The Global Positioning System FAQ

Version 9.001 - July 30, 1997

Additions, comments, and corrections should be sent to:
Karen Nakamura, karen@gpsy.com
This article is a collection of information, and pointers to other
information sources, on the Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS), and
related topics. Originally authored and edited by Peter Bennett
for many years, it is currently being maintained by Karen Nakamura.
This FAQ may be found on the Web at:
http://www.gpsy.com/gpsinfo/

The following topics are addressed:

1) The Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS)
1.1) The Space Segment (AKA the satellites)
1.2) How does it work?
1.3) What accuracy can I expect?
1.4) What (and why) is Selective Availability?
1.5) How do some users get centimetre accuracy?
1.6) Does the time reported by GPS include "leap seconds"?
1.7) What is the August 1999/Year 2000 problem?
1.8) What are the speed and altitude limitations?
2) Navigation Receivers
2.1) Why are my GPS positions consistently wrong?
2.2) What is a horizontal datum, and which should I use?
2.3) Why does the reported altitude vary so much?
2.4) What is DGPS?
2.5) What are waypoints and routes?
2.6) Can I connect the GPS to a computer/autopilot/?
2.7) Will my GPS work in a car/plane/forest/cave...?
3) Survey Systems
3.1) DGPS Survey Systems.
3.2) Static Survey Systems.
3.3) Kinematic Post-processed Systems.
3.4) Real Time Kinematic GPS
4) Aviation Systems
4.1) Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)
5) Other Satellite Navigation Systems
5.1) NAVSAT or Transit
5.2) GLONASS
6) Radio Navigation Systems
6.1) Loran-C
6.2) Decca
7) Sources of GPS equipment
8) ABOUT THIS FAQ
8.1) Who put this FAQ together?
8.2) How can I contribute to this FAQ?
8.3) What newsgroups will this FAQ be posted to?
8.4) May I distribute this FAQ or post it somewhere else?
 8.5) Acknowledgements
9) References
9.1) Books
9.2) Internet sites
0 Disclaimer:
We believe the information provided is reasonably accurate. This
FAQ is not intended to provide rigorous technical information on
the system, but just to provide a general discussion of the GPS
system and its limitations, as would be of interest to a casual
user of a GPS navigation receiver. More detailed information
can be found via the WWW in our "GPS Web Resource Guide"
(http://www.gpsy.com/gpsinfo/gps-resource.txt)
GPS is an _aid_ to navigation, and does not free the navigator
from the need to know and use more traditional piloting and
navigation techniques.
"The prudent navigator will not rely solely on any single
aid to navigation" (USCG Notices to Mariners)

