Travelers’ Tech Tips (for Nomads, Gypsies, RVers & other Travelers) Tip #6 – GPS

GPS or the Global Positioning System provides a service that not only makes navigating around virtually anywhere in the world easier and more convenient then it’s ever been, but can allow for very rapid assistance in emergencies. These, of course, are two of the primary advantages of having a GPS device of some kind. There is a flip side to this coin, however. It’s the issue of privacy. When you have a GPS device and it’s turned on, you can be tracked and located. Many people have an issue with this as we see privacy eroding

Privacy and Big Brother

Let’s look at the privacy issue first so we can get past it. This is the 21^st Century. We’ve passed the day of Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 classic movie, “2001: A Space Odyssey” by a decade. Most of us who grew up in the late 40’s, 50’s and 60’s developed an expectation of privacy. Those who kept diaries or journals wrote them in books that could be locked or secreted away in some drawer or hiding place. There was little public information about us other then our birth certificates, death certificates and possibly our school records. Our Social Security number was seldom requested since its purpose was only to track your Social Security account. I didn’t even apply for a Social Security number until I turned 16 and was going to work at my first “official” part-time job at a supermarket. But, this was also the time of the Cold War.

Digital technology and its application through the use of electronic computers, as considered by most historians, began in the mid 1940’s. Approximately 20 years later, Stanley Kubrick and his researchers envisioned computers that could speak, carry on conversations with humans, appear to express certain emotions and control all mission functions and life support for a sophisticated spacecraft that was on a mission to Jupiter in 2001. The merging of these elements, electronic computers and the Cold War, plus the rapid advancement in miniaturization would change the world forever and begin to eliminate any expectation of privacy in the future.

So, here we are, already in the second decade of the 21^st Century. Virtually every existing bit of information of even the least significance has been digitized and stored in a memory bank somewhere. Older technologies are being replaced with digital counterparts that can be accessed from virtually anywhere in the world. Soon, if the project is not already complete, every piece of literature ever written during the history of human kind will be digitized. Every facet of our lives exists in one or more computers somewhere in the world. In the United States, Social Security numbers are issued when a child is born and that number, though never intended to be used as such, has become your “Identification Number” and follows you through your educational records, medical records, credit records, employment records, military records, insurance records and so on. That one single unique number represents you as the one unique individual that you are in a world with over seven billion (as of October 31, 2011) other unique human beings. You can be tracked by numerous means including your telephone calls, your emails, your postal mail, your use of a library card, visits to a doctor and so on.

Much of the computer technology that has been developed, as with other technology, found its roots in the Cold War and the need to spy and keep track of what our enemies were doing. Spying became big business. Over the years we’ve watched James Bond change faces as series of different actors has portrayed this, seemingly, indestructible British spy. And as Kubrick portrayed in his Space Odyssey, the computer has become the central common denominator of virtually all-human activity. As we watch the numerous spy and undercover TV programs, the forensic science programs and the plain old “cop” shows, we see the computer as the central element that can track individual’s movements, look inside buildings, triangulate positions from satellites in space, listen in on phone conversations and track the origination of a data stream through the Internet. We even use “smart” bombs, loaded on unmanned aircraft, piloted by men and women sitting in rooms that resemble very sophisticated computer game rooms, who are 10,000 miles away from the target they will attack and destroy. And, yes, most or all of this technology exists today, though it may be a bit exaggerated and over dramatized in the movies and on TV. And, of course, it’s very likely there is even more advanced technology that we don’t even know about.   

So, I pose this simple question. What expectation of privacy do you really have? Unless you go totally off the grid by eliminating any kind of telephone communication devices, any connection to the electric grid, the water supply, the Internet, television and radio, the food chain and live in a cave in a wilderness, you can be found and monitored. George Orwell’s “Big Brother” from his book 1984 is now watching us. Many of us do our best to maintain a low profile and stay under the radar as much as possible, but it’s a virtual impossibility. If they can track the DNA of a mountain lion accidentally killed by a motorist near Milford, CT recently, all the way back to South Dakota, what expectation do we have of privacy.

Spy Satellites and GPS

So, now that we know where we stand regarding privacy, let’s accept the facts and put the technology to work for ourselves. Global Positioning System satellites are not actually spy satellites, even though they were developed, placed in orbit and are maintained by the Department of Defense. The beginning phases of development go back to the Russian Sputnik satellite in 1957. The Department of Defense with the Navy and the Air Force working in parallel created and developed the system for use during the Cold War to be able to precisely position and pinpoint enemy targets. The system didn’t reach full operational capability until the mid 1990’s. By then the Cold War era was over and the U.S. Government realized there were critical needs that could be met in making the, now, functional and proven network of 24 satellites positioned around the globe, available to civilian users. The entire GPS system was made available for use by you and me in 2000.

