GPS for Dummies.pdf - Engineering Surveyor

Chapter 3: GPS Fundamentals67 Simple mode: This displays only often used commands and features.This is an excellent option for the novice user who wants to use basicGPS receiver functions without being distracted or confused by themany other features. Advanced mode: This shows all commands and features.Synthesized voiceSome models of GPS receiver, designed primarily for automotive use, have asynthesized voice that provides you with route-finding information. Althoughthis feature has been available as an option in some luxury cars for manyyears (for example, in the OnStar system), portable GPS units that talk to youare available. You don’t have to pay monthly subscription fees for them, andyou can easily move them from car to car. (Ah, progress.)You can find more information in Chapter 5 on how to select a portable GPSreceiver to use for road navigation.If you’re using your GPS receiver primarily for navigation in your vehicle,mount it securely so that it doesn’t slide around the dashboard. GPS receiver manufacturers make mounting brackets for in-vehicle use. Do-it-yourself solutions can include Velcro, Silly Putty, small beanbags,or modeling clay (the nonhardening type).Never mount your GPS unit where an airbag deploys during a crash.The U.S. has had a monopoly on satellite-basedlocation systems over the years (the RussianGLONASS, Global Orbiting Navigation SatelliteSystem, has really never been a viable player),but that may soon change.The European Union is moving toward deployingits own positioning system called Galileo. Ifeverything goes as planned, Galileo will be operationalby 2008 with a constellation of 30 stationarysatellites. Position accuracy is touted aswithin a meter, which is ten times more precisethan what GPS currently provides to civilians.GPS monopolyThe United States isn’t happy about this; as analternative, GPS prevents the U.S. governmentand military from selectively degrading signalsand blocking use elsewhere in the world. China,Israel, and India have expressed interest inbecoming involved with Galileo. As of early 2004,after a number of negotiation sessions, the U.S.and European Union had reached a number ofcompromises that met both parties’ needs.http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/galileo/index_en.htm