, “The Elementary Particles and the Laws of Physics: The 1986 Dirac Memorial Lectures”, I fell asleep on I35 and almost got into a car crash near Oklahoma City. It was then I realized that the Nuvi 760’s MP3/Audiobook player was more of a driving hazzard than a helpful tool to get me safely to Norman, OK where I needed to go.

    Therefore, HANDS DOWN the 265wt is not only a better GPS than the Nuvi 760, but it’s also a FAR SAFER GPS!!! If you want MP3’s or Music without static, get an Ipod and connect it to your car. It’s far better…

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