1 The Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS)

The Global Positioning System consists of three interacting components:
1) The Space Segment -- satellites orbiting the earth
2) The Control Segment -- the control and monitoring stations run by the D
OD
3) The User Segment -- the GPS signal receivers owned by civilians and mil
itary
This FAQ covers the Space Segment and User Segment, but does not discuss
the Control Segment.
1.1 The Space Segment
The space segment consists of a constellation of 24 active
satellites (and one or more in-orbit spares) orbiting the earth
every 12 hours. Four satellites are located in each of six
orbits. The orbits are distributed evenly around the earth, and
are inclined 55 degrees from the equator. The satellites orbit at
an altitude of about 11,000 nautical miles.
(Earlier plans for the system called for 18 or 21 active
satellites.)
1.2 How does it work?
Each satellite transmits two signals: L1 (1575.42 MHz) and L2
(1227.60 MHz). The L1 signal is modulated with two pseudo-random
noise signals - the protected (P) code, and the coarse/acquisition
(C/A) code. The L2 signal only carries the P code. Each satellite
transmits a unique code, allowing the receiver to identify the
signals. When a feature called "Anti-Spoofing" is active, the P
code is encrypted, and known as P(Y) or Y code.
Civilian navigation receivers only use the C/A code on the L1
 frequency (although some high-end civilian surveying GPS receivers
can utilize the carrier frequency of the L2 band for more precise
measurements).
The receiver measures the time required for the signal to travel
from the satellite to the receiver, by knowing the time that the
signal left the satellite, and observing the time it receives the
signal, based on its internal clock.
If the receiver had a perfect clock, exactly in sync with those on
the satellites, three measurements, from three satellites, would
be sufficient to determine position in 3 dimensions.
Unfortunately, you can't get a perfect clock that will fit
(financially or physically) in a $300 (or even $3000) receiver, so
a fourth satellite is needed to resolve the receiver clock error.
Each measurement ("pseudorange") gives a position on the surface
of a sphere centred on the corresponding satellite. Due to the
receiver clock error, the four spheres will not intersect at a
single point, but the receiver will adjust its clock until they
do, providing very accurate time, as well as position.
Since the receiver must adjust its clock to be precisely in sync
with GPS time, a GPS receiver can be used as a precise time
reference. Some receivers provide a 1 pulse per second output for
this purpose. For further information on this topic, see Tom
Clark's information on his "totally accurate clock" at
ftp://aleph.gsfc.nasa.gov/GPS/totally.accurate.clock/
1.3 What accuracy can I expect?
The Standard Positioning Service (SPS) available to civilian users
should give 20 metre horizontal accuracy, however it is normally
degraded to 100 metres (95% of the time) due to Selective
Availability (SA). (That is, the reported position will be within
100 metres of the true position 95% of the time.) The vertical
accuracy is about 1.5 times worse than horizontal, due to
satellite geometry. (Satellites are more likely to be near the
horizon, than directly overhead.)
Trimble Navigation, in their booklet "GPS - A guide to the next
utility" give the following error budget for commercial navigation
receivers:
Satellite clock error 2 ft.
Ephemeris error 2 ft.
Receiver errors 4 ft.
Atmospheric/ionospheric 12 ft.
Selective Availability 25 ft.
Total (root-sum-square) 15 - 30 ft
depending on SA
The predicted acuracy is calculated by multiplying the above
figure by the PDOP (Position Dilution of Precision) which
typically will range from 4 to 6. This gives accuracies of 60 -
100 ft (30 m) without SA, up to 350 ft (100 m) with SA.
The accuracy can be improved by averaging readings over some time.
When taking readings for this purpose, there is apparently no
point in taking the readings more often than every 15 min, or so.
One user reports the following results:
 Averaging for 15 - 20 hours: 10 metre accuracy
24 hours 5 metres
48 hours 3 metres
The error values are given as "2*sigma" values - for those (like
myself) who don't do statistics, this means that the readings
should be distributed as follows (for a 2*sigma of 100 metres):
32% of values are worse than sigma (50 metres)
5% of values are worse than 2*sigma (100 metres)
1% of values are worse than 2.6*sigma (130 metres)
0.3% of values are worse than 3*sigma (150 metres)
0.006% of values are worse than 4*sigma (200 metres)
0.00006% of values are worse than 5*sigma (250 metres)
When Hans Pfeifer posted the above, David Salonimer suggested
that, since SA is an artificially generated error, the error
distribution may be clipped somewhere between 2 and 3 sigma, to
virtually eliminate the extreme deviations.

1.4 What (and why) is Selective Availability?

Selective Availability (should really be called Selective
Unavailability :-) ) is an intentional degradation of accuracy
intended to prevent "the enemy" from making tactical use of the
full accuracy of GPS. SA is normally on, but was turned off
during the Gulf War, and during the invasion of Haiti, presumably
because the military didn't have enough military receivers to go
around. (At least, it is widely rumoured to have been off at
these times, but there is apparently no official confirmation...)
They apparently now have sufficient military grade receivers, so
we shouldn't expect SA to be turned off for this reason again
(although some have noted SA being turned off for civilian
emergency use).
Military receivers can use the encrypted P code to get 20 metre
accuracy, or better, regardless of the state of SA.
In early Feb. 96, the US government passed a law that appears to
require the military to turn SA off by May 1, 96. Apparently the
first bill that covered this was vetoed, but the language was
added to another bill that did pass, and was signed by the
president. However, that bill is worded such that the military
could (and did) find a way to legally leave SA on. On March 29,
1996, the White House announced that SA would be removed in four
to ten years (i.e. somewhere between 2000 and 2006), so we appear
to be stuck with it for some time, unless there is a change in
policy.

