Product FAQ - In Car Satellite navigation

In Car Satellite Navigation is a minefield if you don’t know how it works. Ray Smith Car Hi-Fi has been at the forefront of this technology since its inception, let us try and “Navigate” you though it.

In Car Navigation: What is GPS?

One of the first applications of artificial Earth satellites was for vehicle navigation. Very early in the Space Age, researchers realized that constellations of satellites could be put in orbit to permit ships, aircraft, or other vehicles to precisely determine their locations. A number of navigation satellite constellations have been put into orbit, with the most prominent being the US "Global Positioning System (GPS)". The GPS constellation was established by the US military for support of American forces in the field, but it is now in widespread use for public and commercial applications as well. Since the 1960s the U.S. military has had on orbit a satellite or a constellation of satellites to aid the military in determining the position of ships, airplanes, or personnel. The U.S. Navy has particular need of extremely accurate navigation not only to determine their location, but also to update high tech weaponry which most ships carry. A more accurate system known as the Global Positioning System or NAVSTAR has been placed in orbit. This constellation of satellites now allows users to determine where they are located within a few meters. Infantry soldiers can determine their location extremely accurately making map reading far more reliable than previously. Aircraft can fly anywhere in the world without using conventional navigation equipment and determine their location within a hundred feet. Weapons can also be programmed to bring the possibility of precision weapon use to even poor countries, an ominous fact in a very useful peaceable system.

In Car Navigation: How does satnav work?

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The geostationary earth orbiting satellites know exactly where they are in relation to any point on the planet. If you have a device that can receive and plot the position of at least three satellites then you can triangulate and overlay this position onto a map, you will then know where you are.

In its simplest form a hand held or portable car navigation device will have a map of an area in its memory and a GPS engine with antenna which must be able to see the sky. These rough devices will get you to where you want to be with voice or visual indicators but the accuracy is suspect.

A proper In-Car Navigations system has an inbuilt gyroscope so it knows the exact inclination of the vehicle. It will have a speed pulse connection to the engine management system so it knows the exact speed of the vehicle. Its GPS antenna will have a proper ground plane so its signal strength and ability to pick up the maximum number of satellites is not impaired. Its mapping will be more accurate and have much more information and be in the form of a CD or DVD which can hold much more information than any hand held device. Its verbal commands and clear map instructions make it streets ahead of the tinny little hand held speaker and small washed out LCD screen. So all in all proper In-Car Navigation systems outperform the hand held types by a mile. Additionally many modern In-Car navigation systems have TMC which is a way of receiving traffic information and guiding or de-touring you round traffic problems. They are of course more expensive but you only get what you pay for.

In Car Navigation: How do you operate them?

With the exception of “Smartnav” you need to know where you are going. This sounds daft but unless you know either the exact address or post code your dumb navigation system is useless. Smartnav uses a system that lets you talk to a real person who will look up the maps for you and help guide you to the correct destination. Supposing you wanted to go the ICE skating rink in Edinburgh, you know it is somewhere near Murrayfield but you don’t know the address. Your hand held navigation might as well stay at home. If you have a DVD based proper car navigation you might find it in the “Points Of Interest” section but by far the simplest way is to press the Smartnav button and tell the operator where you need to be and he or she will have the journey sent down to your car in seconds.

Smartnav car navigation aside, the method of operation is very similar on most navigation systems. You navigate through the menu to input first the town then the street and finally the house number then you may be offered several different routes (fastest, Shortest etc) or if your have a Car Navigation system with either partial or full postcodes, programming is a bit simpler. Once you have set your journey and began to move you are given verbal instructions and if there is a screen you will see a moving map or simply arrows and pictograms.

In Car Navigation: Which is best?

The sixty four thousand dollar question; best is relative to functionality and not budget because the cheaper hand held devices will get you lost or you will become frustrated by their ambiguous instructions. If for you, functionality means portable then be careful because what looks like the market leader might be fraught with poor after sales service. Try telephoning their help line before you purchase, if as I suspect, you will NEVER get through then maybe you should seek a product or a supplier that can give you the service. If you simply want the very best and will settle for nothing short of excellence then look no further than Alpine, Pioneer, Becker, in that order. There are others but Ray Smith has Alpine and Smartnav in his car, need we say more.

Please telephone 0845 166 7101 or e-mail for more information:

You might be surprised at how little it costs to install your own In Car GPS satellite navigation system.

Smartnav is a comprehensive, easy to use satellite navigation system that will guide you around the jams and can be fitted into any car. With a unique combination of integrated features.