Without a question, getting lost can be frustrating as well as frightening. On the other hand, when you have a GPS system installed, you can minimize a number of driving problems.
Some Additional Features That You Might Find in a Car GPS Navigation Systems Copilot
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Wynn]Kevin Wynn
As you may be aware, modern handheld devices are capable of performing many different tasks. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Car GPS navigation systems offer much more than a map and directions to unfamiliar destinations. Chances are, you will be surprised at all of the additional features and benefits.
Today, USB support and wireless communication services can make portable devices as connected to the rest of the world as a laptop or notebook. In some cases, the manufacturer of your GPS system may have taken advantage of both technologies to provide you with additional copilot services. Without a question, driving with one of these devices can completely change your driving experiences.
As an example, some models will provide information about hotels and tourist attractions in the area you are planning to visit. In addition, many will also provide you with continuous traffic updates. If you have a long daily commute, you will appreciate having immediate information available about traffic delays and any other problems that might develop.
Even though your vehicle is not an ideal place for working with intellectual data, some GPS units will store pictures, files, and music. As may be expected, almost all of these units are capable of playing music stored in memory. You will also find that some models include everything from address books to cameras. Therefore, if you are looking for a device that will also offer some PDA functionality, one of these may be perfect for you.
Aside from keeping you company during long commutes, you will also find that Nuvi and other GPS navigation copilots will keep you alert to your driving habits. In particular, some units let you know when you are speeding. Others will give you verbal cues about when to turn, as well as when to make lane changes. Finally, if you veer off the plotted path, many units will also recalculate to help you find the most efficient way to reach your destination.
Today, many automotive insurers and manufacturers are interested in finding ways to reduce the number of collisions. Aside from increasing the chance of having someone gabbing on their cell phone run into you, any number of things can happen when you are lost, or not confident about which road to take. At the very least, when you have a GPS system installed in your car, you will have advanced warning about upcoming lane changes so that you can focus more of your attention on the traffic patterns around you.
While you may be an excellent driver, being in an unfamiliar neighborhood can take crucial attention away from other elements of driving. On the other hand, car GPS navigation systems are designed to help you find your destination without making mistakes. Irregardless of whether you are going to China or simply commuting to work, these devices can make your journey much easier and safer. As you study units offered by each supplier, you may even decide to choose one based on other included features.
For more information about the different kinds of Car Gps Navigation Systems, visit http://www.cargpsnavigationsystemsonline.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Wynn http://EzineArticles.com/?Some-Additional-Features-That-You-Might-Find-in-a-Car-GPS-Navigation-Systems-Copilot&id=1480920
Saturday, October 25, 2008
GPS Navigation in the Great Outdoors
What you need to know about GPS navigation so you don't get lost in the wilderness. This article discusses the several basic features of GPS navigation that will keep you from getting lost and show you the way back to your starting point.
GPS Navigation in the Great Outdoors
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Taylor_Gray]Taylor Gray
Heading out into the wilderness or unknown outdoors? Make sure a handheld GPS receiver goes along! For as long as you know your final destination, a GPS would guide you through. In its simplest form, a GPS receiver calculates your exact location based on range signals it receives from various satellites in the space. But when you are out in the wilderness, knowing your current position alone is not adequate, what is just as important is to know how to get where you have to be. Mostly, simple GPS receivers, apart from measuring the position, would also measure additional information like speed and time. Depending on how sophisticated a GPS unit is, you can get various other details such as bearing and distance to your destination, an accurate compass direction, height above sea level as well as almanac information such as sunrise & sunset timings.
Of numerous details that a GPS receiver is capable of providing, what you actually need to know is to be handy with your unit. Once you know how to use it, you can make an effective and intelligent use of your GPS unit. It is of key importance to know how to store the coordinates into your GPS receiver, which has a two-fold benefit:
- First, by storing the coordinates of your current location you can always find your way back to where you started from.
- Second, you can store the coordinates of your destination and the GPS unit would continuously provide you with a bearing and distance of your destination as you move along the direction of the bearing.
Most GPS units label this feature as "Go to". The current location in most receivers can be stored by simple depression of a single key, which is usually labeled as "Mark". A second method of storing the coordinates of a position is by manually entering the latitude and longitude of a location as a waypoint. Once the waypoints are entered, a route can be created by using two or more waypoints. A GPS receiver would then calculate the bearing and distance of the second waypoint from the first in a route.
