Interesting article:

Possible GPS shutdown in the event of a terror attack.

Keep maps in your cars just in case!

Mods, please leave here for a while before moving to "Ramblings".

Regards,

 

Yeah I just read about that, I found it pretty interesting that our Gov. has that power. Quite frankly, I agree with Bush's decision to put a plan in place. Greatest nation in the world.

 

Great idea as long as you're not in a plane at the time ... I'm sure they'll take commercial aviation into account, but it would be interesting.

 

Don't worry... All them pilots learned VFR first.... Push comes to shove, they'll pick it up again quickly!

Although seeing a 737 land on a recreational grass runway would be... Interesting to say the least.

 

If I am not mistaking, the government owns and controls all of the GPS satelites that navigation systems use. I didn't read anything about it for my TL, but for my GMC with Nav it says in the nav manual that it operates off of US Government GPS satelites

 

^--- That is correct, I just learned that from reading that article. The European nation is attempting to build their own but I doubt if they will be succesfull.

 

It's tough to VFR from 35,000 ... (Hmmm is that Wisconsin down there?) Although good news is they can just ask for directions from the nice man with the F-16 that pulled up next to them

 

I just heard this on the news. Thats crazy, I never woulda thought about it

 

Commercial jets use P-code GPS recievers that wouldn't be affected by outages in the system. It's the same system that the military uses.

 

I had asked the flight crew of a Northwest 747 if they used GPS on the route from MSP to Hong Kong a few years back, they told me that they did not use GPS but used the flight maps (high altitude airways) that every country has in place (just about).

Unfortunately the planes follow highways in the sky and the airlines for many years have been requesting direct GPS routing so that they can save time and fuel, but the FAA has not opened the skys to direct routing yet (to my knowledge).

Anyway, don't worry about planes, they also use radio beacons for directions (VORs, NDB's, etc). This stuff has been in place long before GPS.

 

GPS was used by the military at first.

 

It's a very good idea, and I'm sure it would only be temporary, but WHAT IF??

Imagine how many pi$$ed off people there would be if we lost the ability to use our GPS equipment? We would be very upset if the accuracy limitations eliminated under Clinton were returned. How much would that impact our navigation systems?

I constantly marvel at the ability of the TL's navi system to distinguish between a main road and an entrance or exit ramp. That's accuracy within a few feet!

Regards,

 

Why do you doubt they will be successful? Just curious.

 

That's a good question, my only thoughts would be how much they are willing to spend to duplicate the system. In my eyes, it isn't anything that they are placing first on their agenda.

 

The article says they are spending 4.8 billion. That would make it top of my priority list.

 

As long as this plan is really helpful to deal with crisis and it would only take place during the crucial period, it's ok for me and good for us. IMHO.


BTW, those commercial airplanes following rivers or highways should always be questioned and dealt.








P.S. This topic is really not 3G topic, but good for Navi users to take a look. So MOVE to Navi SubF.

 

No problem! I just wanted the 3G members to be sure to see it.

Thanks!

 

Aircraft also utilize inertial navigation, and in darkness can use celestial navagation.

 

We have a bunch of friggin pilots over here.. you might be in the wrong forum..

Try WWW.ITHINKIMAFUCKINPILOT.COM

 

^---Nice people on this forumn lol.

 

Also, don't forget that the TL doesn't rely solely on GPS for the Nav system. The car recalls it's last known position and uses the gyro integrated in the Navi unit to as well as the maps on the DVD to calculate routes and direction. The GPS satellites are a check on the calculations that the Navi system makes, and the GPS satellite info helps the Acura system keep everything as accuarate as possible.

 

Interesting article....

 

100% correct!! You learn this in the submarine force....civilians use the satellites the military does, but if you don't have the military encryption, there is an automatic "fudge" factor thrown into the gps calculation. So, in theory, if you have military encryption, your car can be as accurate as a Tomahawk cruise missle.