Prepretory Exercises

Explore your GPS

The Basics of GPS

Below is a list of existing GPS Primer sites. Please browse through these links until you are familiar with the concepts of what GPS is and how it works. When you are finished, you should be able to answer and understand the following questions:

What is the purpose of GPS?
What is the accuracy of GPS?
What are the major sources of GPS error?
How many satellites are necessary for a reading, and why?
How high do GPS satellites orbit, and why?
What is Selective Availability?

General GPS Information	GPS Application Examples	Advanced GPS Concepts
Principles of GPS: SNAP LAB	Study of Sea Level Change using GPS	Differential GPS; What it is and how it works
Principles of GPS: Trimble	Study of Continental Plate Kinematics using GPS	The future of GPS: http://maic.jmu.edu/sic/gps/future.htm Post-Modernization GPS Performance Navigating into the Future-What GPS has in Store
The Basics of GPS by Jean-Marie Zogg	GPS uses in Precision Agriculture	How to Download from a Garmin receiver into ArcMap, Google Earth, Landview, etc.

At the end of this exercise, you should write a few paragraphs describing what GPS is and the basic theory of its operation.
Make sure you answer the questions listed above in the context of your writing.
Make sure to include this in your final report.

More links for information:

gpsinformation.net. ... Will probably give you more information than you ever wanted. http://gpsinformation.net/

Johnny Appleseed G P S ... Useful Links and Information Page: http://www.ja-gps.com.au/links.html

International GPS Service ... The Global Data Centers archive, and provide on-line access to tracking data and data products. http://igscb.jpl.nasa.gov/

The GPS Toolbox ... probably for the more advanced user. http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/gps-toolbox/index.html

Garmin car GPS & handheld Garmin gps systems and accessories for navigation. .http://www.gps-home.com