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Inventor Of The Gps Awarded By Bush


Iowa Tom

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Here is some info I cut from a thread in a satellite observing group I belong to.

 

Someone here may be interested in reading it. It’s titled, “U.S. President announces Roger Easton recipient of National Medal of Technology”

 

I quote: "Roger L. Easton is a recipient of the 2004 National Medal of Technology – the highest U.S. honor for technology.

 

Among Easton's many inventions, two are particularly important to our hobby: the Naval Space Surveillance System (Navspasur), and the NAVSTAR-Global Positioning System (GPS)." End quote.

 

The thread is archived here. http://satobs.org/seesat/Nov-2005/0245.html

 

-it

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Orienteering without specially prepared topo maps with control points, and using only the gc.com method of working to a pair of coordinates, would have left us a BIG area to search without some serious hints by cache owners!

 

Maybe so but most who are skilled orienteer people have little if any trouble finding a cache quickly. I have been using an Etrex H since it first came out and with no internal maps it's still been very accurate in finding a cache location quickly.

 

eq5x85.jpg

 

A normal magnetic compass provides the static directions and a well detailed paper topo map does the rest.

 

The fact that now all these things are combined into a convenient single electronic device that at best <80% as accurate compared to the former does not take anything away from the originators who mastered navigation centuries before electricity was even discovered!

 

Most GPS users are navigation illiterate once the batteries go flat and then throwing them a compass does little to ease their lack of understanding. It's always best to learn navigation first and then use a GPS. Only then will you understand the short comings of the GPS technology and make adjustments accordingly.

 

GPS is only an adjunct to traditional navigation, not it's replacement.

 

mv205j.jpg

 

So yes, thank you Mr. Easton for this extra tool to add to our navigational toolbox to help us get around.

 

B)

 

 

 

 

~

Edited by Odourless
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The fact that now all these things are combined into a convenient single electronic device that at best <80% as accurate compared to the former...

 

 

Do you have any data or references to back this up or is it a figure you just plucked out of the air?

 

 

I've been following this thread with interest as I find the Electronic compass on my Etrex 30 useful, though not essential. So I did a quick test myself.

 

I took a traditional compass, which I've never recalibrated :blink: ; and my Etrex 30, which I haven't recalibrated for at least several months, during which time it's been turned off and on many times in different locations (I've no idea whether that affects the calibration or not).

 

I placed both on a wooden table outdoors with no metal, magnetic, or electical equipment within 20 feet.

 

The devices were 6 inches apart and I aligned both North/South in accordance with the traditional compass' bearing.

 

The traditional compass steadily pointed in the same direction.

 

The Etrex was swinging between N and NE, so I make that a maximim error of ~12.5%

 

I then recalibrated the Etrex 30 (takes ~ 20 seconds), and replaced it on the table. It was now pointing steadily at N.

 

I then slowly introduced a strong magnet between the two, as I did so both deviated towards the magnet, with the deviation increasing as the magnet got closer. The deviation of each device was more or less identical.

 

All this was done just by sight, but I would say that from this test: without calibration the Etrex was close to %90 the accuracy of the traditional compass; but when recalibrated it is is as accurate as a traditional compass and would need some sort of instrumentation to detect the difference.

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The fact that now all these things are combined into a convenient single electronic device that at best <80% as accurate compared to the former...

 

 

Do you have any data or references to back this up or is it a figure you just plucked out of the air?

 

 

I've been following this thread with interest as I find the Electronic compass on my Etrex 30 useful, though not essential. So I did a quick test myself.

 

I took a traditional compass, which I've never recalibrated :blink: ; and my Etrex 30, which I haven't recalibrated for at least several months, during which time it's been turned off and on many times in different locations (I've no idea whether that affects the calibration or not).

 

I placed both on a wooden table outdoors with no metal, magnetic, or electical equipment within 20 feet.

 

The devices were 6 inches apart and I aligned both North/South in accordance with the traditional compass' bearing.

 

The traditional compass steadily pointed in the same direction.

 

The Etrex was swinging between N and NE, so I make that a maximim error of ~12.5%

 

I then recalibrated the Etrex 30 (takes ~ 20 seconds), and replaced it on the table. It was now pointing steadily at N.

 

I then slowly introduced a strong magnet between the two, as I did so both deviated towards the magnet, with the deviation increasing as the magnet got closer. The deviation of each device was more or less identical.

 

All this was done just by sight, but I would say that from this test: without calibration the Etrex was close to %90 the accuracy of the traditional compass; but when recalibrated it is is as accurate as a traditional compass and would need some sort of instrumentation to detect the difference.

 

You are correct. We have gone on hundreds of geocaching outings and prior to each outing I change batteries and calibrate the three axis compasses on my GPS units...the GPS units are then compared with a Cammenga Military Compass and they are as identical as the eye can discern ( whole process takes about 20 seconds )

Regarding compasses like the Cammenga they may not have to be calibrated but they have to be compensated....took a course about 40 years ago regarding marine maps and compensating your compass....it was interesting and I got good at it but it has been long forgotten. I used to collect compasses before I started collecting GPS units.

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Do you have any data or references to back this up or is it a figure you just plucked out of the air?

 

For someone who has 3380 posts you seem to have read very little on this forum!

 

...I don't bother with an electronic compass, it could never be relied upon 100%.

 

ditto.

 

:P

 

 

 

 

 

~

Edited by Odourless
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