GPS, GeoCaching & YOU!!

Joe LadwigJoe Ladwig <‘)>>>>>< Lighthouse Christian Academy Bloomington, IN

Exactly What IS GPS?

Only the LATEST, high-tech Global Positioning System

GPS History • U.S. Government funded

worldwide navigational assistance program in ’70s

• Consists of ~27 satellites in non-stationary orbits

• Virtually a constellation of GPS sats if you will

U.S. Lifts Ban On Private Use of GPSBy Alex Canizares

Special to SPACE.composted: 06:46 pm ET01 May 2000

WASHINGTON (States News Service) -- The United States has dropped its ban on the civilian use of a highly accurate satellite-navigation system, a decision which could spur commercial use.

Starting Tuesday at midnight Greenwich Mean Time (Monday, 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time) the Pentagon will "deactivate" its exclusive use of the Global Positioning System (GPS), allowing anyone already owning a GPS device to locate their bearings to within 60 feet (20 meters).

Nice-to-Know GPS Background Stuff

• The GPS system is made of 27 NAVSTAR satellites and five ground stations. • The ground stations coordinate

keeping the satellites in precise orbit.

• The DoD placed each satellite in a precise orbit at an altitude of 10,900 miles. • The ISS orbits at ~210 miles • Satellites weigh two tonnes, are

5.6m long, and orbit earth in ~ 12hrs.

that’s 17,440 km!that’s 17,440 km!

Nice-to-Know GPS Background Stuff

• A tool for locating any point on the earth. • It has many uses; navigation, surveying,

vehicle tracking, hiking and outdoor recreation just to name a few.

• In the 1970s the Department of Defense (DoD) conceived the idea of GPS.

• It was born from a need to accurately determine the position of ballistic missile submarines prior to launching missiles.

• And here, today, WE PLAY GAMES WITH IT!

Nice-to-Know GPS Background Stuff

• Each GPS satellite transmits two low power radio signals, designated L1 and L2. • Civilian GPS uses the L1 frequency of

1575.42 MHz in the UHF band. • The signals travel by line of sight (LoS)

• They will pass through clouds, glass and plastic • Like your cell phone, signals will not go through

most solid objects such as buildings and mountains.

• Heavy tree cover and cliffs, steep hills, or tall buildings can interfere,

• Often one can move to a better location and still not be too far off the intended route.

• GPS can be used in any type of weather

• Its used on land, in the air, and for marine applications.

Nice-to-Know GPS Background Stuff

• Your GPS unit has stored in it the 24 separate "signatures" and locates each satellite.

• By measuring the distance to four or more independently orbiting satellites, your GPS receiver can be pinpointed down to ~3 m. • Distance to each satellite is measured by basic

geometry and the time it takes for a radio wave to reach your GPS unit.

• To be able to lock onto four signals, your GPS unit needs to have at least four channels. • State of the art units have 12+ channels.

F R E E S H O P P I N G T I P ! !

That Said… Let’s Go GeoCaching…

But first a word from our sponsors…

Whoa, GeoCaching is Everywhere!

- There are 451,180 active caches worldwide.

- In the last 7 days, there have been 323,307 new logs written by 46,317 account holders.

- We are located @ N 41° 42.297 W 085° 01.294

- There are 64 caches within 10 miles of us right now!!

• GeoCaching is real • This technology is not going away! • Is not just for geeks… well maybe… BUT… • GPS activities provide teachable moments!!! OH, NO!!OH, NO!!

What’s a GeoCache?

• A hidden treasure chest

• They can be BIGBIG• They can be tiny

• By definition they must be above ground and require no tools or life-threatening risk to extract them from their hidey-hole

• They may be really obvious (so obvious we don’t even see’em)

• They may be hidden through a complex series of clues. • You may need to be a little Sherlock Holmes-ish to

find it

GeoCachers… are Everywhere!!

You could be sitting next to one “a GeoGeek” this very moment… so be prepared.

GeoCachers are • Excited!!!

• On the move!!! • Racking up points in a global hunt where…

Brace yourselves…

They are the Search

They are the Search

Engine!!!

Engine!!!

Helpful GeoFun Links !

Geocaching.com

-The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site

-The definitive resource for GeoCaching in America and across the world.

Traditional Caches Multi-Caches Mystery or Puzzle CachesEarthcaches Event CachesCITO Event Caches

•Open an account •Locate caches/ finds of interest •Log your finds •Set-up your own caches •Track your Travel Bugs •Talk about GeoCaching

(people do!)

Helpful GeoFun Links !

GPS Adventures Maze

-Learn more at GPSmaze.com

kids

parents

-Sponsored by Groundspeak

and Trimble Navigation

teachers

Geocachers

Helpful GeoFun Software !

Geocaching Swiss Army Knife (GSAK)

-FREE download from GSAK.net (21day trial)

-$25 lifetime registration

-GSAK101 tutorial

-Very helpful program provides easy cache data management for hundreds of caches, yours or other’s.

-Also VERY useful for GPS navigation of every sort.

Helpful GeoFun Software !

GeoBuddy

-$49 download from GeoBuddy.com

-Seemless, GPS connectivity

-Interactive program can display your live track overlain on GoogleEarth satellite imagery.

Sure, Let’s Go GeoCaching…

But first let’s learn our equipment…

Gettin’ Started

This is a self-paced tutorial moment…

yep… STUDENT-DRIVEN INQUIRY!!!STUDENT-DRIVEN INQUIRY!!!• Put in your batteries• Move the unit’s ON/OFF selector to the ON position• Find the MENU page• And the WAYPOINT icon• Select the waypoint you’re assigned to locate. • Select NAVIGATE and get ready

to rumble…

GeoCache Targets of Interest

• The Patriot Cache • Difficulty level: ModerateModerate

• The Shaky Cache • Difficulty level: ModerateModerate

• The Pseudo LDL-Friendly Cache • Difficulty level: ModerateModerate

• The Post-Apocalyptic Cache • Difficulty level: ChallengingChallenging

• The Rock Star Cache • Difficulty level: ChallengingChallenging

Okay… Let’s Go GeoCaching…

But let’s learn our equipment…