[time-nuts] OT - GPS and North

[Magnus Danielson]

Robert Darlington wrote:
> It depends on the GPS receiver.  The GPS chipset won't know (it knows where
> it is and can remember where it was to know what direction it's moving), but
> some consumer GPS receivers (Garmin, Magellan) have electronic compasses
> built in.  My Garmin eTrex Legend does NOT have a compass built in, but
> taking about 2 steps in any direction will tell me which way I'm moving.  It
> can't do this when stationary.  My buddy's eTrex can point north without
> moving, but that feature drains the battery faster.

The actual GPS receiver and the navigator is two different things. A GPS 
navigator may use additional sensors such as accelerometers and magnetic 
sensor to aid in addition to the GPS receiver built into them.

So a navigator may know, even if on a fixed location, but the GPS 
receiver does not have that information.

It is important to keep these separated so that they can be discussed 
properly. I don't want to say stuff like "The actual GPS receiver in the 
GPS receiver...".

Cheers,
Magnus