2. GPS, GeoCaching & YOU!! Joe Ladwig <‘)>>>>>< Lighthouse Christian Academy Bloomington, IN

3. 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

4. U.S. Lifts Ban On Private Use of GPS By Alex Canizares Special to SPACE.com posted: 06:46 pm ET 01 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).

5. 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!

6. 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!

7. 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.

8. 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 ! !

9. That Said… Let’s Go GeoCaching… But first a word from our sponsors…

10. 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!!

11. What’s a GeoCache? A hidden treasure chest BIGThey can be BIG 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

12. 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 Engine!!!

13. 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 Caches Earthcaches Event Caches CITO 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!)

14. Helpful GeoFun Links ! GPS Adventures Maze -Learn more at GPSmaze.com  kids  parents -Sponsored by Groundspeak and Trimble Navigation  teachers teachers  Geocachers

15. 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.

16. Helpful GeoFun Software ! GeoBuddy -$49 download from GeoBuddy.com -Seemless, GPS connectivity -Interactive program can display your live track overlain on GoogleEarth satellite imagery.

17. Sure, Let’s Go GeoCaching… But first let’s learn our equipment…

18. Gettin’ Started This is a self-paced tutorial moment… STUDENT-DRIVEN INQUIRY!!! yep… 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 ru mb le…

19. GeoCache Targets of Interest The P atriot Cache Difficulty level:Moderate The Shaky Cache Difficulty level:Moderate The Pseudo LDL-Friendly Cache Difficulty level:Moderate The Post-Apocalyptic Cache Difficulty level:Challenging The Rock Star Cache Difficulty level: C CC Challenging

21. Okay… Let’s Go GeoCaching… But let’s learn our equipment…