I’m am sure that by now, nearly everyone on the planet has heard of the Global Positioning System or GPS. But how many people really know how they work? This is a brief summary of how the GPS works.
The Satellites
GPS systems have a network of more than 50 satellites that cover the globe and enable the GPS system to work. In order to locate the position of a GPS signal, at least three satellites have to be able to receive the signal that is being transmitted. Then these satellites compare notes so to speak, and from there they triangulate the desired position.
A GPS unit send message containing the time of the transmission through a radio signal to the over head satellites. The satellites that receive this signal, compare the time that the signal was sent to the time of their atomic clocks. From there they determine the amount of time that it took for them to receive the signal, then they compare the amount of time that it took for each satellite to receive the signal along with their positions and from this information they are able to nearly pinpoint the location that the signal originated from.
Possible Problems With GPS Units
I’m sure that you can guess that the accuracy of a GPS unit is dependant on the time piece in the unit that is sending the signal. If the time in GPS unit is off it can impact the accuracy of the positioning information. Clock errors are not the number one source of inaccurate information in GPS units. The number one source of inaccurate information come from the atmosphere. When the signal passes through the atmosphere to the satellites, it can encounter conditions that can speed it up or slow it down, thus affecting the time and the calculations that are given.
Inaccuracies occur when a signal bounces off of a skyscrapers, mountains, or other such terrain. This will then cause distortions that are similar to those that are caused by atmospheric conditions. Another problem occurs when the satellite updates its position, this takes place every twelve minutes. If a signal reaches a satellite near its update time, the satellite doesn’t know its correct position, and it makes a calculation that is based on bad information. These type of errors are unavoidable with the GPS systems that are being sold to consumers. However for most uses, these problems don’t amount to much.
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