This document set has been superceded and is no longer being maintained. Please visit the new page at:
Each document is marked with a colored dot indicating it's status. The color code is as follows:
The page is substantially complete.
The page has substantial information but is under construction.
The page is mostly incomplete, may only exist as an outline.
The page is proposed, does not exist yet.
The page is on a different server and is not part of this document set.
Timeline of Satellite Navigation Systems
Previous Radionavigation Systems
GPS acronyms you may need
Definitions of GPS Terms
What makes up a GPS System
GPS Satellites
The NAVSTAR Signal Specification
How Differential GPS works
Types of GPS receivers
Mapping from GPS data
Current GPS Status
Archaeology (Visit the Archive)
Atmospheric Science
Environmental (Visit the Archive)
Geodesy
Geology & Geophysics (Visit the Archive)
Oceanography
Wildlife (Visit the Archive)
Land (Visit the Archive)
Sea
Air
Attitude Determination Receivers
Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) Receivers
"Black Box" & OEM Receivers
General purpose handheld Receivers
Mapping & Surveying Receivers
Miscellaneous Receivers
Navigation Receivers - Air & Sea
PC Card (PCMCIA) and PC Bus Receivers
Spacecraft Receivers
Time & Frequency Receivers
DGPS Base Station Receivers
Government Organizations (US & International)
Industry and Non-Profit Organizations
Educational Institutions
Links to personal home pages and other on-line sources
This document is aimed at new users of GPS, individuals looking for information on GPS to determine if it will fit a specific need, and for existing GPS users who need access to GPS information available on the internet. This document is not intended to supplement but not replace existing compilations of more technical GPS material such as Peter Dana's excellent Overview of the Global Positioning System and Richard Langley's CANSPACE archive. For ongoing discussion of GPS technology, the reader is invited to participate in the sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup.Several assumptions are being made in the preparation of this document. First and most obvious is that the user has an internet connection. Second is that the user has at least an average reading level and comprehension. Third is that the user either has or can get some background material relevant to the subject. For instance, I do not intend to discuss orbital mechanics or radio wave propagation. I am not assuming that reader have even a beginning knowledge of GPS theory or how to get more information. That is the type of information that I am intending to relate - essentially, what I wanted to know when I first got in this field.
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are space-based radio positioning systems that provide 24 hour three-dimensional position, velocity and time information to suitably equipped users anywhere on or near the surface of the Earth (and sometimes off the earth). Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are extended GPS systems, providing users with sufficient accuracy and integrity information to be useable for critical navigation applications. The NAVSTAR system, operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, is the first GPS system widely available to civilian users. The Russian GPS system, GLONASS, is similar in operation and may prove complimentary to the NAVSTAR system. Neither system is quite up to the task of providing users world wide with navigation capabilities that are both accurate and reliable to serve all it's potential users - yet.These systems will change our lives in many ways. By combining GPS with current and future computer mapping techniques, we will be better able to identify and manage our natural resources. Intelligent vehicle location and navigation systems will let us avoid congested freeways and find more efficient routes to our destinations, saving millions of dollars in gasoline and tons of air pollution. Travel abord ships and aircraft will be safer in all weather conditions. Businesses with large amounts of outside plant (railroads, utilities) will be able to manage their resources more efficiently, reducing consumer costs.
However, before all these changes can take place, people have to know what GPS can do. This page is about practical GPS applications and where to find equipment and information. Hopefully, as a result of reading this page, you will be coming up with your own applications that make the most of our tax dollars already spent.
A GPS FAQ is being put together by Peter Bennett. The FAQ is stored at his ftp site at ftp://sundae.triumf.ca/pub/peter/. Look there for the document GPSFAQ.TXT. He also has lots of good technical information on GPS interfacing.
