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A satellite-based navigation system providing improved accuracy and reliability over wide geographical areas, including remote regions, is disclosed. Ranging-type signals transmitted through two or more commercial geostationary telecommunication satellites are received at known reference locations where navigation and correction information is generated and transmitted back to remote users. At the same time, the reference stations receive signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS), generate corrections for the GPS measurements, then transmit these corrections to the remote user. The remote user receives all of this information plus direct measurements from both the GPS and the geostationary satellites and, using conditional error processing techniques, provides a position solution whose accuracy and reliability exceeds that of GPS alone.
1. A method for determining positional coordinates, comprising the steps of:
transmitting an unmodulated first plurality of signals to a plurality of fixed relays from a control facility;
receiving the unmodulated first plurality of signals from the fixed relays and an unmodulated second plurality of signals from a plurality of navigational satellites at the control facility and at a remote location;
modulating the unmodulated first plurality of signals and the unmodulated second plurality of signals received at the control facility and retransmitting the modulated first plurality of signals and the modulated second plurality of signals to the remote location;
receiving the modulated first plurality of signals and the modulated second plurality of signals from the control facility at the remote location; and
processing the unmodulated first plurality of signals, the modulated first plurality of signals, the unmodulated second plurality of signals, and the modulated second plurality of signals received at the remote location to minimize errors in the data in the unmodulated first plurality of signals and in the modulated first plurality of signals with the data in the unmodulated second plurality of signals and in the modulated second plurality of signals to obtain accurate positional coordinates.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of processing to obtain positional coordinates further comprises the steps of:
performing a least-squares fit with the ranging data from said modulated second plurality of signals and from said unmodulated second plurality of signals and the positioning data from said unmodulated first plurality of signals and said modulated first plurality of signals;
accumulating the differences between the ranging data and the positioning data and the data obtained for the least-squares fit;
storing the differences between the ranging data and the positioning data and the data obtained from the least-squares fit;
accumulating the data obtained for the least-squares fit;
storing the data obtained for the least-squares fit;
partitioning the accumulated least-squares fit data to segregate the ranging data;
inverting and operating on the accumulated differences to determine the errors in the segregated data;
correcting the errors in the segregated data to obtain accurate positional coordinates.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fixed relays are further comprised of at least one of a geostationary satellite or a shore-based radio navigation station.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of modulating relayed ranging data comprises modulating the relayed ranging data using spread-spectrum techniques to include pseudorandom code modulation at preselected chipping and code repetition rates.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the unmodulated first plurality of signals, the modulated first plurality of signals, the unmodulated second plurality of signals, and the modulated second plurality of signals are transmitted as spread-spectrum signals.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to navigation and positioning systems. More particularly, this invention pertains to a positioning system incorporating navigational satellites and fixed relays in conjunction with a new calibration and processing system to minimize error and obtain more accurate positional coordinates than is possible under current systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Navigation by satellite began with the introduction of the U.S. Navy's TRANSIT system in the mid 1960's which is still in use. This system consists of seven polar-orbiting satellites at low-earth altitudes and can provide 20-50 m accuracy. The spread of the satellite orbits allows only one satellite to pass over a given geographic location at a time. Each satellite transmits a beacon-type signal that is received and converted into positional coordinates by analyzing the Doppler effect exhibited by the received signal plus additional navigational information (i.e., the actual satellite positions) transmitted to the TRANSIT user from another source.
A TRANSIT user typically computes a position fix only after each overhead pass is complete, which nominally occurs once every one and one-half hours. The TRANSIT system consequently cannot provide continuous navigational information and only allows the user to update another system, such as dead-reckoning, that provides continuous information. Technical constraints also make the system unusable for vehicles moving at high-speeds.
