Author: MJT
GPS Coordinates Help Pinpoint a Position on Earth
GPS coordinates can be used to pinpoint the location of many
landmarks, including a vehicle when necessary. You may wonder how these GPS
coordinates are used to locate your vehicle. The simplest method of representing
a point on a map is to use two lines that intersect, with one going vertically
and the other in the horizontal direction. The point of convergence of these
two points will be your location.
Coordinates can Locate Many Different Things
GPS coordinates can refer to many different things, such as
campsites, lakes, rivers or even a place where one is standing at a certain
point in time. The basic way in which GPS coordinates work is that a location
on earth is determined by the use of two or three coordinates that are present
in a coordinate system that is aligned with the spinning axis of our earth. GPS
coordinates are really two numbers that correspond to one another, in which one
set of numbers pertains to the vertical line and the other to the horizontal
lines. Together, these numerical directions are known as “global positioning
system coordinate lines”. The location that you are seeking is where these two
lines intersect. There are a few different GPS coordinates systems that read
map locations on the earth in different ways.
GPS coordinates are much like a clock, with each degree
being representative of one hour, each degree sub-divided into sixty minutes,
and each minute into sixty seconds. A minute on this illustration can be used
to represent one mile in width at the equator, while a second is a fraction of
a mile that is greater than 100 feet. In the case of vehicle tracking GPS
systems, another method of representing GPS coordinates is used and this format
is the decimal one. You can convert one format into another, which is often the
case as people use GPS technology for different purposes. In any case, the GPS
coordinates are calculated in accordance with the World Geodetic System WGS84
coordinate system.
This system requires that the receiver knows the precise
time, because the satellites that are used for this system have very accurate
atomic clocks. The receiver will need to use an internal crystal
oscillator-based clock which is updated on a continuous basis from the
satellites orbiting above the earth. The location is calculated by the GPS
receiver, which must have the current time and position of the satellite, as it
takes into account the delay in receiving the signal. The accuracy of the
position that you are searching for with the help of GPS coordinates depends to
a large extent on the position of the satellite as well as how much delay there
is in the signal being received.
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