Posts Tagged ‘Navigation’

How Do Car Navigation Systems Work?

Posted on June 7th, 2011 by Owen Jones  |  No Comments »

Contemporary auto navigation systems are truly excellent. Have you ever considered acquiring one? People who do not have or have never had a modern auto navigation system, or GPS (Global Positioning System) as it is also known as. will almost certainly not realize quite how much knowledge they provide. It is no longer just an item to stop you from getting lost while you are travelling from A to B.

Far from it. Modern GPS systems will tell you whether you are passing monuments, sites of historical importance or beauty, churches, hotels, restaurants, taverns, garages, petrol stations, airports and practically anything else that you would like it to inform you about. They have moved on from being only an on screen map to being a travel guide and much more..

If you are thinking of getting a GPS auto navigation system, it is worth learning a bit about how they operate, so that you can better understand what they do, what they are capable of doing and how they do it. This is useful knowledge for when it comes to choosing which system to decide on, because not all GPS systems are the same and some present more features than others.

All car GPS navigation devices use satellites to help them determine their location. (This is not always the case with ships, because some water ways use land-based tracking stations.

The GPS is like a radio receiver, so it picks up signals from overhead satellites and interprets that data in order to determine where it is. In order to do this job properly, it needs the signals from three satellites.

This is known as triangulation and is very accurate, frequently to within a metre or a yard. However, in order to make sure of even more accuracy, the data from a fourth satellite is used as a check. There is very little margin for error when four satellites are being used for pin-pointing a position.

A GPS item will tell you which way to go and if you go off route, it will advise you the best way for going back to the right road. However it will also do more than that. Before you start out on your journey from A to B, you have to type in those two locations.

The GPS will then ask you whether you want to go by the quickest road, the most scenic route or whether you would like to avoid motorways altogether.

This is a great role, but it can do over that too. If you type in the name of a restaurant along the fashion or a monument you want to see, it will steer you from A to B via your position of interest.

One last item, be certain that the system that you purchase is upgradeable. Some are upgraded automatically, but you have to pay a monthly or annual fee. Others will sell you an upgrade which you have to install yourself. If you are at ease with making your own upgrades, all well and good, but just be aware that systematically upgrading the software is vital.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on several topics, but is now involved with how to get Stapletons tyres. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Car Tyres For Sale.

Reasons For Getting An Auto Navigation System

Posted on October 22nd, 2010 by Owen Jones  |  No Comments »

You have surely seen auto navigation systems in your friends’ vehicles and you may be on the point of buying one yourself. It is definitely true that the auto navigation systems look impressive and the price of a unit has fallen quite radically over the last few years. There are indeed many benefits to be had from owning an auto navigation system, which is also known as sat nav.

In this piece, we will take a look at some of the most important benefits of using a sat nav system.

Safety is paramount in whatever activity you undertake and safety has to be taken into account when driving as well. It is difficult to know whether the world used to be a safer place or not, but it is a fact that nowadays more people are wary of getting involved with strangers than they were previously.

Lone drivers do not want to stop a stranger and admit that they are lost or even stranded. Maybe the stranger will send you into an ambush, set up hurriedly over a mobile phone as you drive off blissfully suspecting nothing. People have become very suspicious of strangers.

It goes without saying that lone female drivers are the most distrustful of asking strangers for directions, but families with children are often very apprehensive as well.

Using an auto navigation system solves this problem, because you will never get lost again, assuming that the sat nav console is wired to your car battery or you have spare batteries for a hand-held unit in the glove box.

Confidence in getting to your destination on time, if you have left early enough, is another major benefit. Traffic jams, road works, accidents and natural disasters will no longer be surprises to you and your sat nave system will be able to propose alternative routes in order to avoid the obstacle. This is a very big advantage.

You will no longer have to leave really early to make sure you miss the traffic or to make sure you get somewhere on time. Sat nav will give your ETA. This can save you a whole lot of stress, especially if you have to be in different places for work or the kids all the way through the day.