The United States Government began implementing the next-generation Global Positioning System (GPS) in the late 1970's to provide continuous updates and to service high speed vehicles. GPS employs satellites in 11,000 mile inclined circular orbits spaced 200 Km, 55� apart and will provide a user with continuous coverage anywhere on earth once the full constellation of satellites is properly placed in orbit. The orbits and operating parameters of GPS satellites are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and are readily available to the public through various sources. One such reference is the Interavia Space Directory (1990-1991) available from Jane's Information Group and another is the World Satellite Almanac (2d Ed.) authored by Mark Long and published by Howard N. Sams & Co.
Each GPS satellite transmits an encrypted signal for military use and a degraded, unencrypted signal for civilian use. GPS satellites continuously broadcast signals that may be received by anyone with the proper equipment. These carrier signals are superimposed with the respective satellite's ephemeris that must be determined from the content of the GPS signal by the user's software in addition to the three dimensions of position. GPS operates on the principle of multilateration wherein a user determines the intersection of a plurality of range measurements derived from the GPS signals, the range measurements being made simultaneously to separate GPS satellites. The user then ascertains from this intersection his instantaneous latitude, longitude, and altitude.
The range measurements inherently contain an error called an offset bias common to all the measurements created by the unsynchronized operation of the satellite and user clocks. This error will yield an erroneous range measurement, making it appear that the user is either closer to or farther from each of the satellites than is actually the case. These measurements are therefore more accurately termed pseudoranges. Four or more measurements are therefore to ascertain the unknown latitude, longitude, altitude, and offset bias required since the measurements are not truly ranges but are instead pseudoranges obtained from the signals of the respective GPS satellites.
GPS has some serious shortcomings, especially for continuous coverage with five meter accuracy, resulting from several factors. Physical factors include uncertainty in (1) atmospheric propagation delays, (2) precise GPS satellite locations, (which are required to determine a fix), and (3) the accuracy of the timing information that provides the basis of the pseudoranges. Induced errors include intentional degradation by the United States Department of Defense of the unencrypted signal for civilian users, from approximately 25 m accuracy to 100 m accuracy or worse for national security reasons. The best currently available techniques for overcoming this error can only reduce it to about 15 m.
One way of reducing the effects of the error in GPS produced by these factors utilizes differential corrections for the pseudoranges measured by the user to eliminate common errors, namely offset biases. Differential corrections are determined by placing a GPS receiver at a precisely known, fixed reference site, and then measuring the actual errors by comparing the received pseudoranges with the values expected for the known reference site. The differences between the received and expected values are then transmitted to users over a separate communication link to correct their pseudorange measurements before the user's position, i.e., the "fix", is computed.
However, some fix errors are residual and cannot be totally compensated for by differential correction. For example, atmospheric propagation delay errors and satellite
PATENT position errors will vary as the distance from the reference site increases and therefore will not be common to all measurements. A method for reducing the sensitivity of the user fix computation to residual error must also be employed in addition to differential correction.
Sensitivity to residual error depends on the satellite locations with respect to the user's location and the consequent mathematical relationship between basic pseudorange measurement errors and the position computation. This mathematical relationship is called the Position Dilution of Precision (PDOP) and its existence and affect are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. One treatment of the topic may be found in the publication "Geometric Formulas for Dilution of Precision Calculations", authored by Paul Messett and Karl Rudnick, and published in Vol. 37., No. 4 at page 379 of the Journal of the Institute of Navigation. PDOP is a primarily scaler multiplier that allows the user to estimate fix uncertainty for a given measurement uncertainty. For example, if the measurement error is �10 meters and the PDOP is 3, the user can expect a fix error (i.e., error in calculated position) of �30 meters in a statistical sense.
GPS satellite locations are constantly changing as the satellites move across the sky and so the PDOP also constantly changes regardless of whether the user is stationary. Minimum PDOP occurs when all satellites are uniformly distributed across the sky seen by the user but this does not occur all the time. Users sometimes experience very large PDOP, especially when the satellites become "grouped together", and fix errors correspondingly fluctuate.
