What is GPS, how does the global positioning system work and how is it used in hunting. Subscribe to news

22.07.2019 Windows 10

For most of us, living a measured life, daily commuting between apartment and place of work or study, the GPS function in the phone is not a very necessary option, which is used by the manufacturer in order to increase the cost of the device.

But as soon as you face the problem of finding a house in an unfamiliar area, you immediately understand the full benefits of GPS.

What is GPS in a phone or tablet?

GPS, or Global Positioning System, is a network of dozens of satellites "hanging" above the Earth's surface in constant orbits. These satellites are designed to receive and transmit positioning signals, thanks to which you can determine your location with high accuracy, track the movement of people and goods, and plot a route in unfamiliar terrain.

The GPS function is most important for those whose duties include long trips or movement within the city: couriers, freight forwarders, long-distance drivers, etc.

With the built-in GPS function of your phone or tablet, you can easily determine your location on a city map or in the countryside, get the most convenient route to the desired street or house, and never get lost, even walking in a completely unfamiliar city. In addition, along the way, you can attach to them the coordinates of the places where they were made.

Today's GPS-based internet services offer many services related to determining your location. You will be offered to visit the nearest cafe, cinema or club, send invitations to friends asking them to join you in the place where you are now, etc.

With the help of some services, you can find new friends and like-minded people who live or are now closest to your place of residence, or meet guys or girls who are inclined. The number of services using GPS is constantly growing, as is the variety of services they offer.

What is A-GPS?

Often, in areas with a large number of high-rise buildings, GPS performance slows down significantly and loses accuracy. Skyscrapers block the line of sight to satellites, and radio signals either do not pass at all or pass through with distortion.

In order to improve the quality of positioning in large cities, the A-GPS system was created, which uses positioning using cellular stations. The more stations around you, the more accurate positioning will be.

The location is determined using specially dedicated servers, where signals from communication stations are received for processing. In order to use A-GPS, you need an Internet connection, therefore, in addition to phones, only tablets with a SIM card slot can use this function.

In tablets without SIM cards, A-GPS will only work when connected to Wi-Fi. In addition, you will have to pay for the tariff of your cellular operator.

What is better to use?

In each case, the user himself determines what will be better and more convenient for him, focusing on the differences between GPS and A-GPS.

1. In a city where the number of cellular stations is large, A-GPS is faster and more accurate than GPS. In the countryside, on the other hand, it is better to use GPS.

2. A-GPS consumes less energy during operation and in standby mode, which means less battery drain. This is important for those who do not always have the ability to recharge.

3. A-GPS uses Internet traffic, which means that it is not provided free of charge.

4. A-GPS does not work without an Internet network, unlike GPS, so a phone or tablet with A-GPS cannot be used as a navigator on a long trip.

Surely many cell phone users had such a question - what is gps in a phone, and what is it actually needed for?

In just a couple of years, satellite navigation in the phone has become commonplace even for not too expensive models. In parallel with the widespread use of this technology, people began to invent new applications for GPS receivers.

In addition to determining your location on a virtual map, there was also a social aspect. Now a person not only determines his coordinates, but can also voluntarily show where he is at the moment. However, the capabilities of modern "devices" are not limited to this.

For most users who spend weekdays at work and weekends at home, GPS seems like an unnecessary feature that only increases the price. They regularly use electronic maps, determine their coordinates, as a rule, drivers, couriers and people of those professions where you need to be able to navigate in unfamiliar areas.

That is why, in order to somehow justify the presence of the GPS function, the developers began to create various geosocial services (for example, geotagging - the ability to insert the coordinates of the shooting location into the file).

Foursquare is a prime example of a strong alliance and satellite navigation. Thanks to this service, the user can mark his location not just on a virtual map, but in a particular institution.

For example, if a person is bored, they can send a message indicating their location and inviting friends. On the basis of foursquare, special themed applications are even created. In this case, it is worth mentioning wheretheladies.at, using which, men will be able to find places with the maximum number of girls.

That is, the GPS receiver in the phone and the special software play the role of a matchmaker. The creators of this program promised to release its analogue soon, but for the fairer sex.

The Altergeo service is gaining popularity in the network. This is a geosocial project where users, as well as on foursquare, can check in to establishments.

However, in addition to the social component that allows you to communicate and see the location of friends, Altergeo provides users with various bonuses and discounts from establishments.