Not to have to juggle with maps is a boon as well. No more folding and refolding maps and struggling to remember sections of the route and then stopping to check and remember the next part of the route. Maps are always out of date too. New sections of motorway are always being added and small roads are sometimes closed for a new housing project. Paper maps just cannot keep up.

The last but not necessarily the least major advantage is the freedom an auto navigation system gives to you in your spare time. It opens up the countryside If you were always a little uneasy about going on a Sunday drive because you did not know the way or did not have a co-pilot to read the map, now you can just go with your auto navigation system.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on different subjects, but is currently concerned with the Snooper sat nav system. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Escort 8500.

What They Do Not Tell You About Auto Navigation Systems

Posted on October 14th, 2010 by Owen Jones  |  No Comments »

Auto navigation systems have improved a great deal since they were invented by the US armed forces in the Sixties and Seventies. In fact, their development is a continuous process, as you can easily imagine. I remember in the Eighties when you received a fix on your location every twelve minutes or so.

This meant that ‘sat nav’ was great for shipping and yachts, but not much good for cars or other fast-travelling vehicles. They were also very expensive and quite large, not like the units that cyclists can buy in a wrist watch these days.

Despite the fact that sat nav has improved far enough for companies to be able to produce affordable auto navigation systems, there are still problems with them. But there is nothing new about that, it has become normal to begin selling a product while it is still at some phase of development.

Look at MS Widows for an illustration; it is nearly thirty years old and still does not work perfectly – it is still ‘under development’. The same is true of auto navigation systems.

And part of the problem is with the software running the hardware. Software is a very problematic thing, as Windows proves to its users every day. I am not of necessity criticizing Windows software, it is almost certainly the best of its kind, but then there is no real competition for it and that is a pity for all the usual reasons such as indifference, high-handedness and over-pricing, just look at Windows ‘Vista’. What an expensive pile of junk that was.

Needless to say, if Microsoft cannot get their software right, then auto navigation companies cannot either. Therefore, it is imperative to use an auto navigation device that either regularly updates itself automatically or permits the user to do it manually.

You have to have the latest bug-fixes to the software and the latest updates to the maps. Ideally, the system should update itself every day automatically, but you should do it manually at least before each long journey.

The signal is obviously very significant too. In order to get a fix on your position at least three satellites have to be able to ‘see’ your auto navigation system. If a fourth can corroborate the data, then so much the better.

This means that you may vanish ‘off the radar’, so to speak, if you are travelling under ground or in mostly built-up locations. Being seen by one or two satellites is not good enough, there is no triangulation.

It is rational to assume that if you have a clear view of the sky, then the three or four satellites should have a clear view of you, but it is not an infallible test. The best thing to have with you is still common sense. Do not just depend on your auto navigation system blindly. If you think it is giving you a false reading, perhaps it is.

In this situation, the best thing to do is think about whether you or it is right and check it with a map if you have one. If all else fails, employ a bit of advice often made by Windows support, switch the unit off, count to ten and turn it back on again – in other words, reboot it.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on various topics, but is presently involved with the Snooper sat nav system. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Escort 8500.

Auto Navigation For Stress-Free Travel

Posted on October 1st, 2010 by Owen Jones  |  No Comments »

There are lots of reasons why you might be a main candidate for an auto navigation system: If you drive to new places frequently, say as a company representative; if the routes that you travel regularly are always being dug up, if there are frequent traffic jams or if there are loads of traffic lights on it; if you want to avoid schools or shopping malls or if you just want to find a quicker or a more scenic route to your destination.

Many individuals would benefit from an auto navigation system, but there are several types of systems so it can be quite tricky to work out which one would be the best to suit your needs. In the rest of this article, we will take a more comprehensive look at these different types.

Sole purpose, stand-alone auto navigation systems are the kind that are normally built into new cars by the manufacturer. However, that is the most expensive way of purchasing an auto navigation system, so it is worth getting one put in later, because then the cost of the device does not go on the car’s finance agreement, which would make the sat nav unit very expensive.

These units usually bear subscription charges analogous to a cell phone. This means that the sat nav unit is frequently sold for a very small profit, but the company makes its money from your monthly payments for the data feed. It is a very similar set up to the mobile phone deals.

