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Post by MegaDude on Oct 2, 2010 22:31:24 GMT -5
This thread on Reddit mentions that ground stations are essential for the whole GPS system to work, and so after an apocalypse, the accuracy of GPS receiver units will slowly degrade. Specifically "The monitor stations track the navigation signals and send their data back to the master control station. There, the controllers determine any adjustments or updates to the navigation signals needed to maintain precise navigation and update the satellites via the ground antennas. To further improve system accuracy, in 2005, the master control station added data from six monitor stations operated by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to the six GPS monitor stations. " I had always assumed GPS receivers would work forever and so would be worth their weight in gold. If they really don't work for long, then at least maybe you could trade one away for valuable items to someone who doesn't know about them.
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Post by Cillian on Oct 3, 2010 4:51:13 GMT -5
Yup, seemingly they would become useless pretty quickly.
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matov
Wasteland Warlord
Posts: 448
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Post by matov on Oct 3, 2010 14:00:39 GMT -5
I believe, and I would be more than happy to be corrected, that the problem is that the satelites cannot be put into absolutely perfect geo-stationary orbit. Effectively they either move fractionally faster or slower than the planet and so a correction has to be built into the data and that its this which would break down come a post apoc senario.
But, and I accept that I am a misery guts on this, I loathe all forms of GPS and so on. Now I am the worst survivalist going and really dont 'do' any form of it but I think its common sense to be able to read a compass and map for all sorts of reasons.
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Post by Meat Shield on Oct 4, 2010 4:09:55 GMT -5
www.myextralife.com/comic/global-positioning/It won't work after the apocalypse. Did you know they also age slower in space as well? Time is slower by some incredible small measurement in space as well. I agree with Matov on the GPS stuff. It just teaches you a route, and while useful you really don't get a "feel" for the area and how to get to point B if you need to cut through point C.
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King of the Wastes
Wasteland King
GTFO MY PORCH [F4:PA_Earth][F4:KingoftheWaste]
Posts: 1,910
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Post by King of the Wastes on Oct 10, 2010 2:44:16 GMT -5
Maps could become like gold in the APOC, which is why everyone should purchase maps!!!
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Post by Cillian on Oct 10, 2010 14:13:52 GMT -5
and don't forget a compass too!
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Post by TintedGrey on Oct 20, 2010 10:28:24 GMT -5
An up-to-date road atlas is always a good thing to have.
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Post by Cillian on Oct 23, 2010 18:57:22 GMT -5
Everyone on the weather forums in Ireland is talking about the worse solar storm due to hit in 2012/2013. it's meant to be the worse one in a few hundred years, and we never relied on digital/electronic circuitry as much before. Supposedly NASA is pushing it too.
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King of the Wastes
Wasteland King
GTFO MY PORCH [F4:PA_Earth][F4:KingoftheWaste]
Posts: 1,910
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Post by King of the Wastes on Nov 4, 2010 0:15:11 GMT -5
If a large enough solar storm were to hit the earth it would be really bad. If the transformers get fried were are well and truly fucked. Not only are there few places that make them but they are also hard to make and it would takes years to replace all the ones that could be destroyed.
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sob
Survivor
Posts: 23
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Post by sob on Dec 8, 2011 13:40:26 GMT -5
this why old school navigation is so critical.
little fact the navigation officers of navel ships still learn all the methods (and practice them) from the day's of sail.
I am glade that i learnt navigation in my BMT
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Post by Blacksheep on Dec 10, 2011 0:33:21 GMT -5
Orienteering and basic land navigation skills are easy to learn at any age, and can even be self taught. I keep a topo map and a freebie from AAA with me whenever I go on trips. I'll admit that I have one of the worst senses of direction in the world, so these maps have definitely saved me before. Six months ago I taught myself how to pace count using 'ranger beads'. I know of a lot of people who say that following highways and streets will be the most reliable form of travel, should they not have another method of navigation. However, attracting myself to that much attention is definitely not a priority of mine.
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Post by KevinTheCynic on Dec 12, 2011 19:07:19 GMT -5
The other problem with relying on roads and streets is that in something like an earthquake, mudslide, severe flooding and so on, those roads may no longer exist or be covered over so deeply you can no longer see them.
As for the GPS, the other critical aspect has been touched on, that is, the GPS satellites themselves. No satellite stays perfectly in orbit for its lifetime, they all suffer from varying degrees of drift from their programmed course. They have to be checked frequently and moved back into position either by onboard motors or by a vehicle/astronauts
Once the capacity to refuel a satellite or to send astronauts up has gone, those satellites will gradually drift off course with some of them falling back to earth.
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Morg308
Raider
Tired of being tired.
Posts: 490
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Post by Morg308 on Dec 13, 2011 21:24:50 GMT -5
Just thought I'd point out that if magnetic storms, pole shift etc. happens, a compass is not going to help you. Learn to use a watch, or a stick or knife stuck in the ground. It'll at least keep you going in the same general direction.
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Post by KevinTheCynic on Dec 14, 2011 0:56:20 GMT -5
Just thought I'd point out that if magnetic storms, pole shift etc. happens, a compass is not going to help you. Learn to use a watch, or a stick or knife stuck in the ground. It'll at least keep you going in the same general direction. Ahh Morg, while some of us might know exactly what you're talking about with navigating by wristwatch or by the stick in the ground method, it might need to be explained a bit for some of the "city slickers" ;D Oh and for those who are wondering, I meant analog wristwatch, the type that has hands, not your fancy digital types! However, if it can be done with a digital watch, I'm definitely interested in learning it!
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Post by MegaDude on Dec 14, 2011 14:23:33 GMT -5
Oh and for those who are wondering, I meant analog wristwatch, the type that has hands, not your fancy digital types! However, if it can be done with a digital watch, I'm definitely interested in learning it! I suppose if you know the time from your digital watch you could just visualize the hands uh?
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