My Bite Into The Apple

by chris1h1

Seafaring And Fishing With The Aid Of GPS Devices

Marine GPS based devices are a boon to all seafarers. It is based on the Global Positioning System or GPS. It is a constellation of satellites which orbit the earth twice a day, transmitting exact time and position information. With GPS, you can spot your precise location and get back to your original destination. A marine GPS can be of a great help should you get lost in any large body of water – lakes, seas or oceans.

A marine GPS device’s use starts off the first step prior to going out to sea – voyage planning. One of the most vital advantages of using marine GPS is that it is a device commonly responsible for saving lives. In addition, marine GPS also reduces the chances of getting lost at sea.

Normally, marine GPS systems are used by the Coast Guard to keep track of ships as they move along the coastlines. This will give them an idea of the direction in which a vessel is heading. They may be able to communicate with the vessel and provide precise information regarding its current position and directions to take to get to its destination.

With marine GPS technology, planning routes for other ships have been made possible for the crew. In addition, this technology also helps in avoiding collisions that may cause fatality or other accidents that may cause damage to the ship.

Basically, there are many different kinds of marine GPS in the market. They range from voice-enabled computer systems to simple radar-oriented GPS systems. The more popular marine GPS systems will be the one that is voice-enabled. Somehow seafarers relate to this type of marine GPS systems since they find some comfort in listening to a ‘human’ voice; though it may be a computer generated one. As for the radar-oriented GPS systems, they only give off a beep as a form of signal. This makes the interaction with the marine GPS a less ‘personal’ one; although they are very effective in locating positions.

People usually perceive that they need lots of sea knowledge in order to operate a marine GPS. However this is not the case. Just like any other GPS system, all you need to do is to read the manual and understand the signals that are shown on the GPS device. Thereafter, you can program the marine GPS device according to the requirements of your journey on the high seas. Whether you use a marine GPS on land or at sea, they provide user friendly interfaces that makes them easy for everyone to operate.

GPS Fish Finders Is A Great Tool For The Fisherman – Hobbyist Or Professional

GPS fish finders are amazing devices that take away the hassle of finding your catch during your fishing expeditions. There is a great variety of GPS fish finders today. The Internet is a great place to start your search for information. Some sites will have general information regarding these innovative devices; others will have details regarding commercially available models. You can review their features and functions and what they will cost to buy to improve the chances of successful fishing. Here is a summary of some well-known models:

1) Hummingbird 383c GPS Fish Finder Combo

This GPS fish finder has a built-in nautical mile resolution UniMap of USA inland lakes, rivers and coastal areas. In addition, it includes many key features in its package such as an internal 16 channel WAAS GPS receiver with omni-directional antenna for higher performance. This model gives accurate water temperature readings and can be designed for both fresh and saltwater environments.

In addition it also can freeze frame immediately; pause display allowing more time to examine the details. Its compact design is perfect if there is insufficient space on your boat. Moreover, this GPS fish finder can be easily mounted on a mounting space on the boat. This model possesses the DualBeam PLUS sonar, which delivers wider coverage of the bottom. It also makes the job of finding fish much easier with the built in adjustable zoom levels for display.

2) Eagle FishElite 500c GPS Fish Finder

This model is another popular choice for a GPS fish finder. It has a high quality ultra bright and 256 color LCD screen. Furthermore it is a full size combo 200 kHz sonar and mapping GPS and WAAS with 256-color, sunlight-viewable 320Vx240H pixel display.

What is great about this mode is that it offers high definition to help you identify what you are looking for. In fact, the GPS fish finder can reveal fish hidden in underwater color. It also comes with an optional sensor and adjustable ping speed with automatic HyperScroll to show fish targets at higher boat speeds.

This GPS fish finder system also comes with a built-in temperature sensor in the transducer, zoom in bottom tracking and easy zoom in and out control as well as on and off sonar alarms. This model also comes with pre-installed maps of the continental U.S and Hawaii.

Basically, this particular GPS fish finder is good, durable and easy to use. Its internal memory helps to store GPS data and sonar settings. Therefore, with this tool, you can be assured that you will bring in loads of fish home.

dog gps


Image by pt
i’m doing a dog gps project. stay tuned.