The monthly fees are a bind, but the systems are bang up to date. The information in these devices is updated live and you will be made aware of obstacles or hazards in the road ahead of you within minutes of them occurring.

Multipurpose hand-held navigation units are auto navigation systems that do not offer quite as much detail as the stand-alones, but they can be upgraded by software add-ons to do the same job if you like.

However, because they are transportable, they can be removed from the car and used in a boat or for hiking or cycling. In other words, the hand-held console is far more flexible.

Laptop or Palm Top based models are designed to run on your computer. They are normally just as capable of delivering as detailed information as a stand-alone system and they are obviously portable too.

If you already have a portable computer then this is just about the least expensive, good system. You will get a top of the range, GPS auto navigation system on a large, laptop screen for just the cost of the subscription.

Satellite navigation is certainly here to stay, because young people want it. It can also be seen as a safety device for solo travellers. For example, if a lone traveller gets lost, there is no need to stop to ask directions or if your car breaks down out of town, you will know where you are located in order to direct the service to where you are.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on various subjects, but is currently involved with the Snooper sat nav system. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Escort 8500.

Thinking About The Correct GPS Auto Navigation System

Posted on September 29th, 2010 by Owen Jones  |  No Comments »

In order to find out which GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) navigation system (also known as sat nav) is right for you, you first have to be certain on what you want to get out of the set-up. Will you be utilizing your GPS auto navigation system solely in your car or will you be requiring to use it to go cycling, hiking or boating? Another question is, whether you already own a laptop or palm computer or not.

There are dedicated GPS auto navigation systems for every situation and some are versatile enough to cover a couple of uses. The best systems are those that are dedicated to doing just one job. In this category, you have the stand-alone vehicular GPS navigation systems. These are either cut into the dashboard or mounted on it or sometimes even onto the windshield.

One good tip, if you are purchasing a new car on finance is to have the sat nav fitted by a third party or to pay the garage cash for the sat nav and its installation. If you have the price of the GPS auto navigation system put on the finance contract, you will end up paying a great deal more for it.

On the other hand, you could install the device yourself. I do not mean that you should cut holes in your instrument panel yourself, but you can buy mounting kits that use powerful transparent rubber suckers. They will hold the screen firmly, as long as you check them from time to time to make sure that the suckers are still holding.

You can get just as good a service from a GPS navigation system running on your laptop and the screen will almost certainly be larger that the average sat nav screen too. Your laptop will run off batteries or an in-car adapter and the software will run within the laptop.

This is an outstanding alternative if you already own a laptop or were thinking of getting one. The laptop will perform its normal tasks as a computer and double as a navigation aid with the additional bonus that you do not have to leave it in the car as another excuse for a thief to break in.

The cheapest alternative in the portable sat nav market is the portable or hand-held unit. However, the screens can be rather small and the directions may be given either in pictures or by voice, not all hand-held sat nav systems present both options at the same time.

If you want a GPS auto navigation system but you are finding them a bit expensive, you could always wait a while, because prices are dropping all the time. You could also check out online stores such as Amazon and eBay.

Remember, that the worst thing you can do if you are thinking about costs, is to put the cost of the sat nav on the car finance agreement. If you really want a stand-alone GPS auto navigation system installed by an expert, take your car to a garage after you have bought it. Otherwise, run the software on your laptop and place that on the seat next to you.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on different subjects, but is presently involved with the Snooper sat nav system. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Escort 8500.

Auto Navigation Systems For Easy Travelling

Posted on September 26th, 2010 by Owen Jones  |  No Comments »

Are you happy driving long distances on your own? Or driving to destinations that you are not familiar with? If you are, then all well and good, but there are lots of people who have to make journeys like those, but who are terrified of getting lost.

It is not simple to get a job these days and it will probably get worse before it gets any better, so it is not straightforward to object or risk losing your job. A way around these difficulties is an auto navigation system or a sat nav as many individuals call them.

An auto navigation system is quite cheap these days and it can relieve lone drivers of a load of stress, if it is used correctly. If your car did not come with an auto navigation system, then get one fitted by a trustworthy third party or go for one of the other options, such as installing the software on a laptop or getting a hand-held sat nav system.

