A common question is, "Which one is the best?" or "Which one should I buy?" The answer is: it depends.
Mar 19, 2008
By:
Eric Gakstatter
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I covered this subject a while back, but I think it's time to revisit it. Personal navigation devices (PNDs) are still selling like crazy. If you don't have one, someone you know does. Tens of millions of these things are being sold per year.
Depending on your location, PRN32 may help you. If your receiver is tracking but still not using PRN32, it may be worth a call to the dealer or manufacturer of your equipment to see if there is a firmware update available.
Mar 5, 2008
By:
Eric Gakstatter
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There has been a lot of activity on both the civilian and military sides of GPS/GNSS these past few weeks. Instead of a central theme to this newsletter, I'm going to comment on three points of interest: a DoD directive regarding position, navigation, and timing; PRN32; and some new product developments.
Satloc, Fugro/OmniSTAR, and NavCom are just a few examples of commercial organizations that have successfully utilized JPL's leading-edge GPS technology.
Feb 21, 2008
By:
Eric Gakstatter
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With nearly 60 GPS engineers and scientists, the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) is one of the biggest GPS R&D centers in the world today. It operates as a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which manages the lab for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
If approved, the FY09 budget will keep the Nationwide Differential GPS system alive for a while longer — but what happens if the system ceases to operate?
Feb 7, 2008
By:
Eric Gakstatter
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It appears the US Department of Transportation has bought the Nationwide Differential GPS system (NDGPS) another year. The FY09 Presidential Budget Request was released earlier this week, and it contains a line item in the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) budget for NDGPS in the amount of $4.6M for operations and maintenance of the current system until October 2009. There is no budget item for the planned build-out of NDGPS. The budget request is subject to approval by Congress, but most likely this will go through.
I don’t think anyone knows how this is going to shake out yet, but I believe one thing is certain: The value proposition for construction firms is just too great for it to be ignored. As the old saying goes, just follow the money.
Jan 16, 2008
By:
Eric Gakstatter
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One of the hotter topics in the construction industry these days is GPS/GNSS. If any of you attend the World of Concrete exhibition in Las Vegas, you’ll see many examples of how GNSS is being implemented in construction environments. The exhibition is expected to attract more than 1,700 exhibitors and 90,000 attendees this month. I’m sorry I’ll miss it this year, but if you do attend, you’ll find the usual GNSS (and related) suspects exhibiting: Topcon, various Trimble divisions, Leica, Sokkia, Seco Mfg, CST/Berger, Berntsen, etc.
It's been a while since I've written about "where we are" with the operational GNSS constellations (namely GPS and GLONASS). Although GLONASS isn't technically considered operational in a stand-alone sense, it continues to be a very useful GPS augmentation for professional GNSS users. Anyway, I'll update you on those two systems, as well as some news on the merger/acquisition front regarding Topcon/Sokkia.
Jan 11, 2008
By:
Eric Gakstatter
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On the GPS front, I'm going to paraphrase, plagiarize, and otherwise copy from my fellow newsletter editor Don Jewell, who writes the Military & Government PNT newsletter. He spent decades on the inside looking out (think Lt. Col. Jewell) and offers interesting perspectives.