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by mroach

Ntp Server Static GPS Antenna Systems

The Global positioning System (GPS) is often used by computer equipment, such as NTP Server systems, to provide an accurate timing reference for time critical applications. This article provides an overview of GPS for timing applications and describes the equipment used to install a GPS antenna in a static location.

Overview – Using GPS for Accurate Time

The Global Positioning System is a US military system for worldwide navigation. The system consists of 24 orbiting satellites, each satellite has a highly accurate atomic clock on-board synchronised to UTC time. The satellites continuously broadcast time and position information. The time and position information can be obtained worldwide with a GPS receiver and antenna. GPS works continuously in any whether conditions, anywhere in the world. Additionally, there is no set up fee or subscription charges to utilise the GPS systems. Many computer timing systems and NTP Server systems utilise GPS as an accurate external timing reference.

The Accuracy of GPS Timing Systems

GPS receivers provide highly accurate position and timing information. Typically, a GPS receiver can provide positioning information to an accuracy of 15m. NTP Server systems can obtain timing information from GPS to a resolution of a few nanoseconds.

The GPS Signal

The transmitted GPS signal is very weak low-power radio signal, designated L1 and L2. L1 is the civilian GPS frequency transmitted at 1575.42 MHz. The signals travel by line of sight and can pass through clouds, glass and plastics but are blocked by objects such as metal and brickwork. Therefore, the ideal location for a GPS antenna is on rooftop with a full 360-degree view of the sky. However, often installation on the side of a building or in a window can provide adequate results. As a rule of thumb, the better the view of the sky, the greater the likelihood of a good consistent signal lock.

GPS Timing Antenna Types

The GPS antenna acts as an amplifier to boost the GPS signal for transmission along a cable, usually coax, to the GPS receiver. GPS Timing antenna’s provided with NTP server systems utilise a pole-mounting system. The antenna screws to a threaded pole for installation on rooftops. This arrangement provides the GPS antenna with a rigid mount easily able to withstand high winds without damage. Typically the GPS antenna is fairly small in size, measuring less than 90cm in diameter. Low-cost patch type antennas are also available, but these are generally better suited to vehicle applications.

GPS Antenna Cable Types and Cabling Distances

The cable distance that can be utilised by a GPS antenna depends mainly on the amplification of the GPS antenna and the quality of coax used in the installation. A typical GPS timing antenna may have a gain of 35 db. Relatively low-quality coax such as RG58 has an attenuation of 0.64 db/m at 1575 MHz. Therefore, a cable run of 55m can be obtained using RG58 cable. With very high quality coax cable, such as LMR400, an unaided cable run of 200m can be achieved. However, very high quality coax can be expensive. A good price-performance compromise is LMR200 cable, which can be run unaided to 80m.

Extending Cabling Distance with In-Line GPS Amplifiers

In-line GPS amplifiers provide further amplification of the GPS signal to increase the cable distance between the GPS antenna and receiver. GPS amplifiers are fitted in-line with the antenna cable and obtain power from the receiver via the coax cable. No external power-supplies are required. Typically, a GPS amplifier may add a further 20 dB of gain, adding 30m of low-quality RG58 coax, 40m of LMR200 coax or 100m of high quality LMR400 coax. Additionally, multiple in-line amplifiers may be utilised to further increase cable distance.

Sharing a Single Antenna Between Multiple Receivers – GPS Splitters

GPS splitters allow a single GPS antenna to be utilised by two or more NTP server systems. The GPS splitter splits the signal received from the GPS antenna into multiple outputs for synchronizing multiple NTP servers. GPS splitters are generally available with 2, 4 or 8 outputs.

Protecting GPS Systems – GPS Surge Suppressors

Surge suppressors protect expensive NTP server equipment from electro-static discharges, such as lightning, that may be picked up by an externally mounted GPS antenna. Surge suppressors are installed in-line on the coax cable between the antenna and receiver, ideally where the cable enters the building. Surge suppressors require a low-impedance ground, to discharge any received surge. The surge suppressor requires no power-supply or additional cabling.

Portable GPS Device – Finished (Kinda)


Image by 3D King
The portable GPS device properly fiinished off with a pcb I knocked together in Eagle CAD, a nifty blue LCD from Crystalfontz, and a proper basic stamp module. The good bad leds are not mounted in this picture and the whole thing needs to go in a box, at some time….Like I said, it’s finished – Kinda
Also in this image it is not connected to a gps hence the display.

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