In fact, the dearest way of purchasing an auto navigation system is to get it with the car on finance, because you will be hit twice. Not only are the car manufacturers and their dealers the most expensive by a long chalk, but if you put the sat nav on the car finance you will pay even more for it. Heaps more.

Buy your car on finance if you have to, but buy all the accessories separately for cash. Consider visiting a few garages and asking for a quote on the system that you like. This requires a little research first, but it is well worth it. There are two ways of going about this: either check out which system you want first, or see what local technicians can install first.

Once you have finished this research, you will have your cost of installation and then you can go online and find out how much you can get one there for in comparison with the local shopping street.

Another option is to buy an adapter for the cigarette lighter socket so that you can plug your laptop into it and buy the software and hardware as a package so that you can change your laptop computer into a full GPS auto navigation system.

If you already have a laptop, this is the least expensive, best alternative. It will provide at least as good a system as a stand-alone set-up and the screen may even be larger. It also means that you can remove the device so as not to give criminals another excuse to break into your car.

The least expensive option of all is to get a hand-held GPS sat nav unit. These are also useful, but often they do not provide the same level of service. Like the laptop alternative, the hand-held device can be taken out of the car and used on a boat. However, the hand-held unit can also be used while hiking or on a bike

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on different subjects, but is presently involved with the Snooper sat nav system. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Escort 8500. This article, Auto Navigation Systems For Easy Travelling has free reprint rights.

The Different Types Of Auto Sat Nav Systems

Posted on September 15th, 2010 by Owen Jones  |  No Comments »

It is a bizarre fact that many purchasers of new cars are willing to pay several times the true value of a satellite navigation system in order to have it installed by the maker. It is true that the car’s manufacturer normally does an excellent job of installing the unit, but then you are paying through the nose for it.

If you purchased the sat nav unit separately and had it fitted by a third party, you would get it for a third or a quarter of the cost. Still, it is part of the idea of having a new car to have all the latest gadgets built in to it. Satellite navigation, commonly called sat nav, is a real boon, if you buy a system that is up-to-date and that is frequently updated.

It is not necessary to have the sat nav installed in the car factory in order to have it fitted well. Many third party installers are quite competent of making a good job of it too without having to have your radio/CD player removed.

Many auto navigation systems are attached to the dashboard by means of rubber suction cups in any case. Buying a sat nav device that does not have to have holes cut for it will also keep the cost to a minimum without having to sacrifice quality or safety.

An important issue to remember is that there are many types of GPS systems, each with rather specific uses. GPS for an ocean-going yacht does not have to have road maps, whereas GPS for a bicycle may not give enough advanced warning for the speed of a car.

Even if you buy a GPS sat nav device for a road vehicle, there are several varieties. The three fundamental types are: stand-alone, such as you see installed at the car factory; hand-held and systems that are intended to be used with a laptop computer or similar device.

The stand-alone systems are the most prevalent, because they have various advantages: they are made for the job of getting you from A to B via C, D and E, if required; they carry a database of landmarks which will help you know that you are on the correct road; a voice will give you directions so that yo do not have to keep looking at the screen and it will memorize and integrate earlier routes.

Hand-held sat nav systems work, but require more thought and sometimes supplementary software to be provided by the user. The screen is typically too small to be of much use and some only provide voice directions. Others only provide graphic directions. However, they are better than nothing if you are hiking or cycling in unknown terrain.

Laptops and PDA’s offer an excellent service, particularly if you already had the device for other reasons such as office work.

So, it is not just a question of picking up a cheap sat nav system and thinking that they are all the same, you have to see it working so that you can judge whether it is going to be of any benefit to you in your circumstances.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on various subjects, but is presently concerned with the Snooper sat nav system. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Escort 8500.

AIS On Ships Is Important To Safe Boating

Posted on June 11th, 2010 by Mike Jones  |  No Comments »

Automatic Identification Systems, or AIS, are electronic transponders that are placed on ships or boats that identify it by name, position, type, & call sign. The signal is VHF that is continuously sent out over the course of the vessel’s travels.

