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Applications for GPS in
Australia (1)
Find
latitude and longitude of any town in
Australia
Latitude, Longitude, AMG etc etc etc:
I get many requests to explain the different numbers used by different GPS at
the same location. This is a valid and sensible question, and there are easily
understood answers. You may also wonder about terms such as UTM, GDA, MGA,
datum, position format, grid, and true north. My customers get free assistance
with these, and any other matter relating to their purchase, and the use
of the GPS.
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Applications for GPS in Australia (1)
Articles written by Kimball Thurlow, Copyright, Johnny Appleseed GPS,
Brisbane.
Volunteer
marine Rescue in Southport, Queensland
Civilian accuracy, 15 metres or less (without accounting for
selective availability, which was cancelled by the US Government on 1May
2000).
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One of the most obvious uses for GPS
is normal navigation. The shipping and boating industries were
very early adopters of GPS (in spite of the early expense).
Now any boat user has access to cheap but very capable GPS
units. I was pleased recently to assist the Volunteer Marine
Rescue organisation in Southport, Queensland upgrade their
prime rescue craft with a Garmin GPSMAP230 unit. The Garmin
units are capable of interfacing with a vessel radar, to locate
radar positions. Garmin units can also be used with DGPS for
greater accuracy (less than 5 metres). Photos of the VMR craft,
and the GPS. |
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Using GPS to assist your travel and business
arrangements
1. You're a salesman-
you often travel intercity, from town to town, along open highways.
You have a fuel card which entitles you to fill up at a particular
brand, or perhaps any petrol station. You also carry a motel card.
But when your fuel gauge is low, where is the next fuel stop? With
the locations of petrol stations logged in the simplest hand held
or dash mounted GPS
unit , the press of a button will tell you how far, and in what direction
to the
nearest
fuel stop. Makes life on the road a lot leasier. You could of course pay
a lot more for a portable in-car navigator, and this will do an even better
job, with voice guidance to restaurants, fuel stops, and eateries already
listed with phone numbers.
And the motel in the next town? Even a simple handheld can
hold the location, and the phone number. After you have phoned ahead to
make
the
reservation,
the
GPS will
direct you right to the door.
Tutorial
on In-Car Navigation.
Using
GPS to track persons, animals, vehicles or boats
2.
Here is a simple system to locate any asset within mobile
phone range. Carminder can
be installed in any vehicle or boat, and be accessed from
your mobile phone. Very reasonably priced too. Alternatively,
we offer the Co-Pilot "live"
system. This works on a palm
computer (PocketPC) with in-car navigation mapping and voice
guidance. It can send your current position (using GPRS
mobile phone) to a website, where your partner can access
your position via
a "live"
website.
There are systems
that are automatic, allowing the rover to be logged continuously
on a central
monitoring station. Utilizing a portable GPS (it can be personal,
battery powered, or vehicle mounted), the
unit location is overlayed in real time
on
a central
internet
site. The Gofinder system
(with GPS hardware made by Trimble) is simple, can be accessed
over the internet, and can be used in two modes. Any number
of vehicles or persons can be equipped and monitored. |
What is GPS? (Explaining the
system of satellites and how it works)
The theory of positioning (How Sir
Isaac Newton and others made GPS possible)
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Johnny Appleseed GPS