We can say that the GPS-receiver in the phone becomes a kind of discount card.

But remember that almost all cell phones are not equipped with a full-featured GPS system, but a system.

In order for the receiver of this system to start working, it is necessary to download the data from the Internet server. In simple terms, to determine the coordinates, a full-fledged GPS receiver first downloads a file with information about the location of the satellites, and only after that it receives data with coordinates from them.

This process can take tens of minutes. However, the developers have greatly simplified the download of this file due to the fact that cell phones have the ability to access the Internet. Now it is downloaded from the network in a few seconds, and you can literally immediately determine your location.

But for such a speed you have to pay dearly - the gadget will not be able to determine the coordinates without access to the World Wide Web. And if the user is abroad, he will have to pay every time to download information for the A-GPS system.

Steps for setting up GPS on your phone

First, you need to download special navigation programs that use GPS capabilities and are compatible with your version of Android OS. Any phone based on this operating system comes preinstalled with GPS navigators by default. We are talking about Google Maps and Yandex.Maps. Unfortunately, sometimes these apps let users down. This is because the options are incorrect. If the received data is not entirely correct or does not coincide at all with your location, you need to change the system settings. This is done as follows:

Manually enter the correct settings for the virtual COM port that connects your mobile phone to the built-in GPS receiver.
Clear and update the A-GPS cache data using any available software. It is recommended to use GPS Status for this purpose. This program does an excellent job with an active Internet connection.
Go to an open area and roll your mobile device in different directions. It is advisable to make 3-4 turns to make sure that the system is working as it should.
To improve the performance of your smartphone, try turning on the Wireless & networks function in the settings. It is located in the same section as the GPS Satellites feature.

Today we will talk about what GPS is, how this system works. Let's pay attention to the development of this technology, its functional features. We will also discuss the role of interactive maps in the operation of the system.

The history of the emergence of GPS

The history of the emergence of a global positioning system, or determination of coordinates, began in the United States back in the distant 50s when the first Soviet satellite was launched into space. A team of American scientists who followed the launch noticed that the satellite uniformly changes its signal frequency with distance. After a deep analysis of the data, they came to the conclusion that with the help of the satellite, in more detail, its location and the emitted signal, it is possible to accurately determine the location and speed of a person's movement on the ground, as well as vice versa, the speed and location of the satellite in orbit when determining the exact coordinates of the person. By the end of the seventies, the US Department of Defense launched the GPS system for its own purposes, and a few years later it became available for civilian use. How does the GPS system work now? Exactly how it worked at that time, according to the same principles and principles.

Satellite network

More than twenty-four satellites in low-earth orbit transmit referencing radio signals. The number of satellites varies, but the required number of satellites is always in orbit to ensure uninterrupted operation, plus some of them are in stock to take over their functions in the event of a breakdown. Since the service life of each of them is approximately 10 years, new, modernized versions are launched. The satellites rotate in six orbits around the Earth at an altitude of less than 20 thousand km, it forms an interconnected network, which is controlled by GPS stations. The latter are located on tropical islands and are associated with the main focal point in the United States.

How does a GPS navigator work?

Thanks to this network, it is possible to find out the location by calculating the propagation delay of the signal from the satellites, and using this information to determine the coordinates. How does the GPS system work now? Like any space navigation network, it is completely free. It works with high efficiency in all weather conditions and at any time of the day. The only purchase you should have is a GPS navigator itself or a device that supports GPS functions. Actually, the operating principle of the navigator is based on a long-used simple navigation scheme: if you know exactly where the marker object is located, which is most suitable for the role of a landmark, and the distance from it to you, draw a circle on which you indicate your location with a dot. If the radius of the circle is large, then replace it with a straight line. Draw several such stripes from your possible location towards the markers, the intersection point of the lines will indicate your coordinates on the map. In this case, the aforementioned satellites just play the role of these marker objects with a distance of about 18 thousand km from your location. Although they rotate in orbit at a tremendous speed, their location is constantly tracked. Each navigator has a GPS receiver, which is programmed to the desired frequency and is in direct interaction with the satellite. Each radio signal contains a certain amount of coded information, which includes statements about the technical condition of the satellite, its location in Earth's orbit and the time zone (exact time). By the way, information about the exact time is the most necessary for obtaining data about your coordinates: the ongoing calculation of the time interval between the transmission and reception of the radio signal is multiplied by the speed of the radio wave itself and, by means of short-term calculations, the distance between your navigation device and the satellite in orbit is calculated.