1.5 How do some users get centimetre accuracy?

The 20 to 100 metre accuracy mentioned above applies to single
frequency navigation receivers, which are capable of updating the
position every second or so.
The high accuracy measurements are achieved with much different
equipment covered below under "Survey Systems". These systems use
 both frequencies, and differential measurements, comparing the
data from a roving receiver with that from a fixed receiver at a
known location. They may also average the measurements over some
period of time. These measurements actually determine the
_difference_ in postition between the fixed and roving receivers
to great precision, rather than determining the absolute position
of either one.

1.6 Does the time reported by GPS include "leap seconds"

The GPS system time (as used by the system itself) does not
include leap seconds, but the difference between GPS time and UTC
is included in the data sent by the satellites, so receivers can
(and most navigation receivers do) display current UTC or zone
time, rather than the GPS system time. Currently there is a 11
second difference.
Tom Clark <clark@tomcat.gsfc.nasa.gov> posted the following to
sci.geo.satellite-nav on Dec 31, 1995:
The GPS satellites have been sending the bit that says a
leap-second is pending for some time now. At 00:00:00 UTC
(=00:00:11 GPS) on Jan.1 your receiver is *SUPPOSED* to apply the
correction.
Not all receivers will do this properly because of shortcuts that
their makers put into the receiver's firmware:
a - Some receivers have the GPS-UTC time offset *HARD-CODED* in
their internal ROMs. Some older receivers are already several
seconds off because of the manufacturer ignoring the GPS
message specification! [This *BAD* approach has caused GPS to
get a "bad name" in some circles for having inaccurate timing.
If your receiver persistently is several seconds in error, it
is not the fault of the GPS system! It is because your
receiver's manufacture didn't know what he was doing!]
b - Instead of using the LEAP-SECOND PENDING bit and applying it
at 23:59:60 UTC time, they extract the GPS-UTC time explicitly
from the downlink message. In this case, your receiver may not
make the change until the first full GPS (30 second duration)
message is received after the New Year.
c - Some manufacturers only grab the GPS-UTC offset from the
first satellite they lock onto after they are powered up,
using the explicit offset like case (b). If this is the case,
then you will have to turn your receiver off and then back
on to have the leap-second be applied.
In most receivers, the output of the current UTC to the display
and the RS232 lines is the lowest priority task in the receiver.
Receivers often have the display lag the UTC second by a fraction
of a second. If you are using an NMEA message the UTC time is in
the $GPGGA, $GPZDA or $GPRMC message. These messages take a while
to transmit, so you may be well into the second before the output
is visible to you.

1.7 What is the August 1999/Year 2000 problem?

 Rather than counting days, months, and years, the GPS system
keeps a count of weeks since Jan 6, 1980. It uses a 10 bit
counter for this, which means that it can only count up to 1023
weeks. so, at midnight Aug21/22 1999, this counter will "roll
over" to zero. Someone noticed this, and forecast the end of the
GPS system at that time. However, this roll over is an expected
event, and will be handled correctly by the GPS system itself,
and by most GPS receivers. I have seen a report that one very
early navigation receiver would not handle this, but all
currently produced receivers are apparently OK. Garmin,
Lowrance, Eagle and Rockwell have all stated that their receivers
will work correctly (Rockwell receiver boards are used in
receivers sold under other brand names).

