"Richard B. Gilbert" <rgilbert88@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:47F6D1FC.5010200@comcast.net...
> Roger 2008 wrote:
> > "Gordon Burditt" <gordonb.sh6xy@burditt.org> wrote in message
> > news:XrOdnYKg7an-52vanZ2dnUVZ_vOlnZ2d@internetamerica...
> >
> >>>Please do not forget who the original poster was and his questions: He
> >>>asked:
> >>>"can I display my own LAT/LON values somehow without a map application
?"
> >>
> >>For some cell phone implementation of "GPS" (this one doesn't involve
> >>actual satellites talking to your phone), your position coordinates
> >>are present at the cell towers and somewhere in the offices of Big
> >>Brother, but not on your cell phone. If a map application can get
> >>your position at all, it has to ask your cell provider to send it,
> >>and that may cost money.
> >
> >
> > Oh yeah, now that you mention it. My first camera phone called it GPS
but
> > when you read further about it, it was just using cell phone towers.
> >
> > BTW I have met a person with an iPHONE that thinks his phone has GPS and
he
> > even showed me "Google Maps for Mobile" on it.
> >
> > I thought he had a messed up GPS reading because it had us way across
the
> > street and then I learned later the iPHONE uses cell phone towers for an
> > approximate location on "Google Maps for Mobile."
> >
> >
>
> GPS, or at least the civilian version of it, is only accurate to within
> about 300 feet or 100 meters. I once did a "site survey" using a
> Motorola M12+T GPS timing receiver. The software I used plotted
> something like 10,000 position readings on the map. The result was a
> strip about 10 meters wide and 100 meters long and oriented ENE-SSW. My
> antenna was more or less in the middle of this mess.
>
> The military uses a different set of signals from the same satellite and
> gets accurracy good enough for weapons targeting. This level of GPS is
> available only to the military and certain defense contractors. Us
> lowly civilians can't get it.
>
> As far as I know, a cell phone tower has no means of determining the
> direction your signal is coming from.
I was under the impression that a cell phone could tell it was in 3
different areas around a cell tower but after reading the following I am
inclined to agree with you:
"Microsoft, Sprint & Cell Tower Triangulation"
Microsoft has teamed with Sprint to roll out a new location-based Live
Search function on many of their high-end phones. Since the new service
doesn't take advantage of GPS, it opens up the use to almost any phone on
Sprint's network.
When a user logs onto to Windows Mobile Live Search to do any type of search
for businesses, or address, etc. the service takes into account the user's
location by pinging nearby cellular towers using a technology known as
"cellular tower triangulation." By determining how long it takes to ping
certain towers, the phone can know within a few meters where it is at any
time.
While triangulation has been around forever, and mainly used for E911 uses,
it's finally slowly making it's way into other useful consumer applications.
Utilizing it for mobile search was the next logical step, not only for
consumer use, but for advertising as well.
Above found at:
http://blogs.movamedia.com/tech/2008...triangulation/
-----
You know what the above means? It means if you have T-mobile or AT&T you
have to use "Google Maps for Mobile" for "Tower Triangulation" and if you
have Sprint you will have to use Microsoft "Live Search."
One more thing. The above states "but for advertising as well." ugh.
-----
My apologies to the poster that started this thread since it has ended up
discussing "Cell Tower Triangulation" but I think you might find some
freeware that does what you want and I plan to look more for something
"simple" with GPS lat/long myself.