Synchronization difficulties

Based on this principle of navigation, it can be assumed that to accurately determine your coordinates, you may need only two satellites, based on the signals of which it will be easy to find the intersection point, and as a result - the place where you are. But, unfortunately, technical reasons require the use of one more satellite as a marker. The main problem is the clock of the GPS receiver, which does not allow sufficient synchronization with the satellites. The reason for this is the difference in the time display (on your navigator and in space). The satellites have expensive high-quality atomic-based clocks, which allows them to keep track of the time with the utmost accuracy, while it is simply impossible to use such chronometers on conventional receivers, since the dimensions, cost, and complexity of operation would not allow them to be used everywhere. Even a small error of 0.001 seconds can shift the coordinates by more than 200 km to the side!

Third marker

So the developers decided to leave the usual technology of quartz watches in GPS-navigators and go the other way, to be more precise - to use instead of two landmarks-satellites - three, respectively, the same number of lines for subsequent crossing. The solution to the problem is based on an ingeniously simple way out: when all the lines from the three marked markers intersect, even with possible inaccuracies, a triangle-shaped zone is created, the center of which is taken from its middle - your location. It also allows you to identify the difference in time between the receiver and all three satellites (for which the difference will be the same), which allows you to correct the intersection of the lines exactly in the center, in other words, this determines your GPS coordinates.

One frequency

It should also be noted that all satellites send information to your device on the same frequency, which is quite unusual. How does a GPS navigator work and how does it perceive all information correctly if all satellites continuously and simultaneously send information to it? It's pretty simple. To identify themselves, transmitters on the satellite also send standard information in the radio signal, which contains an encrypted code. It reports the maximum characteristics of the satellite and is entered into the database of your device, which then allows you to verify the data from the satellite with the navigator's database. Even with a large number of satellites in range, they can be identified very quickly and easily. All this simplifies the whole scheme and allows using smaller and weaker receiving antennas in GPS navigators, which makes the design and dimensions of the devices cheaper and smaller.

GPS Maps

GPS maps are downloaded to your device separately, as you yourself influence the choice of the terrain in which you want to navigate. The system just sets your coordinates on the planet, and the function of the maps is to recreate on the screen a graphical version on which the coordinates are applied, which allows you to navigate the terrain. How does GPS work in this case? Free, it continues to remain in this status, cards in some online stores (and not only) are still paid. Often, separate applications for working with maps are created for a device with a GPS navigator: both paid and free. The variety of maps pleasantly surprises and allows you to configure the road from point A to point B as informatively as possible and with all the conveniences: what sights you will pass, the shortest path to your destination, a voice assistant indicating the direction, and others.

Additional GPS equipment

The GPS system is used not only to show you the right path. It allows you to track an object on which a so-called beacon or GPS tracker may be located. It consists of the signal receiver itself and a transmitter based on gsm, 3gp or other communication protocols for transmitting information about the location of the object to the service centers that exercise control. They are used in many industries: security, medical, insurance, transport and many others. There are also vehicle trackers that connect exclusively to the vehicle.

Travel without problems

With each passing day, the values of the map and the permanent compass go further and further into the past. Modern technologies allow a person to pave the way for his journey with minimal loss of time, effort and money, while seeing the most exciting and interesting places. What was fiction about a century ago has now become a reality, and almost everyone can take advantage of it: from the military, sailors and airplane pilots to tourists and couriers. Nowadays, the use of these systems for the commercial, entertainment, advertising industries is also gaining great popularity, where every entrepreneur can indicate himself on the global map of the world, and it will not be difficult to find him at all. We hope that this article helped everyone who is interested in GPS - how it works, on what principle is the determination of coordinates, what are its strengths and weaknesses.

Navigation today is a simple, necessary and incredibly popular service. Not only are navigators almost the most popular product on the mobile market (only ubiquitous phones overtake them), but many smartphones have acquired their own GPS and A-GPS chips over the past couple of years - and users are so used to it that “smartphones without navigation ”is now at least surprising to them. All this, of course, is very encouraging (progress! Civilization!), But there is only one problem: manufacturers are trying so hard to sell their goods that they often wishful thinking, enticing buyers not with the specifications of their products, but with loud words on the boxes. In this article, we will tell you what these words mean and what navigation actually is.

Technology: how does it work?

