GPS Gadgets and How They Work

GPS units may seem rather on the pricey side at first glance, but if you take the time to understand how they work, it helps to make the cost more fair in your mind.  More often than not, we are seeing GPS systems being automatically included in PDAs and cell phones as well as the newest car models.  The succeeding paragraphs will endeavor to provide a simple overview of how GPS systems work. Full technical details can be found in other articles published on the Net.

Here We Go

You may be astonished to learn that there are over 2500 satellites that are orbiting our planet at this very instant.  Quite a significant percentage of them are global positioning satellites.  Yet only 36 of them are actually still in operation with many others having been retired.  A low-power signal is transmitted by the satellites which can be received by the GPS system in your car or cell phone.  By accurately measuring the distance from three of these satellites, the GPS system can calculate its exact position on earth.

When their solar power panels are completely opened, a GPS satellite can be nearly seventeen feet wide.  They are powered by the sun and also by a backup battery supply if needed.  They generally last ten years or more if all goes well. The longest running satellite is from 1978.  Rumor has it that this one often relates stories from the old days when satellites had it much harder than they do today. Just a little satellite humor there.

But Seriously

So what is a GPS receiver?  Any electronic device that is able to receive signals sent by the GPS satellites is a GPS receiver.  There was probably 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 bought for his car.  The current average cost for a personal GPS unit is about $300.  A price tag of $300 isn't that out of line when you consider that you didn't have to pay for all those gps satellites to be built and launched into space, nor do you have to pay a fee to use the signals from them.

The US government is responsible for paying the costs involved in manufacturing and launching satellites into orbit.|Our government here in the US has resolved to take on the costs involved 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 information that is freely broadcast by them. Hopefully now you have a better understanding of how your GPS system works the next time you switch it on.