Following the bearing, by an inbuilt compass in GPS unit or an external magnetic compass, would then lead the user to the destination. As you go along a route, guided by your GPS receiver, it is a wise idea to store your location coordinates at regular intervals especially while you are in the wilderness. This would be useful in case you need to trace back your track exactly. It is much easier to use the "Go to" feature, then following your breadcrumb trail.
So before you head out for your next excursion, just know:
- The coordinates of the destination
- How to enter a waypoint
- How to follow a bearing and/or use the "Go to" feature
Now go learn these basic steps of GPS navigation and then hit that trail and start exploring! Just don't forget to bring along extra batteries!
Taylor Gray is a GPS enthusiast. Please visit http://www.gpsvilliage.com for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Taylor_Gray http://EzineArticles.com/?GPS-Navigation-in-the-Great-Outdoors&id=1512875
GPS Navigation in the Great Outdoors
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Taylor_Gray]Taylor Gray
Heading out into the wilderness or unknown outdoors? Make sure a handheld GPS receiver goes along! For as long as you know your final destination, a GPS would guide you through. In its simplest form, a GPS receiver calculates your exact location based on range signals it receives from various satellites in the space. But when you are out in the wilderness, knowing your current position alone is not adequate, what is just as important is to know how to get where you have to be. Mostly, simple GPS receivers, apart from measuring the position, would also measure additional information like speed and time. Depending on how sophisticated a GPS unit is, you can get various other details such as bearing and distance to your destination, an accurate compass direction, height above sea level as well as almanac information such as sunrise & sunset timings.
Of numerous details that a GPS receiver is capable of providing, what you actually need to know is to be handy with your unit. Once you know how to use it, you can make an effective and intelligent use of your GPS unit. It is of key importance to know how to store the coordinates into your GPS receiver, which has a two-fold benefit:
- First, by storing the coordinates of your current location you can always find your way back to where you started from.
- Second, you can store the coordinates of your destination and the GPS unit would continuously provide you with a bearing and distance of your destination as you move along the direction of the bearing.
Most GPS units label this feature as "Go to". The current location in most receivers can be stored by simple depression of a single key, which is usually labeled as "Mark". A second method of storing the coordinates of a position is by manually entering the latitude and longitude of a location as a waypoint. Once the waypoints are entered, a route can be created by using two or more waypoints. A GPS receiver would then calculate the bearing and distance of the second waypoint from the first in a route.
Following the bearing, by an inbuilt compass in GPS unit or an external magnetic compass, would then lead the user to the destination. As you go along a route, guided by your GPS receiver, it is a wise idea to store your location coordinates at regular intervals especially while you are in the wilderness. This would be useful in case you need to trace back your track exactly. It is much easier to use the "Go to" feature, then following your breadcrumb trail.
So before you head out for your next excursion, just know:
- The coordinates of the destination
- How to enter a waypoint
- How to follow a bearing and/or use the "Go to" feature
Now go learn these basic steps of GPS navigation and then hit that trail and start exploring! Just don't forget to bring along extra batteries!
Taylor Gray is a GPS enthusiast. Please visit http://www.gpsvilliage.com for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Taylor_Gray http://EzineArticles.com/?GPS-Navigation-in-the-Great-Outdoors&id=1512875
Sunday, October 12, 2008
GPS - Bringing The World Together
GPS, or Global Positioning System, has become for the 21st century what bloodhounds and used to be for police forces and bread crumbs were for Hansel and Gretel: both a way to find a person or target, and a way for a person to keep from becoming lost.
GPS - Bringing The World Together
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=David_Faulkner]David Faulkner
GPS, or Global Positioning System, has become for the 21st century what bloodhounds and used to be for police forces and bread crumbs were for Hansel and Gretel: both a way to find a person or target, and a way for a person to keep from becoming lost. GPS uses its “eyes in the sky”, a group of twenty-one operating and three backup satellites in orbit nearly twelve thousand miles above the Earth, to interpret the signals sent from GPS devices down below.