Today, there are, in fact, only two technologies that allow users of mobile technology not to get lost in the stone jungle: satellite and cellular navigation. The first is GPS itself, a global satellite positioning system, invented by American scientists for the American military, and then donated to the rest of the world for Thanksgiving. The second is AGPS (not to be confused with A-GPS), a cellular technology that allows you to determine your approximate location (with an accuracy of 500 meters) if you are in a cellular network coverage area.

GPS is good first of all because it is accurate (determines your position with an accuracy of five meters) and absolutely free (good Americans allow everyone to use their satellites). Of course, you will have to pay for specific navigation programs and maps - but this fee will be a one-time fee, and no subscription to GPS services exists in nature. The bad thing about GPS is that it works only outdoors, and mainly in clear weather - if the sky is cloudy, it is quite difficult to find the number of satellites required for work. In order to fight the clouds, a special A-GPS (Assisted GPS) technology was invented: using this technology, instead of sending signals to the heavens, the navigator simply connected to a server, where it downloaded information about the location of satellites, and, using these coordinates, I found them much faster. Today A-GPS is an indispensable companion of any GPS-receiver in a car navigator. The most popular maps that work with the GPS service: iGo, Avtosputnik, Navitel, Be-On-Road.

The cellular AGPS (Alternative Global Position System) system, of course, gives a much less accurate determination of the position of an object on the map, but it does not depend at all on the weather and the degree of depth into the building. The main thing is that your smartphone can catch the network, your number has the GPRS service activated, and you still have money on your account. The principle of operation of AGPS is similar to the principle of operation of a satellite navigation system: a smartphone receives signals from several (at least three) base stations and, based on the signal strength of each of them and taking into account their location, calculates your coordinates. Cheap and cheerful: of course, you won't be able to get anywhere with AGPS, but on the other hand, you will definitely not get lost on the map. The most popular maps that work with the AGPS service are Google Maps, Yandex.Maps.

Devices: what happens?

The simplest of all existing GPS navigation devices in nature is an external GPS receiver. By itself, he only communicates with satellites, and, in fact, does not provide any navigation. But you can connect it to almost any device - laptop, pocket computer, phone or smartphone - and then, with the right software, you can navigate in space and plot routes to your destination. The receivers are especially useful for tourists who prefer narrow mountain or forest paths to beaten roads: the receivers, unlike most other devices, are not tied to a map, and if they so desire, they can guide you even along scanned graph paper with a navigation grid superimposed on it. If you, of course, find one for the region you need.

The most popular navigation device today is the car GPS navigator. It is essentially a small touchscreen computer that runs on a closed operating system. The manufacturer has already installed a navigation program in the navigator, which usually cannot be changed without violating the licenses. In addition to navigation itself, car navigators often know how to do a lot more: play music, show movies, work with e-books and pictures, and even connect to the Internet.

Recently, a new class of devices has appeared on the market - smartphones with a built-in GPS receiver. On the one hand, these devices are extremely convenient: they can call, they will prompt the way, and they can do a lot of other things. On the other hand, the software component of such devices is still very weak: mainly “online solutions” like Nokia Maps or Google Maps are used as navigation programs, for which you need a constant connection to the Internet (although some smartphones can be equipped with a real navigation software). Yes, and such smartphones are more suitable for pedestrian than for car navigation - they have a small screen, the map is poorly visible, and with the maps of our vast homeland everything is, to put it mildly, bad. You can only drive around the city.

The last type of navigation device is cellular navigation smartphones (AGPS). They don't have a built-in GPS chip. They are suitable only for those who do not want to carry a paper map with them - they do not provide guidance on the route, or even an exact determination of your location. On the other hand, they are excellent help to navigate in space during a long trip or find some particularly inconspicuous alley that none of the passers-by you interviewed have heard of.

Unfortunately, there is no perfect map in nature (if only simply because everyone has their own ideas about the ideal), so first you have to understand why you basically need a navigator and what you will do with it: one type is suitable for hiking trips devices and maps, for car navigation - another, for pedestrian navigation - a third. In addition, you need to pay attention to the cartographic base itself: the most attractive-looking program may suddenly not have a map of your city, and the most "urban" of the maps will show you white spots immediately behind the ring road. In general, whatever one may say, but you still have to devote some time to the selection process. You can read about how to choose a map for a navigator in the article "What kind of navigational maps are there?"

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