NOBLE NEWS
from the Noble Research Institute
How GPS works: The short answer GPS might seem complicated, but thinking of it in terms of secret fishing holes helps clear up the confusion By Mike Proctor Noble Research Institute ag technology research associate
No matter where you on earth, there should be at least four satellites in orbit around you. These satellites will help coordinate your exact location with the help of your GPS receiver.
s a youngster, I spent a lot of time with my grandpa fishing on Lake Texoma. He had dozens of secret fishing holes scattered all around the west end of the lake. These included rises, drop-offs, creek channels, points and submerged brush piles. Grandpa’s method of finding these spots again and again is probably something of a lost art today but bears a great similarity to how GPS works. Rather 46 — Oklahoma Country
than marking anything with a float or a jug like normal people — “I don’t want those Texans finding ’em!” he’d say — we located landmarks on the bank and oriented ourselves based on how those landmarks lined up. We needed at least two points of reference that were close to 90 degrees from one another to get the boat positioned over the point of interest. I instinctively understood that I was sworn to secrecy and that “They’d have
to kill me first!” to get the coordinates of these hush-hush honey holes. Imagine my confusion when, upon our return to the docks, someone asked Grandpa where we caught all those fish and he proceeded to tell them all about our secret location and how to find it. He even told Texans! Later on I made the connection that if you wanted to catch fish, my grandpa was the guy to talk to.