GPS translates those signals into information about the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the device that sent it, and beams the information back to a GPS receiver in the same device. The whole operation is done in split seconds, accurate to within five meters, and is the result of over three decades and twelve billion (and rising) dollars spent by the US Department of Defense.
Military GPS Applications
While the DoD initially installed GPS systems in their Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles to help them locate their targets with pinpoint accuracy, the GPS technology has now fund applications far beyond its use in weapons systems. The US military used it once again in 1991, during the first Gulf War, when GPS was essential for the mapping of huge uncharted tracts of desert.
Because GPS information can be provided as a readout, interpreted, and printed as a map of the target terrain, it saved the military countless man-hours and risk to the personnel who would otherwise have had to map the desert while airborne. GPS has its defensive purposes as well; it allows a country to monitor the movements of military troops in another country across the globe and to prepare for an attack well lin advance.
Commercial GPS Application
The first non-military use of sGPS was for marine applications; those lost at sea and unable to navigate by traditional means could simply push a button to signal the [http://www.gpssystemsreview.com/Articles/GPS_Systems.php]GPS satellites and have their latitude and longitude appearing on a screen in a matter of seconds. Today GPS is most widely used in the aviation industry, as an aid to routing aircraft.
GPS technology has advanced so much, in fact, that it is now possible for ships’ computers to be linked to a GPS system which automatically navigates to a preprogrammed destination. GPS can function as both s ship’s navigator and captain, although it is highly improbable that it will replace them.
GPS, in both its military and commercial applications, has made the world a much smaller and safe, place!
You can also find more info on [http://www.gpssystemsreview.com/Articles/GPS_Mount.php]GPS Mount and [http://www.gpssystemsreview.com/Articles/GPS_Portable.php]GPS Portable. Gpssystemsreview.com is a comprehensive resource to know about GPS System.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Faulkner http://EzineArticles.com/?GPS----Bringing-The-World-Together&id=653366
GPS - Bringing The World Together
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=David_Faulkner]David Faulkner
GPS, or Global Positioning System, has become for the 21st century what bloodhounds and used to be for police forces and bread crumbs were for Hansel and Gretel: both a way to find a person or target, and a way for a person to keep from becoming lost. GPS uses its “eyes in the sky”, a group of twenty-one operating and three backup satellites in orbit nearly twelve thousand miles above the Earth, to interpret the signals sent from GPS devices down below.
GPS translates those signals into information about the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the device that sent it, and beams the information back to a GPS receiver in the same device. The whole operation is done in split seconds, accurate to within five meters, and is the result of over three decades and twelve billion (and rising) dollars spent by the US Department of Defense.
Military GPS Applications
While the DoD initially installed GPS systems in their Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles to help them locate their targets with pinpoint accuracy, the GPS technology has now fund applications far beyond its use in weapons systems. The US military used it once again in 1991, during the first Gulf War, when GPS was essential for the mapping of huge uncharted tracts of desert.
Because GPS information can be provided as a readout, interpreted, and printed as a map of the target terrain, it saved the military countless man-hours and risk to the personnel who would otherwise have had to map the desert while airborne. GPS has its defensive purposes as well; it allows a country to monitor the movements of military troops in another country across the globe and to prepare for an attack well lin advance.
Commercial GPS Application
The first non-military use of sGPS was for marine applications; those lost at sea and unable to navigate by traditional means could simply push a button to signal the [http://www.gpssystemsreview.com/Articles/GPS_Systems.php]GPS satellites and have their latitude and longitude appearing on a screen in a matter of seconds. Today GPS is most widely used in the aviation industry, as an aid to routing aircraft.
GPS technology has advanced so much, in fact, that it is now possible for ships’ computers to be linked to a GPS system which automatically navigates to a preprogrammed destination. GPS can function as both s ship’s navigator and captain, although it is highly improbable that it will replace them.
GPS, in both its military and commercial applications, has made the world a much smaller and safe, place!
You can also find more info on [http://www.gpssystemsreview.com/Articles/GPS_Mount.php]GPS Mount and [http://www.gpssystemsreview.com/Articles/GPS_Portable.php]GPS Portable. Gpssystemsreview.com is a comprehensive resource to know about GPS System.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Faulkner http://EzineArticles.com/?GPS----Bringing-The-World-Together&id=653366
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