Posts Tagged ‘GPS Tracking’
Mobile Phone GPS Basics
Before long GPS will become almost as basic as the telephone, or more likely included with every cell phone. GPS can calculate locations accurate to a matter of feet. In fact, incredibly with advanced forms of GPS it is possible to make measurements to better than a centimeter!
In a sense it’s like assigning every square meter on the globe its very own address. GPS receivers have become extremely economical as they have been miniaturized to just a few integrated circuits. Nowadays days GPS is incorporated into cars, boats, planes, construction equipment, movie making gear, farm machinery, laptop computers and especially phone handsets.
Tracking cell phones is a active topic getting a lot of interest. A lot of the discussion dealing with GPS tracking, cell phone GPS and cell phone tracking software programs would be more meaningful with a GPS Satellite introduction and glossary.
GPS is an acronym for Global Positioning System. GPS satellites broadcast signals from medium earth orbit that GPS receivers use to estimate three-dimensional location (latitude, longitude, and altitude) plus precise time. The GPS network is made up of 3 main segments: Space Segment, Control Segment and User Segment.
The GPS Space Segment is composed of twenty-four to thirty-two satellites that orbit the earth in medium earth orbit MEO. These satellites are also known as as the GPS Constellation, and they make an orbit once every 12 hours. They are not geosynchronous, they travel at over 7,000 mph. GPS satellites are solar powered but have battery backup for when they are in the earth’s shadow. They are positioned so that there are at least 4 satellites ‘visible’ from any point on earth. Small rocket boosters on each satellite keep them flying in the correct path. The satellites last about ten years until all their fuel runs out.
GPS Satellites are not communications satellites. Geostationary or communications satellites are parked in space 22,300 miles above the equator. These satellites are used for weather forecasting, satellite TV, satellite radio and most other types of global communications. At exactly 22,000 miles above the equator, the earth’s gravitational force and centrifugal forces are offset and are in equilibrium. This is the best location to place a communications satellite. The earth rotates at about 1,000 miles an hour, and because of their high earth orbit the geo-synchronous satellites need to travel at about 7,000 mph to maintain position. This is just about the same speed as GPS satellites, but since earth-synchronous satellites are 10,000 miles further away they don’t move relative to the earth.
The GPS Control Segment made up of Master Control Station, an Alternate Master Control Station, and numerous dedicated and shared Ground Antennas and Monitor Stations that work together to ensure the satellites are functioning to specification and the data they send to earth is accurate.
The GPS User Segment includes of GPS receivers taking the shape of devices and , laptops, in-car navigation devices and hand-held tracking units along with the people that use them, and the software programs that make them work.
GPS receivers compute location by precisely timing the signals transmitted by GPS satellites. This information includes the time the message was transmitted, precise orbital information (the ephemeris), and the general system health and rough orbits of all GPS satellites (the almanac).
Consider that there is a fundamental difference between smartphone GPS Tracking and GPS Navigation. GPS cell phone tracking is usually associated with someone maintaining records of either real-time or historical mobile phone location, while Navigation deals with the mobile phone user figuring out how to get from point A to point B. Neither use works without some sort of third-party software application.
A very good software package that includes remote control of device settings, and combines Cell Phone Tracking with SMS text message, Call Log, MMS multi-media message monitoring, and a web account for storage and review is PhoneBeagle.
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Global Satellite System Glossary of basic terms.
GPS is made up of 24 GPS satellites, portable GPS receivers, and various ground-based support facilities.
The GPS receiver is typically a standalone handset device or electronic unit mounted on a automobile dashboard or other movable item such as a shipping container, and now particularly common to be included with phone handsets . Abbreviated “GPS” in common use.
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Common GPS Tracking Device Problems
Like anything more complicated than a hammer, the global GPS tracking system has its own particular set of weaknesses. You will want to understand these weaknesses before purchasing your next GPS tracking device. Here are a few of those problems:
Some GPS tracking devices, particularly devices that use “cell tower assisted fix” technology do not always know their exact location. The device will actually be using the location of a cell tower. This is a common problem with assisted fix GPS tracking devices. You are able to solve this by only purchasing devices that use autonomous fixes. Assisted fix devices usually have a tiny GPS antenna and rarely live up to their potential.
Another problem occurs when the GPS tracking system installed on your vehicle does not report your vehicle’s direction of travel or speed. For instance, you may want to know if the vehicle is stopped at the corner pub or just driving by. Some devices simply don’t report this information.
Also, if you drive in areas with many underpasses and tunnels, chances are your GPS tracking device will be confused by weak or reflected GPS signals and locate you in the wrong place. The best way to solve this one is print out a MapQuest or a Google Map so that you can use an old-school, paper map.If you wanna to gain work safety ,maybe GPS tracker can help you.
These problems are not created through manufacturing defects, but rather are inherent weaknesses in the GPS system itself. You may get a much better product through buying a familiar brand name GPS, but no brand of GPS can protect you from inherent GPS system deficiencies.