The transponded information can then be received by other vessels to help them to determine its course and speed. The final result provides a visual reference about all enabled vessels that are transmitting within a VHF range. The system therefore provides a highly valuable service to water vessels in helping to track the progress of other watercraft in the nearby area. This decreases the chances of collision on the waterways. . The data that is received by other AIS-enabled vessels is primarily available on a computer monitor or placed as an overlay on a chart plotter. This can help to verify radar readout.

Ship navigators utilize AISAIS as a navigational tool to reduce the risk of collision and to chart a safe course to travel. This system also is a valuable tool to help search and rescue operations. The device can pinpoint the exact position of a ship in trouble regardless of weather conditions.

Avoiding collisions by programming of specific vessels is information that is exchanged automatically by the systems allowing for safer navigation. The International Maritime Organization requires these safety devices on all passenger and large shipping vessels (over 300 ton) to use the system. It is not required for recreational boats but it is increasingly becoming more popular. All over the world, it is thought to be used in over 40,000 vessels.

The number one use is for avoiding collisions. The tracking does not work alone. VHF radio communications can be limited and considering the fact that every vessel isn’t required to have it, it is not the perfect solution. It is not an automated collision avoidance system as defined by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS). In the hands of a skilled captain however, it is one of many tools utilized for safe travel.

Sea captains often need help identifying other vessels in a local area in order to make the best decisions on course. That also does not necessarily mean that all other types of navigational observation is discarded. There is, obviously, visual observation in which the captain will often use binoculars to notice far away obstacles or ships. There can also be audio observational warnings that a captain has to pay attention for such as horns, whistles, or VHF radio. Last but not least, there is radar or Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA) that can provide beneficial navigational data to enhance what the AIS is plotting. Despite having all this kind of technology, accidents can even now occur. It is frequently due to time delays and limitations of radar or even just plain human error when this takes place. The graphical charts and all the other observational tools must be utilized if water travel is to be safe and AIS is a small part of that.

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An Overview Of Radio Frequency Identification Exactly What RFID?

Posted on April 21st, 2010 by Casey Smith  |  No Comments »

RFID is certainly not a new technology. It has been around for decades and it has by no means stopped broadening its use ever since the 1940s. Radio Frequency Identification or RFID is really a multi-component application. Equipment consist of micro transponders, readers, as well as modern day computer applications that set off a reliable feed of information.

An internal circuit and antenna happen to be crucial in each and every RFID transponder. The IC is implanted with an electronic product code (EPC) making it distinct among the remaining tagged items all over the world. When the label is located in range of an RFID scanner, information concerning the tagged piece is sent out over the antenna to the scanner, providing records to a processing device.

RFID strategy was formerly utilized by military use in World War 2. Since that time, it has been exploited in various fields of study and commerce. It became a really effective device in business, travel, & in the tracing of packaged articles.

Even though it was thought of as some sort of wireless bar coding system, RFID is better by far. Scanning with RFID transponder stays efficient even if obstacles stand somewhere between the item and the detector. In addition, these types of transponders can easily start reading an item as far as 90 feet away.

RFID is an autonomous determination system. This determination approach functions without the need of human supervision. It’s also able to understand numerous IDs at the same time and continues to be accurate in identifying the items.

Generally, RFID systems are categorized in 2 ways. The very first category springs from its storage and recovery benefits: Read-only or Read-write and Passive or Active land sources. The following is based on the frequency it utilizes: Ultra-high Frequency, High Frequency, or Low Frequency.

Read-only labels are only able to attain stored information such as a product description and stuff like that. Most of these systems can easily simplify fabrication and distribution methods. Read-write tags alternatively are purposefully designed to both interpret and input data.

Passively, a RFID reader delivers energy for the tag to become functional. Without a scanning device in close proximity, the ID couldn’t provide any info. Essentially, a passive scheme is inferior compared to an active system.

An active system offers electric packs included in tags to trigger transfer of data between tag and scanning device. These systems tend to be more urbane and are able to scan larger ranges. Latest models of these scanners may also come with thermal scanners.

Learn more about Automatic Identification Systems at RFID