Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!gatech!uflorida!novavax!midas!mkraiesk
From: mkraiesk@midas.UUCP (Mark Kraieski)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: NAVSTAR (GPS)
Message-ID: <1373@midas.UUCP>
Date: 24 Oct 88 13:50:40 GMT
References: <1129@cfa237.cfa250.harvard.edu>
Organization: Gould CSD, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Lines: 44

Following appeared in the 24OCT88 Businessweek:

    Developments to Watch (edited by Mimi Bluestone)

    The early explorers had to rely on the stars to navigate, but
    commercial ships turn to signals from satellites to compute their
    position.  Now recreational sailors can, too.  After two years of
    development, Magellan Systems Corp. has developed the first
    handheld satellite navigational device.  The 1.5 pound instrument
    picks up data from the U.S. government's seven-satellite Global
    Positioning System.  These birds transmit time and location data
    directly to the device.

    At the push of a button, the navigator's position in degrees
    longitude and latitude is displayed on Magellan's liquid crystal
    display screen.  In addition, there are nine function keys that
    allow the user to calculate the ship's course, estimated time of
    arrival, and recall the ship's last five positions.  Magellan says
    the $3,000 device will go on sale in early 1989.

The article does not indicate if altitude information is also displayed.
GPS is a 3-dimensional positioning system and the extra computations to
get an altitude should not be substantial.  Not of much use to boaters,
this would be helpful for baloons, blimps, small aircraft, and possibly
auto use such as survey work in desolate countries.

My interest in all this?  I teach a USPS Marine Electronics class which
contains a section on GPS.

I do not work for or have any affiliation with Magellan Systems.  Of course,
they could always give me a call.

      =================================================================

Mark Kraieski                                     +-----+
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Gould, CSD (makers of fine computers)       +------+ \  +----+
Development Advanced Studies, MS 404        |      |   \     |
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Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33313-4499               +------+ /  +----+
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