Vehicle GPS Navigation

Since it was introduced in 1973, by the U.S. Department of Defense for military purposes, GPS Navigation has come a long way. It used to be confusing and difficult to understand and operate and the price caused many people to forgo this technology in favor of the good old paper map. But now like many other technologies the consumer has the options to afford and understand GPS navigation for the multitude of vehicles available today.

Global position satellite technology uses 24 orbiting satellites with very accurate clocks. The timing between your GPS receiver and at least three different satellites allows a distance to be measured, then by using triangulation and distance mathematics your location can be accurately determined. But the consumer doesn't need to know all of this, they just need to know the antenna needs to be in a clear view of the sky and to keep the batteries charged on your unit.

As with most technologies the hardware gets smaller, which means GPS devices can be installed in a multitude of places. Most cell phones now have a GPS receiver built in, and watches too, it is being used to track wildlife, pets, stolen vehicles, fleet delivery trucks and your even your kids! Even with this smaller size the technology can also include some of these new fun features; hands-free calling, MP-3 music, bluetooth, 3-D street level mapping, real time traffic, touch screens, FM transmitters, fuel pricing and weather reports.

Personally, I have 3 different systems I use; car, motorcycle and hiking. I have to admit I love the Garmin products especially their bright screens and simple menus. On my motorcycle I go on out of the way roads and on one trip the fuel light came on so I had 40 miles to find some gas. On my Garmin 376c all I had to do was select "find closest gas station" and there it was only 20 miles away, but it was on a side road I never would have taken! If you are hiker take a portable gps unit with you, because when you are ready to turn around and head back to the car there is a function called "bread crumb trail". This feature shows you exactly the route you just walked and will lead you right back on the same exact trail!