There have been previous attempts to reduce PDOP or otherwise improve the accuracy of GPS-based positioning for remote moving users. U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,991 discloses a technique in which assorted GPS measurements are combined in a prescribed manner to reduce the effect of measurement errors. This technique does not reduce the effective PDOP governing the relationship between measurement errors and fix errors or extend the useful coverage of GPS as does the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,550 describes another data processing method which, although not specifically directed at GPS-based positioning, could be used to reduce the effect of nearly-singular geometry (large PDOP) on position fix computations. This method also does not reduce the typical effective PDOP but instead is applicable when the PDOP is so high that it is essentially infinitely large. This is not generally applicable to GPS which is designed to provide reasonable PDOP at all times although the PDOP will still be too large for accurate positioning because of measurement errors.
Alternative geostationary satellite-based systems have been proposed in order to minimize dependence on GPS with its attendant problems. These systems exhibit large latitudinal PDOP because all of the satellites necessarily reside in the earth's equatorial plane. The relatively large PDOP can magnify small errors in height calculation or instrument calibration to cause large latitudinal position errors. The achievable accuracy from these systems does not meet all needs but the coverage they provide is ideal since the satellites are always in view.
Some approaches have also attempted to use privately developed shore-based navigation systems. These systems can be very accurate but are affected by atmospheric variations, even to the extent that some longer range systems are unstable at night. Also, the construction and maintenance of shore based stations may be logistically or politically unfeasible in many parts of the world.
For some critical applications such as public safety and energy exploration, large increases in PDOP are intolerable. Occurrence of PDOP variations caused by changing satellite position can be reduced, as can PDOP itself, by integrating GPS measurements with those made to one or more commercial geostationary communication satellites. Since these geostationary satellites are earth-stationary, their effective PDOPs are virtually constant. Thus, when measurements from geostationary satellites are combined with those from GPS, the overall PDOP is "smoothed out" and large latitudinal errors inherent in geostationary satellite systems can be eliminated.
A system is described in United Kingdom Patent No. 2,180,426 that combines GPS with a geostationary communication satellite to provide a combined navigation/communication capability. A GPS-like signal is transmitted from the communication satellite, presumably for navigational purposes. However, the requirement to synchronize the clock of this signal to the GPS clock is virtually impossible to realize because of circuit delays and other transponder limitations found in commercial communication satellites. No description of how the combined positioning would be accomplished is provided even if satisfactory timing could be realized (e.g., how the location of the communication satellite derived). The concept is unworkable as described.
An intrinsic calibration problem arises when combining GPS and geostationary-based measurement. Unlike GPS where the carrier frequencies are all the same, geostationary satellite signals pass through different receiver and transponder circuits which necessarily create different time delays thereby introducing instrumental biases. These instrumental biases are difficult to determine for a moving user because each received signal has a different frequency requiring separate receiving and processing channels so that switching channels is impractical.
This calibration problem renders the usual software solution for determining common measurement delays applied to GPS signals ineffective. Although instrumental biases can be minimized through instrumentation calibration, they may change at any time afterwards due to environmental factors and dynamic effects for moving users. A new method must be found to eliminate instrumental biases in geostationary satellite measurements in realtime.
It is therefore a feature of this invention that it reduces PDOP variations in obtaining positional coordinates.
It is a further feature of this invention that it minimizes the affect of PDOP in obtaining measurements.
It is a still further feature of this invention that it both compensates for unequal instrument delays and determines and eliminates residual error in the measured data in real time.
It is another feature of this invention that it detects and eliminates instrument biases and residual errors using the entire measurement data set.
It is still another feature of this invention that it employs a unique statistically oriented method for detecting and eliminating error in the data set.
It is a further feature of this invention that it integrates navigational satellite data with geostationary satellite data to obtain more accurate positional coordinates.
It is yet another feature of this invention that it provides positional coordinates that are more accurate than can be obtained from conventional techniques.
It is a further feature of this invention that it relies primarily on existing satellite and telecommunication hardware to reduce the cost of implementing the system.