1.8 What are the speed and altitude limitations?

The system has no inherent speed or altitude limitations (GPS has
been used on satellites for position determination), but the US
requires that commercial receivers be limited to operate below
about 900 knots and 60,000 ft. It is apparently possible to get
permission to bypass these limits for specific applications
(research rockets, etc.).
Garmin used to limit their non-aviation models (40 and 45 at least) to
operation below 90 knots. Above this speed, the receiver displays
an error message and stops updating the position. This is
apparently a marketing decision to force aviators to purchase the
more expensive aviation models which incorporate an aviation
waypoint database. They discontinued this practice with the
advent of their 12 channel parallel units (GPS 12/12XL/II+/III).
2. Navigation Receivers
2.1 Why are my GPS positions consistently wrong?
The chart probably uses a different horizontal datum than the GPS.
2.2 What is a horizontal datum, and which should I use?
(Geodeticists will have a more complex explanation, involving
differing non-goecentric ellipsoids, etc., but the following
should provide a sufficient explanation for navigators. See some
of the WWW sites for the more scientific explanations)
A horizontal datum in effect defines where on the earth the lines
of latitude and longitude are drawn. In earlier times, surveys
were based on points determined by astronomical observations, and
by physical measurements on land. This resulted in many slightly
different regional Lat/Long grids. The GPS system forces us to
use a consistent, world-wide grid.
Positions reported by GPS are based on a horizontal datum called
"World Geodetic System of 1984" (WGS84).
In the US and Canada, most older (but still current) charts and
maps are based on the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27). Newer
nautical charts (including Canadian charts prepared since mid-87)
are on NAD83 which is, for all practical purposes, identical to
WGS84.
 The difference between NAD27 and NAD83/WGS84 varies across the
continent. In the Pacific Northwest, an NAD83 position plotted on
a NAD27 chart will be about 0.65 seconds (65 ft) south and 5
seconds (330 ft) west of its true position.
In some areas of the world, the local datum may differ from WGS84
by a mile or more.
Many GPS receivers can be set to display positions in a local
datum rather than WGS84. Most Garmin receivers can display
positions in more that 100 different datums. It appears that
Garmin receivers store waypoint positions as WGS84 co-ordinates,
and convert between the currently selected datum and WGS84 as
needed, so that the physical location of a waypoint should not
change as you change the current datum on the receiver.