In the end, GPS tracking devices should not be considered as the only means of tracking your location and getting to a special destination. Only a few years ago all of humanity managed to get around the world with nothing more than a paper map. Although GPS can greatly ease our trouble in tracking or pinpointing a location, GPS tracking devices should be used to assist our common sense, not replace it. Whether we are travelling or are trying to track a stolen vehicle, GPS devices are enormously useful, but they aren’t perfect, so please don’t forget to bring your common sense along for the ride.
The role of GPS Technology in war
Via a network of satellites that orbit about the Earth GPS, otherwise known as Global Positioning System, technology helps central communication bases to locate the exact positions of troops, convoys, aircrafts and maritime vessels on the ground. GPS devices utilizing the technology are the perfect companion for those working in areas of conflict, namely War zones, as a close eye can be kept on troops from a distance.
GPS Technology can help to prevent crisis, and in the event of a crisis situation breaking out it helps to manage the crisis by advising the central comms base of the position of the forces on the ground and how they can quickly find their way to safety.
Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology is not quite new. Actually,it was in use back in the 1940′s during World War II. Today, GPS devices can be so small that they can be carried around on personnel, much like a pager or mobile phone device.
Most people commonly associate GPS tracking technology with satellite navigation in their cars and they don’t often see past this and how the technology can be used to help save lifes in conflict situations.
Satellite technology plays a very important part in war. Not only through the tracking personnel and hardware but through communication as well. Satellite phones are able to help teams communicate even in the most remote of locations by using the earths orbiting satellites instead of standard cell towers. Satellite phones are ideal in war scenarios for they are often very sparse and open and there is very little to interfere with the satellite communication link.
In summary, GPS Technology now acts an as overseeing pair of eyes for the military. Without it the troops on the ground would essentially be blind (in modern day terms), but with the use of technology the central command point can now easily communicate with the troops whilst also monitoring their location and helping them avoid conflict and potential crisis. It has become a necessary and very important tool that helps to save lives. If you want to know something about phone tracking and gain travel safety ,click on the links in this article.
Tips on GPS Vehicle Tracking Systems
It is no secret that police cars are equipped with GPS vehicle tracking theft recovery devices. These items are meant to allow a stolen police car to be found rather easily by simply using GPS tracking technology to locate the car. Then much further police are dispatched to the location to apprehend the criminal and recover the car. The good news is that it is possible to use the same technology to protect your car.
GPS tracking is not a very new technology. It has been around since the 1980s,just when it first began being developed for the military. It was originally meant to help keep track of troops and movements, as well as create a sophisticated mapping system to help commanders find their way over the rough and unknown terrain. Today that same technology is so advanced that it is probable to track in real time and create histories of where the device has been. And GPS technology is available to anyone, and at a fairly reasonable price.If you want to gain travel safety ,maybe GPS tracker can help you.
When you use GPS tracking in your car, you receive more than just driving directions in an unfamiliar city. You can also know where your car is. While it is nice to have this information to keep tabs on partying teenagers, it can also help you in the event that your car is stolen. When you have a GPS tracking system, and your car is stolen, you are more likely to get it back relatively unharmed. This is because you can find it immediately, rather than having it discovered in pieces weeks later as part of an illegal car parts ring.
Your GPS fleet tracking system can help you get your car back and have the satisfaction of knowing that the person who stole it is off the streets and headed to jail. You are able to let the police see where your car is (and where it is headed) and this is an immense help to them. One of the best ways to protect your property is just to know where it is. And you are always able to know where your car is when you have it equipped with GPS tracking.
How a Child GPS Tracker Works?
The statistics of missing children in the United States is extremely horrific, especially if you are a parent yourself. Even though there are a lot of innocent reasons why kids go missing or are late home from school, it’s the worst possible scenario that jumps into any parents mind first. Thankfully there is now some clever technology know as a child GPS tracker that can put parents minds at rest in the majority of cases by locating their child within seconds. So how do these child GPS tracking systems work?
The devices are usually very small and can be attached to your child’s clothing or placed in their backpacks. They work in a similar way to the common GPS systems found in cars and boats.
They listen to the GPS satellite signals and calculate the position of the child. If ever the parent becomes worried or wants to know exactly where their kid is, they can dial a special number on their phone and call the child’s device through the cell phone network.
The child’s device will immediately answer with the GPS coordinates which can then be displayed on a map on the parent’s phone.
There are some other extra safety features that prevent other people tracking your child and also a system that will automatically call the parent if the child wanders away from a selected area.
The units also have a panic button that the child can press it ever they feel they are in danger or frightened. An SOS message with the child’s accurate location is then sent to the parent and often the parent can also listen in to what is going on.
Kids do go missing for all sorts of reasons, not all of them are malicious but it is quite impossible to tell until you find your child again. Having a Child GPS tracker is a great advantage for parents and a great travel safety feature for children.