The aim of this book is to describe how satnav systems are designed and work, especially from the aviation viewpoint, without getting too heavily involved in mathematics and electronic engineering. It does, however, assume some knowledge of elementary maths, physics and electronics, and a nodding acquaintance with navigational terminology.
It is written for the satnav user who wishes to explore the subject more deeply than simply knowing which knob to twiddle, and also to provide technical background material for the increasing number of non-specialists having to deal with GNSS and its implementation. The book starts with a short description of basic navigational position-finding techniques. GPS, differential GPS and GLONASS are described in some detail, and commercial systems such as Euteltracs, Iridium and Starfix are included. The problems encountered in using satellite-positioning technology for aviation purposes are covered, and there are sections on integrity, monitoring by ground stations (GAIT), built into the receiver (RAIM), and augmentations such as the American WAAS.