I am an industrial GPS user. I have been in the telecommunications industry for 7 years and have done microwave path design and two-way radio system design. I got into GPS as a method to get coordinates for radio sites more accurately than we were getting through manual methods. Since that time, I have been involved with using GPS to document existing buried fiber optic cable and developing a client-server mapping system in which to store the data. I have also conceived and directed the development of a laptop-based site information gathering system that used GPS PCMCIA devices.I am not a mathemetician or physicist. I have never designed GPS equipment nor have I determined GPS policy. However, I have worked with practical GPS applications. I've learned many things the hard way, such as where NOT to set base stations for day-long kinematic GPS surveys. When I got internet access, I found that there was very little practical GPS information available, and yet many of the questions on the sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup tended toward the new user looking for FAQs, asking for vendor contact info, asking how the stuff worked. I saw that there was a need for basic information about GPS that was unfulfilled - what it is, how it works, where to get it, what to do with it and where to get more information.
Well, here it is. I don't guarantee it is all correct. In fact, I don't guarantee that any of it is correct, but I'm doing my best. There is a lot about GPS I don't know yet. But I have time, the desire to learn, the willingness to share what I learn, and a web site thoughtfully provided by EINet/Galaxy and Wayne Allen. In time (and with a lot of help) I hope to make this document a valuable internet resource for a wide range of GPS users.
I need more money than I currently have to keep adding to this site and to the "Intro to GPS Applications" site at Tradewave/Galaxy. Specifically, I need GPS reference books and hardware bad! To help finance this work, I am willing to sell sponsorships.
The electronically-accessible documents encompassing the "Introduction to GPS Applications" site and the "Intro to GPS Apps Archive" are the property of John T. Beadles except where otherwise noted. Materials submitted by contributors remain the property of those individuals.These materials may be used for study, research, and education, but please credit the author with the following reference:
Introduction to GPS ApplicationsThese materials may not be reproduced in any format for commercial use without the express written consent of the author. All commercial rights reserved. Copyright 1995 John T. Beadles.
http://galaxy.einet.net/editors/john-beadles/introgps.htm
John T. Beadles, jbeadles@pobox.com
- ACCURACY & ERRORS
- I make no guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. However, if you think you see factual or spelling errors, please let me know!
- RISK
- Use this information at your own risk! Neither the authors nor the contributors assume any liability for the use or misuse of any information contained within this set of documents.
- CONTENT
- I am adding the content that I think is appropriate to the desired audience - that is, information intended to get new users up and running. If you disagree, let me know - I'll probably agree with you!
- OPINIONS
- Any opinions expressed in this set of documents are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of their employers.
- ENDORSEMENTS
- Nothing in any of the pages of this document set should be construed as an endorsement of any individual, company, corporation, service, product, equipment, place, thing, lifestyle, religion, political view or anything else that could get me in trouble.
- WEB PAGE LAYOUT
- I don't claim to know everything about logical web page layout. The intent of this page is to communicate information to those who need it, not to impress an english teacher. If you think a different page organization or wording would do a better job, please tell me.
- SUMMARY
- In short, don't sue me or anybody else for anything you see here! This is done as a public service so shame on you for even thinking that way...
When I started working on this, I didn't have any preconceived notions as to how it would turn out. Now it is assuming the proportions of a book! You, the reader, have the benefit of reading over my shoulder as I am writing it. This means that you may see some odd things such as paragraph headers with no content, links that go nowhere, etc. You will also see factual errors and spelling errors. I am also experimenting with HTML formatting, so some pages will look different than others. So if you see anything that looks a bit bizarre, just come back later. It'll probably change.A current trend I've noticed several places on the web is to eliminate the construction notice from web documents. This is done on the assumption that ALL web documents are ALWAYS under construction. In the case of this document, that's not true. Many of these pages will reach a state where I am happy with them. At that time, the construction notice will disappear from that page. Pages which are not substantially complete will retain the construction notice. When finished (if ever) many of the pages will change only to reflect changes and/or updates.
As of November 1995, I started working at a new job at Northern Telecom in one of the cellular engineering groups. This job is keeping me in the office until 2 am on an annoyingly regular basis. Between the job and moving into my new house, I've been unable to update the page on anything like a regular basis. Well, we're just about finished moving so I should be able to get back to something remotely resembling a schedule now.