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GPS Terminology

8 Channel
A GPS Unit which can handle 8 Satellites at one time.

12 Channel
A GPS Unit which can handle 12 Satellites at one time.

20 Channel
A GPS Unit which can handle 20 Satellites at one time.

32 Channel
A GPS Unit which can handle 32 Satellites at one time. Most consistent and accurate

ActiveSync
A Microsoft programme used for connecting PDA devices to computers for synchronizing data

A-GPS (Assisted GPS)
Existing GPS receivers are improved with this positioning system which enables better reception within built-up or high foliage environments. This is done by taking positioning data from an assistance server by cell phone communication.

Altimeter
Calculates Altitude or Elevation of points

Automatic Routing
The GIS calculates the optimal driving route. All car units have this, as well as some outdoor handheld GPS units; eg. the Garmin GPS Map 60csx

Basemap
A Map that is pre-loaded in the GPS Receiver. Garmin units have a worldwide basemap, with an outline of every country in the world.

Bearing
Bearing denotes the direction of the route, after you enter the coordinates of your actual destination; GPS calculates the direction of each point you want to cover. So bearing is the direction of the next waypoint stored in your GPS receiver.

Bluechart
Garmin's most detailed mapping system. Including detailed nautical chart information. Featuring shading and countours

Bluetooth
Wireless technology used for connecting peripherals to a device without cables. Capable of also creating limited peer to peer networks. GPS Units with a bluetooth receiver connect your cellphone to the unit, and allow handsfree calling. These units include Nuvi, 310 and 360, as well; Nuvi 610, 660 and TomTom GO 500, 700, 520,720 and 920

Cache
A small container hidden at a particular location by a geographer

Chartplotters
Marine units with detailed mapping capabilities. See our Marine--> fixed chartplotter menu on the left

Electronic Compass
A compass with a digital heading. Used in many of our watches and outdoor handheld GPS units.

EDGE- (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution)
This is an enhancement to mobile data service which improves upon data transmission rate and reliability, resulting in download rate of up to 236Kbits/s. This improves access to mobile data communication services like the Internet.

EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service)
Geostationary satellites and ground stations are used to improve the accuracy to less than 7 metres.

Fishfinder
Uses sonar technology to locate fish

Frequency
The rate at which a cycle is repeated. High frequency signals are more accurate. But low frequency signals can travel a greater distance

Geocaching
Geocacher's share the locations of caches which can be found by other participants with GPS Receivers

GPS (Global Positioning System)
A system which provides user location based on obtaining a fix on satellites orbiting the Earth. Having determined the distance to the satellites triangulation is used to acquire the location. Used for many types of navigation including road, motorcycle, walking, cycling, and on the boat.

GPS Receiver
An electronic device used for measuring ranges of GPS satellites to determine GPS coordinates

IPX7 waterproof
Can be under water of 1m depth for up to 30 minutes

Lattitude and Longitude
The horizontal and vertical measurement of location, in proportion to the North and South Pole for Longitude and Greenwich for Lattitude

LCD- Liquid Crystal Display

Mapsource
a detailed mapping programme to be loaded into Garmin units.

Nautical Charts
Detailed mapping programme for Garmin Marine Navigation Units

NMEA
A U.S standards committee that defines data protocols used in GPS units

PDA
Compact computer used for storing personal appointment and contacts data. Recent versions include Wireless Networking, Bluetooth and high resolution screens. Also known as handheld or plamtop. Browse our PDA menu down the left hand side!

PNA
Personal Navigation Assistant. Computer designed specifically to provide GPS Navigation. Examples are the Tom Tom Go or Mio Digiwalker ranges which are available.

POIs/ Points of Interest
These are destinations and facilities of general interest, which can be shown on GPS maps and navigated to. These include cafes, diners, ATMs, theatres, and much more.

Route
Route is created by the combination of a number of waypoints and so it is important for the receiver to store coordinates of certain places for setting a route. A route should be in the direction that one wants to travel. So you can prepare your own route by marking the waypoints in the order you want to cover. On the basis of which GPS guides you to your destinations. By taking help of a digital map you can determine the coordinates of the route and later taking help of software those can be entered in the GPS system.

Route Leg
It is the straight-line between two adjacent waypoints in a route.

Satnav- Satellite Navigation

SD Card- Secure Digital Storage Card.
Available miniSD and microSD. Most GPS units have an SD Card slot for additional maps and additional storage

Sounder
A device that determines water depth by the echoes through the water

TTFF
TTFF stands for ‘time to first fix’ and represents the time period that one GPS receiver takes to calculate a single position immediately after its turn on.

Track Log
Track log in a GPS unit records the coordinates of the waypoints automatically with time to its memory, which can be seen on the maps of your receiver. So its better to keep your track log button on while moving from one place to another.

TMC (Traffic Message Channel)
A technology which plots the location of traffic jams aiding users to avoid congestions. TMC utilizes radio transmissions for delivery of the data. It will calculate the length of the traffic jam, and suggest alternative routes

Voice Enabled
Accepts spoken instructions to go to the destination. This is in TomTom Go 520, 720 and 920 units

WAAS- (Wide Area Augmentation System)
WAAS is a system of satellites and ground stations that provide GPS signal corrections, giving you even better position accuracy. Less than 3 metre accuracy!

Way Point
These are a set of coordinates representing some important places of the route, which can be stored on the GPS unit. One can determine the coordinates with the help of a map and compass and store them by giving some unique name.