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SPACE-AGE GOBBLERS
Be Lost No More
 EDITOR'S
NOTE: In preparing for turkey season, you can't know
where you'll hunt. The tom himself will dictate the
place you'll hunt, the type of terrain you’ll
have to cross, and how wet you'll get before you return
to your truck. During the spring while turkey hunting,
I'll usually get lost and need some type of navigational
device. The hand-held GPS (global positioning system)
will aid your scouting and your hunting turkeys this
season.
The GPS receiver solves many problems for the turkey
hunter. It allows you to never get lost and to accurately
navigate to and from any position in the woods during
the day or night.
GPS stands for Global Positioning Systems, satellites
that circle the earth and give off signals. Each GPS
satellite transmits its precise location (position and
elevation) and the start time of the transmission. A
GPS receiver acquires the signal and then measures the
interval between transmission and receipt of the signal
to determine the distance between the receiver and the
satellite -- a process called ranging. Once the receiver
has computed range for at least three satellites, the
receiver's location on the surface of the earth can
be determined.
 Each
satellite transmits two types of data, almanac and ephemeris.
Almanac data is general information on the location
and health of each satellite on the constellation. Since
it contains general information, an almanac can be collected
from any satellite. A receiver with a current almanac
in its memory knows where in the sky to look for satellites,
given its last known position and the time of day. Ephemeris
data is the precise satellite positioning information
that is used for ranging. Each satellite transmits its
own ephemeris data. Both almanac and ephemeris data
are required for a GPS receiver to locate and acquire
satellites quickly and compute a position fix. GPS produces
accuracies of about 27 yards or better. A GPS receiver
will bring you within visual range of a destination
or a target. GPS remains the best available source of
accurate, repeatable navigation and positioning information.
 With
most GPS receivers, you can log waypoints, either by
number or name, that remains in the memory of the receiver
until you either delete it or change it. Regardless
of your distance from a waypoint, the computer can calculate
the direction you need to travel and the distance from
it. Today airplanes, rental and luxury cars and the
military utilize GPS.
Before I had my first hand-held GPS receiver, I got
lost
about three times every turkey season. Although I consider
myself a good woodsman, I hunt turkeys in several states
each year, rarely hunting the same place twice. When
my host drops me off at my hunting location before daylight,
he usually tells me, "you can hear the bird gobble
from here. We'll pick you up about 11:00 a.m."
Having a compass doesn't help me if I don't know my
location, which way the roads run or where I need to
go. But when and if I do hear a turkey gobble, I'll
go after him. I'll often have to reposition myself three
or four times or perhaps even hunt for a bird that doesn't
gobble. By 10:00 a.m., I can't find the road where my
host dropped me and may spend much of my hunting time
trying to locate my pick-up point.
 However,
since I've used a GPS receiver, I don't get lost. When
I climb out of my vehicle in the morning, I get a fix
on my position. I store that fix as a waypoint in the
receiver. When I get ready to come out of the woods,
I simply pull up the waypoint and hit the NAVIGATE button.
The GPS receiver informs me of the distance to the car
by the shortest route, and an arrow points to the direction
I need to walk. As I move toward the car, the GPS receiver
tells me how long walking to the car will take me at
that speed.
TOMORROW: HUNT NON-PRESSURED GOBBLERS
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