So how does GPS work?

A whole bunch of satellites orbiting the Earth at a height of around 12,000 miles (all the property of the US Government!). They transmit signals that are picked up by a receiver chip in your GPS device/PDA/cellphone.

As long as there's more than three overhead (usually 7 - 10 at any one time), your position can be pinpointed to within 10 meters, anywhere on the planet!

Then all you need is a bit of software that shows your relative position on a "map" on the screen, so you know where you are. Use the same software to identify any other point on the "map", then, because the microchip storing the software has a record of all the roads in a particular country (US, UK, Europe, wherever), it just needs to do a few "simple" sums to tell you how far away that point is, how long it will take you to get there, and which is the best route to use!

What stories have you got to tell about your experiences with Satellite Navigation ("sat nav" to it's mates!)?

Does it work where you are?

Have you got a favorite program?

Is it easy to use?

Do you still get lost?

Please let me know - I'm trying to collect all the stories I can get, so I can help people to know what's good and what's not!

I'm Howard Moorey,

Check me out at:-
http://www.squidoo.com/LifeOnTheOpenRoad
or
http://www.gpstonavigate.com