Once again, technology born out of a military/national defense initiative, ultimately benefits all of us. While I’m not a major supporter of big government or constant, huge expenditures in the military complex, I still have to recognize and point out that, ultimately, we, the taxpayers become the beneficiaries of many, if not, most of these developing technologies.

GPS and You

If you are a traveler, a nomad or RVer, you should have and use a GPS system. Like all new products, especially electronic or digital technological products, GPS systems were pretty pricey when they were first introduced. Actually, I believe one of the first, if not the first, use of GPS in cars was when Hertz, the rental car company, installed them in part of their rental fleet and made them available at an additional cost to renters. The units were manufactured by Magellan, a firm that is still a major contender in the portable/mobile GPS consumer market. I had the great fortune of renting a Hertz car at the Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport in the early 2000’s that was equipped with a Magellan GPS system when I was on an assignment there. Since I hadn’t ordered the car with a GPS, Hertz didn’t charge me for it, however, I did use it. My assignment was to visit a number of medical doctors’ offices all over Arlington, Texas and, with the videographer I hired locally to accompany me, videotape a series of brief interviews about my client’s consulting services. Without question, I could not have accomplished that assignment in one day without the GPS system in the car. I was forever sold on the value of the GPS system.

It was a few more years until the consumer units became more available and the prices were more reasonable before I purchased my first GPS unit. Coincidentally, it was a Magellan product. I have used my GPS for about five years. It has taken me all over the U.S. and been amazingly reliable and accurate. One of the best features of a GPS system is when I encounter a traffic tie up due to construction or an accident. I simply take the nearest exit and reprogram the GPS to plot a course that doesn’t include the road I just left. It may take me on a roundabout course, but it’s almost always better then sitting in a “parking lot” for, sometimes, hours. When I travel without my own car, I carry my GPS with me and use it in rental cars or other people’s cars. When traveling, it is just about as important to me as my smart phone. Well, except my new

Motorola Atrix Android smart phone includes a GPS function in the phone. So, now I have two GPS systems. I can turn the GPS function on or off on my phone, so I don’t use it all the time. However, one advantage of the GPS in the phone is that should there be an emergency of some kind, emergency services can use the GPS signal from my phone to locate me.

What to Buy, Bells and Whistles

There are several reputable manufacturers of GPS systems including Magellan, Tom-Tom, Garmin, DeLorme, Trimble, Lowrance and Talon Technology. Other multi-national technology companies also produce GPS systems, many of which are sold to automobile manufacturers to be included as optional, built-in systems in various car models. GM, the automobile manufacturer, has, for years, offered a built-in service called OnStar that uses the GPS system to provide you with directions to your destination and also provide service if your car is broken down or emergency service providers (police, fire, ambulance) in the event of an accident. OnStar is now offering their service to the general public. It requires the purchase of a special receiver and an annual service fee.

Personally, I suggest you purchase and own your own GPS system and not order a built-in GPS system with a car when you purchase it. The built-in systems are much more expensive, are costly to update and are not portable, so you can’t take them with you when you’re not traveling in your own car. Additionally, as the technology improves, you're stuck with the hardware in your car until you purchase a new vehicle. When you look for a standalone GPS unit, look for the features you’ll use. My Magellan came with a traffic detour service that detects construction sites and accidents and automatically reroutes me. However, this service came with a monthly charge after the initial 30 day trial period. I’ve never activated it. Also, my Magellan has  Bluetooth connectivity with my cell phone that allows me to do some hands free calling. Magellan also has an affiliation with AAA Motor Clubs that connects me directly to AAA through the Bluetooth connection with my cell phone. This sure came in handy last year when I had a tire blow out on I-80 in Nebraska at dusk. I was back on the road in about an hour. Magellan paid for itself in that single incident.

These units come with all kinds of bells and whistles. Shop carefully and buy the unit that has the features that you’ll use. One unique feature for over the road truckers and RVers is routing the driver around roads with low overhead clearances and in some cases, roads that are not easily navigable by large rigs like 18 wheelers, large 5^th wheel trailers and long motor homes with a “toad” (a car being towed by the motor home). Expect to invest anywhere from about $125 to $350 dollars depending on the features you choose. And be sure your unit offers lifetime map updating. Map updates, downloadable through your computer, used to be an extra charge and could be pricey. Currently, many manufacturers and models offer the map update service free. It’s worth it to get this feature. Many units also provide maps (at an extra fee) for foreign travel so you use your GPS overseas, too.

GPS – don’t leave home without it. You may not use it all the time, but believe me, when you need it, it’s well worth whatever investment you made. Mine has paid for itself many times over. And even though I now have GPS in my smart phone (which is great for walking around a city), I’m going to be shopping in the near future for a newer model portable GPS with more features, especially the free map updates.