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If your GPS device told you do drive off a cliff or ford a ragingriver, would you do it? You may respond, of course not, that’s stupid.Unfortunately, many people substitute technology for common sense,often with tragic results.Satellite navigation systems are changing the way in which wenavigate from place to place by land, sea or air; in remote wildernessareas or through congested urban streets. The GPS system has beencalled the greatest advance in outdoor navigation since the inventionof the compass and has become a widely used aid to navigationworldwide, a useful tool for map-making, land surveying andrecreational navigation. An estimated 50 million navigation devices,including in-car systems, handheld or portable units and smart phones,will be in use in the United States this year.Whether you're prospecting, hunting, fishing, cross-country skiing,or taking a hike in the back country, a GPS receiver can help you reachyour destination and return safely - but only if you know how toaccurately use it and recognize its limitations. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigationsystem made up of a complex network of more than 30 satellites placedinto orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. The GPS network, alsocalled NAVSTAR, was originally intended for military applications,however when Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down in 1983 afterstraying into the USSR's prohibited airspace, President Ronald Reaganissued a directive making GPS freely available for civilian use as acommon good. The GPS works all the time, in any weather condition,anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. Powered by solar energy, the numerous satellites that make up theGPS space segment orbit at approximately 12,000 miles above the earth.Moving constantly at speeds in excess of 7,000 mph, the satellites eachmake two complete orbits of the earth in less than twenty-four hours.The GPS satellites are kept on track by small rocket boosters.Primarily operated on solar power, the satellites also employ backupbatteries in anticipation of power loss during a solar eclipse.The first GPS satellite was sent into orbit in 1978, with a fullconstellation of satellites achieved in 1994. Weighing approximately2,000 pounds, each satellite is about 17 feet across with the solarpanels extended and is built to last about ten years. Replacementsatellites are constantly being built and then launched into orbit. GPS signals can be affected by multi-path issues, where the radiosignals reflect off surrounding terrain such as tall buildings,mountains or large obstructions. This increases the travel time of thesignal and can cause inaccuracy. The number of satellites visible, orthe more satellites a GPS receiver can “see” will also affect accuracy.Electronic interference, buildings, terrain or sometimes even densefoliage can block the signal reception and cause positioning errors orprevent a position reading at all.Anomalies like high static discharge during lightning storms,humidity, ionized air and barometric pressure can definitely causefalse information, data error or miscalculations. A satellite signalslows as it passes through the atmosphere. Ionosphere and tropospheredelays may cause distortion. GPS units normally will not work indoors,underground or underwater.In automotive GPS receivers, metallic features in windshields, suchas window tinting films or defrosters elements can degrade receptioninside the vehicle. Receiver clock errors are also common. This type oferror occurs because a receiver’s built in clock is not as accurate asthe atomic clocks onboard the GPS satellites and will reflect varyingtiming errors. These distortions can result in positioning errors ofhundreds of miles.Unreliable data is also a major contributor to GPS errors. With anincalculable number of roads and millions of miles of ground to cover,it is impossible for any data system to be 100% accurate. A roadnetwork is a constantly changing entity; roads are diverted or closed,construction reroutes traffic while weather affects road conditions.The data feed used in GPS units is dated. Fresh updated content may notbe available for several months. It is important to remember that thisdata is updated quarterly at best and in some cases only released twicea year.Although GPS Navigation is becoming increasingly popular, theseunits have the ability to highlight human error. A GPS devise willattempt to advise you depending on the destination your have entered.An incorrect address or a mistake in spelling are common errors.Instead of making our lives easier, some of these devices are sotechnologically enhanced they are very difficult to use. User mistakesaccount for the majority of GPS errors, however a GPS receiver has noway to identify and correct these mistakes.GPS technology isn’t perfect! It’s imperative to pair its directionswith a healthy dose of common sense. Many drivers exhibit a surprisingwillingness to rely on gadgets instead of experience. They are findingthat satellite navigation may replace paper maps, however following theGPS’s not always reliable directions, many users are getting hopelesslylost, hitting dead ends or road closures and even swerving intooncoming traffic.Even if you are not blindly following erroneous, computer-generatedinstructions, research studies tell us that “using GPS while behind thewheel is actually more distracting and less safe than unfolding a papermap and using it to find your way”. A large portion of drivers,according to the study, relied exclusively on their GPS unit fordirections, “rendering them completely oblivious to the world aroundthem”.