How Do GPS Gadgets Guide Us?

You may wonder why GPS units cost as much as they do. Learning about the technology behind them may help make the cost a little easier to swallow.  More often than not, we are seeing GPS units being automatically included in PDAs and cell phones as well as the newest car models.  This article will explain in words that a regular person can understand how GPS systems work. If you need a more technical explanation, there are other articles on the World Wide Web that cover that.

GPS for Beginners

You may be surprised to learn that there are over 2500 satellites that are orbiting our planet at this very moment.  Not surprisingly, GPS satellites make up a large percentage of these.  Only about 36 actually are operative – the others are retired GPS satellites.  A low-power radio signal, which can be received by your GPS system, is constantly transmitted by the global positioning satellites.  By accurately measuring the distance from three of these satellites, the GPS system can compute its exact position on earth.

GPS systems satellites are about seventeen feet across when their solar power panels are fully expanded.  They run on solar power and as extra insurance have backup batteries installed.  They generally survive ten years or more if all goes well. The longest operating satellite is from 1978.  His task is to tell the younger satellites how difficult it was in his time and how much easier the new models have it. Just kidding!

But Seriously

Earlier I talked a little about GPS receivers. So what are they exactly?  It's basically any device that is able to receive signals from GPS satellites.  One may be on a commercial cruise liner, another in a taxicab and yet another is that Navigon 7100 GPS in my neighbor's automobile.  The current average price for a personal GPS unit is about $300.  When you recognize that you didn't have to pay to design, build or launch a gps satellite into orbit, $300 doesn't appear excessive at all.

It's the US government who picks up the tab for constructing the satellites and launching them into space. So you can sit back and relax in your car, knowing that this network of satellites will promptly and dependably point you to your destination. I hope this article has done its job and that you now feel you have a more thorough understanding of how the entire GPS thing works.

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