2.3 Why does the reported altitude vary so much?

Primarily due to satellite geometry. To get the most accurate
altitude and location, you should use satellites that located at
close to right angles to each other and one directly overhead.
However, the satellites are more likely to be nearer the horizon,
and a receiver will likely choose satellites nearer the horizon in
the interests of getting a more accurate horizontal position,
since that is what most navigators are interested in. The error
in altitude is typically about 1.5 times the horizontal error.
The altitude may also _appear_ to vary more than the horizontal
position, since it is given in "normal units" (feet or metres).
Also, particularly for those of us at sea level, the real altitude
is probably known better than the lat/long, making the error more
obvious. (I know the altitude of my boat is 0 +/- tides. When the
GPS shows an altitude of 200 ft (or -150 ft) I _know_ it is
wrong!)
2.4 What is DGPS?
Differential GPS (DGPS) is a means of correcting for some system
errors by using the errors observed at a known location to correct
the readings of a roving receiver.
The basic concept is that the reference station "knows" its
position, and determines the difference between that known
position and the position as determined by a GPS receiver. This
error measurement is then passed to the roving receiver which can
adjust its indicated position to compensate. Unfortunately, the
error depends on the particular satellites used to compute the
position, so the reference station can't just say "move all
positions 100 metres south".
The differential reference station computes the errors in the
pseudorange measurements for each satellite in view separately,
and broadcasts the error information, and other system status
information, by some means. A differential beacon receiver
receives and decodes this information, and sends it to the
"differential ready" GPS receiver. The GPS receiver combines this
information with the individual pseudorange measurements it makes,
before calculating the position.
 For marine use, the US and Canadian Coast Guards (and
corresponding agencies in other countries) have established DGPS
reference stations that broadcast the correction data over the
existing 250 - 350 KHz marine radio beacons. This marine service
is available free of charge in the US and Canada, but may only be
available by subscription in some countries. Commercial DGPS
providers use subcarriers on FM Broadcast stations, and other
means, to distribute the correction data.
DGPS will eliminate the error introduced by Selective
Availability, and errors caused by variations in the ionosphere,
resulting in reported postions within about 10 metres (33 ft.) of
the true position 95% of the time, for typical marine DGPS
systems using inexpensive navigation receivers. Better receivers
can get within 3 meters, or so. The DGPS correction data can be
used as far as 1500 KM from the reference station depending on the
DGPS setup -- if the DGPS is part of a larger monitoring network.
(Note that the advertised range of the marine radiobeacons is only
50 - 200 miles, so other means of data transmission must be used
at greater distances.)
The July 95 issue of Practical Sailor has a review of the Magellan
and Garmin Differential Beacon Receivers (DBR) which quotes prices
of about US$450 for the units. These units require an antenna
similar to that used for Loran C.
Differential correction data is commonly transmitted using the
RTCM-104 standard. This standard defines a number of different
data messages in binary format. The first set of messages (1
through 17) were intended for use with C/A code tracking
navigation receivers, and result in about 10 metre accuracy. They
correct for ionosphere, SA, and other errors, but with the
inherent limitation of C/A code quantization error. Messages 18
through 21 deal with carrier phase GPS corrections, as used in
surveying applications.
The RTCM-104 Recommended Standards for Differential Navstar GPS
Service (ver. 2.1) is available for purchase from:
Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services
655 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 300,
Wachington, D.C., 20005 U.S.A.
The document is copyrighted and is not available on the WWW.
2.5 What are waypoints and routes?
A waypoint is just a position stored in the GPS receiver's memory.
The receiver can calculate the distance and direction (and
time-to-go) to the waypoint, and, if interfaced to an autopilot,
will direct the autopilot to steer the boat to the waypoint.
A route is a series of waypoints. When navigating a route, the
GPS will automatically change the destination waypoint to the next
waypoint on the list as it reaches each waypoint. The GPS
receiver or autopilot normally sounds an alarm, and requires an
acknowledgment, before making any course change.
2.6 Can I connect the GPS to a computer/autopilot/? ?
 Most navigation receivers have NMEA-0183 data outputs to send data
to autopilots and other instruments. Unfortunately, NMEA-0183
provides for several different "sentence formats" to transfer the
same data, so it is possible to have two pieces of equipment which
both legitamately claim NMEA-0183 compliance, but can't
communicate because they disagree on the specific sentences used.
NMEA-0183 is a standard developed by the National Marine
Electronics Association for data communications between marine
instruments.
NMEA-0183 data is plain ASCII text sent at 4800 baud. The signal
levels are not really RS-232 (as used on most computer serial
ports) but will usually work when connected directly to an RS-232
port.
Further information on NMEA-0183, and PC programs for monitoring
the data are available from:
ftp://sundae.triumf.ca/pub/peter/index.html
Many receivers also have proprietary data formats which are used
(in the case of navigation receivers) to transfer waypoint lists,
track logs and other data between the GPS and a computer, and also
to pass data which is not covered by the NMEA standard.
2.7 Will my GPS work in a car/plane/forest/cave...?
The GPS signals are absorbed by most materials, so a GPS receiver
needs a fairly clear view of the sky to operate. There are some
reports that a true multi-channel receiver, such as the Eagle
Accunav, will perform better in marginal conditions than a
single-channel receiver, such as the Garmin 45 or Magellan 3000.
Other reports seem to indicate that the difference between these
receiver types is very small, or non-existent. Some of the varying
reports may be due to different definitions of "forest canopy" or
"dense tree cover".
Many users have good results placing the GPS receiver on the
dashboard of a car, right against the windshield. However, some
cars (Pontiac was mentioned specifically) have a transparent
metallic film embedded in the windshield as a heater for defogging.
This film apparently also acts as an excellent shield against the
GPS signals. In those cars, you will need an external antenna.
Some users have had good results in commercial aircraft, with the
antenna held against a window, preferably on the south side of the
aircraft (in the northern hemisphere), to be able to see the
maximum number of satellites. Note that Garmin's non-aviation
models will not report navigation information if the speed exceeds
90 knots, so they will not be any use in flight.
*** WARNING ***
Government or airline regulations may prohibit the operation of
radio receivers (including GPS) and other electronic equipment
during some or all of a flight. Ask permission from the flight
crew before using GPS on a commercial flight.
As indicated above, forest cover will block the signals to some
extent. If you can receive some satellites, some reports indicate
you may have a better chance of getting a fix if you keep moving,
 than if you stand still. Land masses such as a cliff (or a
concrete building) will block the view of a major portion of the
sky, and make getting a fix more difficult.

