Mobile Phone GPS Tracking Tutorial

Throughout this discussion keep in mind that there is a fundamental difference between mobile phone GPS Tracking and Navigation. GPS cell phone tracking is normally associated with someone maintaining records of either real-time or historical handset position, while Navigation deals with the smartphone user determining how to get from point A to point B. Just because a smartphone has GPS doesn?t mean that it can necessarily be used as a navigation device. Just like cell phone tracking, navigation requires third-party software.

A lot of the discussion dealing with cell tracking, mobile GPS and cell phone tracker software could be helped by a GPS Satellite primer.

GPS satellites broadcast signals from space that GPS receivers utilize to provide three-dimensional location (latitude, longitude, and altitude) plus precise time. GPS is an acronym for Global Positioning System and is a network that is composed of 3 primary segments: Space Segment, Control Segment and User Segment.

The GPS Space Segment is composed of twenty-four to thirty-two satellites that orbit the earth at a height of about 12,000 miles. These satellites are also known as as the GPS Constellation, and they make an orbit once every 12 hours. They are not geostationary, they travel at over 7,000 mph. They are solar powered but have battery reserve for when they are on the dark side of the earth. They are placed so that at any given time there are at least 4 satellites ?visible? from any point on earth. Small rocket boosters on each satellite keep them flying in the correct path. The satellites have a lifetime of about 10 years until all their fuel runs out.

GPS Satellites are not communications satellites. Geostationary or communications satellites are at a much higher orbit of about 22,300 miles above the equator. These satellites are used for weather forecasting, satellite TV, satellite radio and most other types of global communications. At exactly 22,000 miles above the equator, the earth’s force of gravity and centrifugal forces are canceled and are in balance. This is the best location to position a communications satellite. The earth rotates at about 1,000 miles an hour, and because of their high earth orbit the geostationary satellites need to travel at about 7,000 mph to maintain position. This is just about the same speed as GPS satellites, but since geostationary satellites are 10,000 miles further away they stay in place relative to the earth.

The GPS Control Segment consists of Master Control Station, an Alternate Master Control Station, and numerous dedicated and shared Ground Antennas and Monitor Stations that work together to ensure the satellites are working correctly and the data they send to earth is accurate.

The GPS User Segment incorporates of GPS receivers taking the shape of handsets and , laptops, in-car navigation devices and hand-held tracking units along with the people that use them, and the software programs that make them function.

GPS receivers calculate position by precisely timing the signals transmitted by GPS satellites. This data includes the time the message was transmitted, precise orbital information (the ephemeris), and the general system health and rough orbits of all GPS satellites (the almanac).

If satellite signals are not accessible, or accuracy and precision is less important than life of the battery, applying Cell-ID is a viable substitute to GPS smartphone location. The position of the handset can be computed by the cellular network cell id, that determines the cell tower the smartphone is connected to. By knowing the position of this tower, you’ll be able to know approximately the location where the handset will be. Still, a tower can cover a massive area, from a few hundred meters, in high populationdensity locations, to a few miles in lower density zones. This is why location CellID precision is less than than GPS accuracy. Nonetheless tracking using CellID still gives you a truly useful alternative.

Mobile Phone GPS Tracking Tutorial