Hi everyone. I have not posted on this forum before. But I am need of help. Does anyone know when the first Sat nav-GPS tracking devices were used by professional. ie. Private Detect/ Police Force, in the U.K.
My Novel is set in 200/2001 so need to know if I can use it?
Any help on how to get this info would be appreciated. i have tried searching the web. but not alot of results yet. I don't want to waste too much time on it.

Thanks.
Glyn

2000/2001 is probably the very earliest timeframe in which non-military satnav-type equipment could exist. The GPS system originally had a "scrambler" enabled, which had the effect of making the system much less precise than it is now. The reason for this was that when the satellites were first launched the Cold War was still on, and the Americans were worried about the possibility that the Soviet Union might use GPS to guide their own missiles onto US targets. Bill Clinton ordered the scrambling switched off in 2000, since when the precision of non-military GPS receivers improved by a factor of 10. (They used to give a location that was accurate to about 300 metres, but this is now 30 metres.)

Alex

Thanks Alex. That's very interesting.Do you know if they were commercially available for professional consumer use in that time frame?

Glyn

I don't know, I'm afraid. The first I ever heard of satnavs for cars was a few years ago, when my brother was discussing them with a friend. I can't remember when that was.