On the Net
Shopping on the Internet has become very convenient nowadays, and you'll be able to easily see all the options and accessories that are available with a Magellan GPS system. However, you have to, of course be mindful when shopping on the Internet; you only want to go to sites that have a good reputation.
Sites that are reputable will have a phone number and physical address, a secure server for transactions with a credit card and will have decent reviews on sites like epinions.com. It is not wise to use a site until you have read positive reviews regarding it.
Magellan's company website would be the first place to look into. The home page has a list of current promotions. Regardless if you decide not to purchase a Magellan GPS from the manufacturer, you can get some good ideas in regards to the range of products available, the prices, and how often you will be required to update the software by going back to the site.
If you’ve been confounded by all the technical jargon and hype surrounding GPS, confusing what’s turning out to be a very useful tool, allow me to shed a little light on your roadmap to deciding whether or not this technology is for you! Originally designed with military applications in mind, the technology was made available to mere mortals in the 1980’s for the many and varied uses we’ve found so far for these special tools. Not only handy for auto navigation, GPS units have made their way into maritime navigation, backcountry uses, and much, much more!
How does GPS work? GPS (which stands for Global Positioning System) allows you to pinpoint your position anywhere on the planet to within an average of 15 meters, with some units doing much better than that. Twenty-four GPS satellites, paid for and placed in orbit by the Dept. of Defense courtesy of your tax dollars, send signals back to terra firma 24/7. These signals are retrieved by your handy dandy GPS receiver which uses three sources (satellites) to triangulate this information and compute your actual position. If there are four data sources, even altitude can be determined. Since there are normally eight satellites in line of sight from anywhere on earth, the opportunity for accurate positioning exists. Other things that can be determined besides latitude, longitude, and altitude would include things like speed, sunrises and sunsets, bearing, distance and more. While they will work in any weather, some hindrances would be electronic interference, buildings, and certain terrain. A good rule of thumb is that the units will generally not perform underwater, indoors, or underground. There are currently two Global Navigation Satellite Systems in use. Besides GPS, there is the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) Protocols are constantly being refined to enhance the abilities of these systems. A bright light on the horizon is Galileo, scheduled to go online in 2008, which promises even greater accuracy and functionality.
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