3. Survey Systems
GPS survey systems were one of the first uses of commercial GPS.
These units are more accurate than the typical navigation units but
rely on post-processing of the data collected by roving receivers
and a fixed reference receiver, and on averaging the data collected
over a period of time, by using carrier phase tracking, (and other
techniques) to get the increased accuracy. These systems can have
an accuracy of better than 1 cm for the very expensive models.
Survey systems range in price from US$7,000 to $30,000, or more.

3.1 DGPS Survey Systems.

For some survey work short range DGPS systems are used. They
operate over short distances and achieve accuracies of 0.5 to 1m.
In this case the accuracy is mostly down to the quality of
receivers and the short distance between the reciever and base
station. Clearly the base station is usually owned by the user as
well as the mobile which does increase the cost by a factor of 2!
3.2 Static Survey Systems.
Two GPS recievers can be placed in separate locations for a period
of time (for short distances 2mins upto 1hr) and the raw pseudo
range data can be collected. This data can then be post-processed
and a baseline established i.e.range and bearing. The position can
be as good as 1mm but may be less good under poor satelite geometry
or larger distances. This method can then be used to transfer the
knowledge of one accurate point (e.g. a trig pillar (that's what we
call them in UK) or in our case the GPS antenna on the roof of our
office) to a new point. We use this regularly to survey in new DGPS
stations.
3.3 Kinematic Post-processed Systems.
In the same way as static surveys, raw pseudo range data is
recorded at a fixed site and a mobile. You can then post process
the data to see accurately where you have been. Again the distances
between the static and mobile systems determine the accuracy but
generally 0.1m is possible.
3.4 Real Time Kinematic GPS
The newest thing on the block! RTK systems work in similar ways to
DGPS short range systems but mathematically like Kinematic post
processed and can achieve accuracies of arround 7cm in real time.
(3.1 - 3.4 by Dave White <dave@ormtec.demon.co.uk>)

4. Aviation Systems
The FAA is currently looking at overcoming some of the problems
 with accuracy with the GPS system. The intent is to be able to use
GPS for approaches or even landings. The current systems being
experimented with consist of a wide area DGPS systems as well as
pseudo satellites. A pseudo satellite is a ground based
transmitter that sends out the same signals as the GPS satellites.
This may cause some early receivers problems since they assume the
satellites are moving and in orbit.
Most modern GPS receivers work fine in small planes even though
most manufactures have special version for aviation that contain
navaid and airport databases. These receivers typically cost from
US$700 up. (Note that Garmin's non-aviation models have a 90 knot
speed limit, so they will not be useful in aircraft.)
4.1 Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)
The US FAA is developing a differential GPS system known as WAAS.
This system uses a number of reference stations (WRS) scattered
around the US. These correspond (somewhat) to the differential
correction stations of the Coast Guard marine DGPS system, but do
not transmit the correction signals themselves. They monitor the
GPS signals, ionospheric conditions, and the WAAS correction
signal, and transmit the data to the WAAS master stations (WMS).
The WAAS master stations take the data from the WRS, validates past
correction signals, and generates a new WAAS correction signal.
This correction signal is then transmitted to the InMarSat
geosynchronous communications satellites which retransmit the
correction signal to the entire US.
The InMarSat satellites transmit the correction signal on the GPS
L1 frequency, but use a different pseudorandom (PN) code than any
of the GPS satellites. The WAAS beacon receiver could apparently
be incorporated directly into a GPS receiver.
The experimental WAAS system is expected to be in operation in the
summer of 1996.

