gps accuracy increases

[Tom Myers]

Hello GPS afficianados, In case you haven't heard, TONITE the US government is turning off the "SA" selactive availability error. Typically this error was induced into the soignal to prevent terrorists (or whatever) from using our satellites. With this goverment-induced error, GPS accuracy has been about 200-300 feet. Tonite, the government will remove the error. Our Garmin rep estimates (and this is a guess) that accuracy of handheld Garmin GPS units will be about 20-30 feet. We will put more informatiopn on http://www.cycoactive.com/gps as soon as we get it Enjoy! Tom -------------------------------------- Remarks of Dr. D. James Baker Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration On the Decision to Discontinue GPS Selective Availability May 1, 2000 Dr. Lane, on behalf of the Commerce Department, the Interagency GPS Executive Board, and the millions of GPS users around the world, I commend the President for taking this important step today -- a full six years ahead of schedule. Thanks in no small part to the President's policy, the U.S. Global Positioning System continues to be THE global standard for satellite-based navigation, positioning, and timing. The U.S. policy of free access to both the signal and the receiver design specifications has enabled users worldwide to embrace GPS and develop hundreds of applications and devices that no one dreamed of a few years ago. For example, farmers are using GPS to map fields and tailor applications of seed and chemicals, minimizing costs and contaminant run-off. Oil companies in Britain, Finland, and elsewhere are using GPS to identify drilling sites in the middle of the sea. And just a few months ago, a Japanese company unveiled a Dick Tracy-style wristwatch with a fully functional GPS receiver built in. Overall, the global market for GPS goods and services is booming, with sales to exceed $8 billion this year and $16 billion by 2003. Today's action will accelerate this growth by eliminating a significant impediment to the adoption and use of GPS. Within my agency alone, there will be significant benefits, including improved fisheries border enforcement; more effective search and rescue and hazardous spill response operations; streamlined weather satellite data processing; and better electronic navigational charting for ships. At other government agencies, the higher accuracy will improve responses to emergency calls from cell phones equipped with GPS for "E911" capability. Natural resource management agencies and emergency relief organizations will be able to map and manage floodplains, levees, wetlands, forests -- even individual trees -- using basic GPS without costly, labor-intensive GPS augmentations. The same is true for the management of highways and waterways by state and federal authorities. NASA will have more precise control over satellite orbits, improving scientific results. And International Space Station operations will be simplified, enhancing astronaut safety. Outside the government, businesses and individuals will enjoy an even greater range of benefits. More telecommunications firms will use highly precise GPS time - now even MORE precise - for synchronizing phone and data networks. Taxicabs, buses, commercial trucks, and railroads will improve as individual vehicles are tracked and routed more efficiently. Recreational hikers, boaters, and pilots will see an immediate improvement in the accuracy of basic GPS receivers, resulting in better situational awareness and increased safety. All of these benefits will come without any receiver upgrades or fees whatsoever. And now the really good news: today's action is only the tip of the iceberg for civilian GPS improvements. It's the first step in a long term GPS enhancement program that will add more civil capabilities to GPS every few years: a second civilian signal by 2003; a third civilian signal by 2005; nationwide and regional augmentation systems for safer land, air, and sea travel; and next-generation capabilities being dreamed up as we speak as part of the "GPS III" program. At this time, we will be happy to take questions from the audience. INTERAGENCY GPS EXECUTIVE BOARD IGEB Executive Secretariat 4805 Herbert C. Hoover Building Washington, D.C. 20230 Phone: (202) 482-5809 Fax: (202) 501-4178 ExecSec@... -- +------------------------------------+ | CycoActive Products tel (206) 323-2349 | 701 34th Ave fax (206) 325-6016 | Seattle, WA 98122 USA | webpage: http://www.cycoactive.com | e-mail: TomMyers@... +------------------------------------+