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How does GPS work?

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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #30 on: June 27, 2007, 07:54:17 PM »
Well, that's about on par with your understanding of aviation, so, good for you.


What does a flashlight have to do with the speed of light?
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RENTAKOW

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #31 on: June 27, 2007, 08:06:17 PM »
What does light and time have to do with radio signals?
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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #32 on: June 27, 2007, 08:44:18 PM »
Radio signals are light. 

The speed of light and an accurate clock is how GPS is able to work.
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Gulliver

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #33 on: June 27, 2007, 08:52:42 PM »
Quote from: TheEngineer on June 27, 2007, 08:44:18 PM
Radio signals are light. 

The speed of light and an accurate clock is how GPS is able to work.
Imprecise.
Radio signals are electromagnetic radiation (EM). Light is also EM, but in common usage only the visible spectrum, not the radio wave spectrum, is called light. Highly technical works sometimes, but not universally, use light as the term for EM of any wavelength.

Knowing the speed of light accurately (vice the speed of light) and relying on the highly accurate clocks in GPS transmitters are two, but by far not all, of the engineering or scientific features that enable useful GPS.
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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #34 on: June 27, 2007, 08:57:54 PM »
Really?!?!  You mean you can't know your position just by looking at a clock and knowing what the speed of light is?  Wow, you iz smart.   ::)
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RENTAKOW

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #35 on: June 27, 2007, 09:08:49 PM »
So your pretty much teh best then? So how does a GPS signal reach you if your in a canyon?
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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #36 on: June 27, 2007, 09:21:08 PM »
It's not blocked by anything, or it's reflected there.
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RENTAKOW

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #37 on: June 27, 2007, 09:25:24 PM »
It's not blocked by anything. The signal comes from a satellite.
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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #38 on: June 27, 2007, 09:26:44 PM »
What if the satellite is not overhead and the canyon is deep?
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RENTAKOW

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #39 on: June 27, 2007, 09:32:23 PM »
Then your receiver will look for another satellite. Theirs plenty up their. I have used a GPS in the grand canyon. They don't get much deeper than that.
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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #40 on: June 27, 2007, 09:39:35 PM »
The signal will also be reflected by the canyon walls. 

I don't see how this is relevant, anyway.
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"I haven't been wrong since 1961, when I thought I made a mistake."
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RENTAKOW

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #41 on: June 27, 2007, 10:36:14 PM »
Canyon walls don't reflect radio signals (well). Plus, with all those GPS signals bouncing around the atmosphere and the canyon walls, the reading would be wrong. Radio signals can't tell the transmitter that they have bounced off something.
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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #42 on: June 27, 2007, 11:00:40 PM »
The reflection of a signal does lead to position errors.
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"I haven't been wrong since 1961, when I thought I made a mistake."
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sokarul

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #43 on: June 27, 2007, 11:12:45 PM »
Quote from: TheEngineer on June 27, 2007, 11:00:40 PM
The reflection of a signal does lead to position errors.
Stop making stuff up.  The signal is not bouncing off of anything.  There would be a gigantic error if the signal bounced. 
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RENTAKOW

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #44 on: June 27, 2007, 11:14:49 PM »
And GPS is rarely inaccurate when functioning correctly. I guess that means the signals are not being reflected. Is this where the word games start? I'll kick it off:

I'm going to the store. The store is over there.
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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #45 on: June 28, 2007, 12:41:55 AM »
Quote from: sokarul on June 27, 2007, 11:12:45 PM
Quote from: TheEngineer on June 27, 2007, 11:00:40 PM
The reflection of a signal does lead to position errors.
Stop making stuff up.  The signal is not bouncing off of anything.  There would be a gigantic error if the signal bounced. 
It's called the "Multipath Effect".  Look it up.
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"I haven't been wrong since 1961, when I thought I made a mistake."
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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #46 on: June 28, 2007, 12:56:01 AM »
Quote from: rentacow on June 27, 2007, 11:14:49 PM
And GPS is rarely inaccurate when functioning correctly.
What do you consider inaccurate?  GPS (stand alone) is only accurate to about 15 meters.
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"I haven't been wrong since 1961, when I thought I made a mistake."
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Bushido

Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #47 on: June 28, 2007, 12:58:10 AM »
One word: Stratellites.
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Riles

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #48 on: June 28, 2007, 01:03:26 AM »
Quote from: Bushido on June 28, 2007, 12:58:10 AM
One word: Stratellites.

Mmm , in FE theory how high are the Stratellites.?
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Bushido

Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #49 on: June 28, 2007, 01:04:49 AM »
Quote from: Riles on June 28, 2007, 01:03:26 AM
Quote from: Bushido on June 28, 2007, 12:58:10 AM
One word: Stratellites.

Mmm , in FE theory how high are the Stratellites.?

Look at Rentacow's picture. How high are his satellites?

EDIT:

Does GPS work on cloudy days?
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Riles

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #50 on: June 28, 2007, 01:23:49 AM »
"Look at Rentacow's picture. How high are his satellites?"

I don't know how GPS works. The point of my response was the number of satellites you would need to cover the Earth due to their (to me) supposed lower altitude.
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Riles

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #51 on: June 28, 2007, 03:37:20 AM »
Opps that should read Stratellites sorry
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Bushido

Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #52 on: June 28, 2007, 04:57:37 AM »
Remember, you're thinking in a Round Earth Model, where the area covered by one s(tr)atellite is limited by the curvature of the Earth. On a Flat Earth, there is no such limitation, but, according to the semi-transparent theory of the atmosphere, the area might be limited by the atmospheric absorbtion.
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RENTAKOW

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #53 on: June 28, 2007, 08:18:27 AM »
My bike mounted GPS is accurate to 20 feet.

Please don't accuse my diagram of being to scale. It makes it sad.

I have to go, so I'll respond to your other stuff later.
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Blizz

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #54 on: June 28, 2007, 08:34:08 AM »
Quote from: Blizzardsucks on June 24, 2007, 07:53:08 AM
How would GPS work if the earth is flat?

While I enjoy you mentioning my name in your username, I think to the word sucks just doesnt fit right.  Replace it with either Rocks, istheman or is smarter then all the FE's here.
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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #55 on: June 28, 2007, 12:05:30 PM »
Quote from: rentacow on June 28, 2007, 08:18:27 AM
My bike mounted GPS is accurate to 20 feet.
Given a completely noiseless and clean signal, your unit has an internal error of +/- 20 feet.  The manufacturer is not going to take responsibility for the error in the signal.
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"I haven't been wrong since 1961, when I thought I made a mistake."
        -- Bob Hudson
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RENTAKOW

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #56 on: June 28, 2007, 11:09:13 PM »
Ummm no. Under normal operating conditions, it is accurate to 20 feet. That is, If I go stand on my back porch.
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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #57 on: June 28, 2007, 11:40:45 PM »
Um, no, not under normal conditions.  The signal error itself is +/-15 meters.
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"I haven't been wrong since 1961, when I thought I made a mistake."
        -- Bob Hudson
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RENTAKOW

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #58 on: June 29, 2007, 12:15:14 AM »
Ok, when you personally verify the accuracy of my GPS unit, you can say that.
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TheEngineer

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Re: How does GPS work?
« Reply #59 on: June 29, 2007, 12:17:07 AM »
I don't have to.  The error in the signal alone is +/- 15 meters.
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"I haven't been wrong since 1961, when I thought I made a mistake."
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