The best way to select a GPS Receiver (3)
GPS in Other Devices
GPS technological know-how is inspiring new, convergent technologies. Some two-way radios with GPS capabilities let you maintain real-time position-tracking of other men and women inside your party who are carrying the very same device. Some GPS-enabled cell and satellite phones are also capable of this.
Geocaching
GPS devices can be fun as properly as helpful. Check out geocaching (gee-oh-cashing). A high-tech version of hide-and-seek, this game involves making use of your GPS to locate the places around the globe of hidden caches placed by other geocachers! Go through our article on geocaching.
The Four Standard Functions
When utilizing a GPS receiver over a hike, you will discover four features which are of particular importance.
* Giving a Spot: The foundation of GPS technological innovation is its capability to accurately triangulate your placement by receiving information transmissions from several orbiting satellites. Your spot is given in coordinates, this sort of as latitude and longitude or Universal Transverse Mercators (UTMs).<br> NOTE: The UTM coordinate technique was developed from the military. Simply because it lays out a map inside a square grid with all gridlines 1,000 meters apart, it is specially useful for speedily pinpointing map places. Most topo maps have UTM gridlines printed on them.
* Point-to-point navigation: In GPS terms, a "waypoint" is a destination or an intermediate place along the way. Over a hike, you are able to mark a beginning waypoint at the trailhead. Then, if you’ve the coordinates for that campsite you’re headed for (taken from a map, resource book, web site, mapping application program or other source), the GPS product can provide you with a straight-line, point-to-point bearing and range to your destination. Obviously, trails hardly ever follow a straight line, so the GPS’ bearing will change as you go. The indicated range to travel will also decrease as you approach your goal.
* Plot navigation: By combining numerous waypoints on the trail, you’ll be able to move point-to-point with intermediate bearing and range guides. After you reach the 1st predetermined waypoint, the GPS receiver can automatically position you for the next one particular or you are able to manually do this. Waypoint-management computer software, which comes with most GPS products, simplifies the course of action of obtaining and entering coordinates for quite a few trails. By inputting coordinates in advance, it is possible to enhance your trail navigation prior to you even leave household.
* Keeping a track: Among the most helpful capabilities of a GPS unit is its capacity to lay a virtual "breadcrumb trail" of exactly where you’ve been, called a "track." In GPS parlance, this can be unique from a "route," which is a strategy for wherever you’re going. You’ll be able to configure the GPS receiver to automatically drop "trackpoints" over intervals of either time or range. To retrace your steps, merely stick to the GPS bearings back through the sequence of trackpoints, just as you followed the sequence of waypoints on your route.