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GPS Tracking Devices - GPS
Navigation by the stars is so 17th century...... today you can make use of the more than twenty gps satellites that orbit earth to get a fix on your location. Today’s gps devices don’t just tell you where you are or where you have been but can also tell you how to get where you want to be. This month, Regarot van der Berg explores the wonderful world of gps and tests seven devices that are available locally.
GPS (Global Positioning System) is a technology that has been around since the late 70s. The idea for a GPS system was born about twenty years before that, when a team of US scientists discovered that they could pinpoint the position of the Sputnik satellite monitoring the frequency of the satellite’s signal. Similarly, they also discovered that they could pinpoint their location on earth if they knew the exact coordinates of the satellite. The GPS technology was not publicly available, but after a Soviet interceptor aircraft shot down a civilian airliner in 1983 for entering restricted airspace, Ronald Reagan announced that the GPS navigation system would be made publicly available for personal, marine and aviation use. Today, the use of the GPS network is still free for civilian use and, even though the cost involved in running and maintaining the network runs into the $400 million range, it seems that this will remain to be the case.
WHY GPS?
More and more people are realising the benefit of using GPS, and not only for finding one’s way around a city: GPS has many commercial and even recreational uses. From a commercial point of view, services such as vehicle tracking make use of GPS to locate a stolen vehicle. Many consumers, especially those who make use of off-road vehicles, have found that, by using GPS receivers, they can more accurately plot a course where there are no roads. Hikers also find this technology invaluable: not only can a GPS receiver tell them where they are and were they need to  go, but most models will also be able to tell them their elevation and indicate their heading by means of a digital compass.
Probably the most common use of GPS is basic navigation, though. It is for this reason that many of today’s new vehicles feature GPS navigation as an optional extra. In a nutshell, you are able to enter an address into your GPS receiver and it will tell you how to get there from where you are. GPS software can also actually tell you the total distance to your location, and it can even recommend a quicker route. Tourists visiting a foreign country can now also find their way around with a device they will be familiar with. The availability of GPS receivers at reasonable prices has led to many recreational uses for such a device. One very popular use is Geocaching. In a nutshell, Geocaching is a 21 century version of treasure hunting. The game basically works by entering a set of coordinates into your GPS that will lead you to a ‘cache’. The cache, or treasure, can literally be anything, from merely a log that you would sign to a gift. A common practice is to leave something similar for the next Geocacher to find. Geocaching is surprisingly addictive, and even Africa has a reasonably large following.
WHAT EXACTLY DOES IT CONSIST OF?
In order for a GPS device to work, it requires both hardware and software. The hardware could be any device from a dedicated handheld GPS unit to a PDA, but the software is what often sets devices apart. There are a number of GPS software titles available, but locally there are only two major players. Garmin, one of the largest GPS manufacturers in the world, has developed its own mapping software to use with its hardware. The software is called Garmap and is extremely easy to use. What we love about it is that the interface has been developed to allow you to use your finger to enter coordinates or a physical address. If you should buy a GPS that doesn’t bundle with a software package, we would recommend you look into Handymap Al. This software is probably the most comprehensive mapping software available in South Africa today. It sports all the usual GPS mapping features such as 3D Navigation, voice guidance and optimal route selection, and it also features fixed speed trap warnings. One feature in particular we loved about the new Al version is its ability to learn the route you prefer. With GPS tracking, the software cannot distinguish between good and bad neighbourhoods. ‘Intelligent’ software such as Handymap Al will learn as you drive, and when you next plot a route, it will not take you through the Johannesburg city centre but around it, for example.
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