5. Other Satellite Navigation Systems

5.1 NAVSAT or Transit
The Navy Navigation Satellite System (NAVSAT, also known as
TRANSIT or Sat-Nav) is an older system using four or five
satellites in polar orbits. It provides fixes every hour or so,
rather than continuously as with GPS. It also requires the
receiver to be in a fixed position while taking a fix, or to be
moving on a known course at a known speed.
5.2 GLONASS
GLONASS is a Russian system similar to GPS. There are apparently
no inexpensive GLONASS receivers at present. This system provides
accuracy that is nominally better than GPS with SA on and not as
good as GPS with SA off. However, due to funding problems within the
Russian military, the GLOSNASS system currently has a number of failing
satellites and empty orbital slots that can cause high DOP/positional
errors, so the actual reliability of a GLOSSNASS fix is lower than that
of GPS. Ashtec produces a combined GPS+GLOSNASS system.
6. Radio Navigation Systems
6.1 Loran-C
Loran-C is a land based system consisting of groups of
transmitters (called "chains") operating on a frequency of 100
KHz. A receiver measures the difference in time between receiving
a signal from the master station, and from two secondary stations.
The navigator determines his position by plotting these time
differences (TDs) against a TD grid overprinted on a chart.
Actually, all but the earliest (and cheapest) Loran-C receivers
include provision to calculate Latitude and Longitude from the
TDs. This feature should be used with caution since the speed of
propagation of a 100 KHz signal varies depending on the terrain it
travels over, thus the TD lines may not be where the theoretical
calculations would place them. (The plotted grid on most charts
should already be corrected for these effects.)
There are two programs in my ftp directory to convert between
Loran-C TDs and Lat/Long. These programs have provision to enter
correction factors to allow for the varying speed of propagation.
The results of these programs must be checked carefully to ensure
that the correct correction factors are used. (Personally, I would
plot the TDs on a suitable chart, and read off the Lat/Long,
rather than using a program to do the conversion.)

6.2 DECCA
The DECCA system is much the same as the Loran-C system (i.e. it
is a ground based hyperbolic system). It is shorter range than
Loran-C but also more accurate (less coarse). It was set up by The
DECCA Navigator Co. (Now Racal DECCA) all around European waters
and is used almost to the exclusion of Loran. There are also a few
chains in other parts of the world but these are mostly for special
purposes.
(from Dave White <dave@ormtec.demon.co.uk>)

7. Sources of GPS equipment

Marine navigation and other "consumer grade" receivers are sold by
many marine electronics dealers, outdoors/hunting suppliers,
including the major US mail-order companies such as West Marine,
Boat/US, Defender, Cabella's, etc.
John Beadles has a comprehensive listing of GPS manufacturers on
his WWW site:
http://galaxy.einet.net/editors/john-beadles/introgps.htm

8 About this FAQ

8.1 Who put this FAQ together?
Peter Bennett (bennett@triumf.ca)
 Having recently been attacked by a swarm of questions from a new
GPS user, and having seen many repeated questions re GPS in the
sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup (not the least of which was
"Where's the FAQ??") I thought it was about time a FAQ was
created.
I am a sailor, and a member of Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons.
I have taught the CPS Advanced Piloting and Marine Electronics
courses which give (very) limited coverage of GPS and other
electronic navigational aids. To support the course material (and
my interest in "neat toys"), I have gathered information on GPS
and related things from various sources.
Karen Nakamura took over stewardship of the FAQ in December of 1997.
She is the President of a small GPS/GIS company named Global
Mapping Systems that provides consulting services and a Macintosh-based
GPS/GIS software package named GPSy -- http://www.gpsy.com
In her other "civilian" life, she's a cultural anthropologist focusing
on Deaf identities in Japan.

