GPS Gadgets and How They Work

You may question why portable GPS units cost as much as they do. Learning about the technology behind them may help make the price tag a little easier to accept. More often than not, we are seeing cheap GPS units being automatically embedded in PDAs and cell phones as well as the newest car models. The succeeding paragraphs will attempt to provide a simple overview of how GPS systems work. If you were hoping for all of the technical details, you certainly should have no trouble finding that information elsewhere on the web.

Here We Go

Did you know that there are approximately 2500 satellites currently orbiting the globe? Rather a large percentage of them are global positioning satellites. I know that sounds impressive, but only about 36 of them are actually in operation. A large number consists of retired global positioning satellites. A low-power radio signal, which can be picked up by your portable GPS unit, is constantly transmitted by the global positioning satellites. By accurately measuring the distance from three of these satellites, the global positioning system can compute its exact position on earth.

GPS systems satellites are about seventeen feet across when their solar power panels are fully spread out. They run on solar power and as extra insurance have backup batteries installed. They are designed to be functional for a minimum of ten years and weigh approximately 2,000 pounds. There is a “senior” satellite that has been working since 1978. Rumor has it that this one often relates tales from the old days when satellites had it much tougher than they do today. Just kidding!

But Seriously

Earlier I wrote a little about GPS receivers. So what are they exactly? It’s basically any device that is able to receive signals from GPS satellites. There was in all probability a GPS receiver on that cruise ship you were on last summer, another in the taxicab you had to the airport last week and then there’s that Navigon 7100 GPS that your boss just purchased for his car. The current average price tag for a personal GPS system is about $300. Considering you didn’t have to pay to design and launch the satellite into space, $300 is a pretty reasonable price.

The US government is responsible for paying the costs required in fabricating and launching satellites into orbit.|Our government here in the US has decided to take on the costs needed in creating this network of GPS satellites. All you have to do is click on your GPS system in order to make use of the data that is freely broadcast by them. I hope this article has done its job and that you now feel you have a more thorough idea of how the whole GPS thing works.

Vehicle Tracking Solution

The GPS Vehicle Tracking System developed by Ennoble Consultancy combines the use of GPS Devices (Global Positioning System), GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), and the most widely used Google Maps, to produce a much more powerful all-in-one solution to vehicle tracking, making vehicle tracking more accurate and easier than ever, and enhancing effective and efficient fleet management.

With the EC Vehicle Tracking System, and the use of GPS Tracking Device with built-in GSM module, vehicles can be tracked in real-time with accuracy, using inexpensive devices such as cell phones or personal computers with telephony or internet connection. Vehicle location can be viewed on the user-friendly Google Maps interface through the online application, and the work progress and activities can be accessed in real-time

Nowadays, a Vehicle Tracking System is commonly used by fleet operators for fleet management functions such as routing, dispatch, on-board information and security. When managing a fleet of vehicles, knowing the real-time location of the vehicles allows more efficient management to meet customer needs at lower cost.

Main features:

· Ability to transmit the longitude and latitude coordinates of a vehicle‘s location to cell phones by SMS (Short Message Service)

· Ability to transmit the coordinates to personal computers over the internet using GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)

· Ability to get the vehicle’s location displayed on Google Maps interface.

· Ability to keep track of vehicle’s position in real-time or playback the route of the vehicle afterwards

· Ability to produce statistics and graphs illustrating the details of the trip of the vehicle

· Ability to communicate with the vehicle driver via SMS

To view the Vehicle Tracking System application demo, visit the website: http://demo.ennoble.com.au/gmaps

Ennoble Consultancy (EC) is a multi-disciplinary software development and consultancy company with offices in Australia, Malaysia and Vietnam. EC management operates on providing leading edge geospatial consultancy and software development in the Australasia region.

EC develops innovative geospatial/GIS and mapping TabletPC and web applications with emphasis on using web-based maps to deliver asset and facility management capabilities. Ennoble products include Vehicle Tracking, CiMAS Contract Performance Management, Tree and Playgrounds Management System and various audit/inspection enterprise solutions.

GPS Receiver Top 10 by Performance and Price

GPS’s have been around a few years but they have never been cheaper or more functional. Regardless of whether you want a GPS to guide your shopping trip, house hunting, fishing or boating – there is a model out there for you and probably for a lot less than $300!

Read more about GPS Receivers