8.2 How can I contribute to this list?

Any comments, suggestions, corrections, or contributions
(including new questions, and their answers, if possible) should
be sent to:
Karen Nakamura
karen@gpsy.com

8.3 What newsgroups will this FAQ be posted to?

It will be posted to sci.geo.satellite-nav about
twice a month.
It will also be available by HTTP from:
http://www.gpsy.com/gpsinfo/gps-faq.txt

or FTP from: (also if you want to see the NMEA-0183 and other
stuff Peter Bennett has on his site)
ftp://sundae.triumf.ca/pub/peter/index.html
8.4 May I post this FAQ to another newsgroup or my local BBS?
Yes, providing it is posted unchanged. (I would appreciate
email to karen@gpsy.com advising me of any further
distribution.)
8.5 Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following for their contributions,
suggestions and corrections:
Peter Bennett, bennett@triumf.ca
Dave White, dave@ormtec.demon.co.uk
Tim Thogard, thogard@soulcage.inmind.com
Guido Lenz, 100575.3342@compuserve.com
 Tom Clark, clark@tomcat.gsfc.nasa.gov
Brooke Clarke, brooke@pacific.net
and other readers of sci.geo.satellite-nav

9. References
9.1 Books
Trimble Navigation publishes two booklets on GPS which I found to
be useful references in preparing this document:
GPS - A guide to the Next Utility
Differential GPS Explained
Trimble Navigation
645 North Mary Avenue
Post Office Box 3642
Sunnyvale, CA 94088-3642
Phone 1-800-827-8000 or 408-481-8000
Fax 408-481-2000
Basic Geodesy
Smith, JR, 1988, Landmark Enterprises, Rancho
Cordova ISBN 0-910845-33-6. Check your Library.
Guide to GPS Positioning
prepared under the direction of David Wells
ISBN: 0-920-114-73-3
May be ordered from:
Canadian Institute of Surveying and Mapping
Box 5378, Station F
Ottawa, Ont. Canada K2C 3J1

9.2 Internet sites

ftp://sundae.triumf.ca/pub/peter/index.html
mirrored at:
http://vancouver-webpages/peter/index.html
ftp://ftp-i2.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/pub/arnd/GPS/peter/index.htm
NMEA-0183 interfacing info files and programs (and this
FAQ, an NMEA-0183 FAQ, and a Garmin 40/45 FAQ)
http://galaxy.einet.net/editors/john-beadles/introgps.htm
http://www.navcen.uscg.mil
The US Coast Guard's Navigation Information Web Site - the
official source for civilian GPS information.
http://www.utexas.edu/depts/grg/gcraft/notes/gps/gps.html
University of Texas
http://www.lib.unb.ca/GGE
University of New Brunswick Dept. of Geodesy and Geomatics
Engineering
http://www.abnormal.com/~thogard/gps.html
Misc GPS data and Garmin FAQ
ftp://ftp.tapr.org.
http://bsrg.org
 Amateur Packet Reporting System (APRS) (current ver 7.1)
ftp://ftp.hawaii.edu/mirrors/info-mac/sci/larrys-mac-gps.hqx
The latest release of MacGPS, version 0.3d1.
http://www.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/SFCSIC_main.html
Coordinational Scientific Information Center(CSIC)
Russian Space Forces (GLONASS)
http://satnav.atc.ll.mit.edu/
MIT Lincoln Lab GLONASS homepage.
http://www.starlinkdgps.com
Marine DGPS beacon information
http://www.dgps.com
DCI (Differential Corrections Inc) home page - DCI is a commercial
DGPS provider
http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/PC_PROD/pc_prod.html
Info on UTMS.
http://www.fys.uio.no/~kjetikj/fjellet/GPS1.html
Details about UTM and Grid Zone Designation points.
http://www.inmet.com/~pwt/gps_nav.html
Introduction to GPS navigation
http://igscb.jpl.nasa.gov
International GPS Service for Geodynamics (IGS)
High-accuracy scientific uses of GPS