This invention improves the accuracy and reliability of satellite-based navigation by combining in its preferred embodiment measurements derived from GPS and commercial geostationary satellite systems in the position computation. Differential corrections are determined for both GPS and geostationary satellite signals and transmitted to the user. The use of geostationary satellites provides enhanced coverage and accuracy over the use of GPS alone since the signals emanate from stationary points rather than from moving satellites that rise and fall. The GPS satellite measurements increase positioning accuracy since they afford better spatial geometry. The measurements are then combined by the user employing a unique method that improves error detection and removal as compared with previously used techniques.
A more particular description of the invention briefly summarized above may be had by reference to the exemplary preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings of this specification so that the manner in which the above cited features, as well as others which will become apparent, are obtained and can be understood in detail. The drawings nevertheless illustrate only typical, preferred embodiments of the invention and are not to be considered limiting of its scope as the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
In the Drawings:
FIG. 1 illustrates the major components of the preferred embodiments;
FIG. 2 depicts the use of geostationary communication satellites to comprise a subsystem of fixed relays in accord with the first preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 depicts the use of navigational satellites to comprise a subsystem in accord with both preferred embodiments of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a geostationary satellite signal receiver for use with the invention;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a GPS signal receiver for use with the invention;
FIG. 6 shows an alternative preferred embodiment employing radionavigation towers rather than geostationary communications satellites;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the conditional error processor of the preferred embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of the steps performed by the conditional error processor of FIG. 7.
Most of the major components of the present invention are illustrated in FIG. 1. Remote user 10 is located at some uncertain position and may be relatively rapidly moving. Remote user 10 has at least one geostationary satellite signal receiver 40 as is diagrammed in FIG. 4 and at least one GPS signal receiver 50 as is diagrammed in FIG. 5. Remote user 10 receives signals from each of geostationary satellites 20a-c via receiver 40 and from each of navigational satellites 30a-d via receiver 50.
Geostationary telecommunication satellites 20a-c may be any of several types well known to those of ordinary skill in the art whose services are commercially available for lease. Geostationary satellites are in a fixed relationship to a particular location or the earth and consequently operate as "fixed relays" receiving signals and relaying them to a predetermined location. The commercial services of the Galaxy, Westar, Satcom, and Spacenet satellites are all suitable for implementing the present invention.
Telecommunication satellites 20a-c receive and transmit spread spectrum signals modulated with a pseudorandom (PRN) code sequence at prescribed chipping and code repetition rates to prevent interference with other signals within the carrier band. These spread spectrum signals must be authorized common carrier signals duly licensed for transmission and receipt by the appropriate governmental entities. In the United States, this is primarily the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Modulation of spread spectrum signals associated with satellites 20a-c includes low frequency biphase modulation of the carrier signal containing information necessary for performing navigational computations aboard remote user 10. The information bandwidth of the signals received and transmitted by geostationary satellites 20a-c in the preferred embodiment of the invention is on the order of 100 Hz. The pseudorandom code sequence chipping rates are typically in the range of 2.5 mHz and code repetition rates are typically in the range of 150 Hz. Satellites 20a-c receive signals from uplink facility 14 and transmit signals to both remote user 10 and master facility 12 as shown in FIG. 2.
Navigational satellites 30a-d in the preferred embodiment are GPS satellites whose operating parameters were discussed in part above. Additionally, the carrier signals from each GPS satellite are modulated with a unique pseudo-random (PRN) code sequence, one at chipping rates of 1.023 mHz and the other at 10.23 mHz. Each carrier signal also contains its respective satellite's ephemeris containing its precise location at any given time.
Master facility 12, uplink facility 14, and tracking stations 16a-b comprise a means for receiving and transmitting signals to and from satellites 30a-d and 20a-c and to remote user 10. Tracking stations 16a-b and uplink facility 14 are linked to master facility 12 via communication links 18a-c, respectively. The means for receiving and transmitting necessarily has a GPS receiver 50 and a geostationary satellite signal receiver 40, generally located at master control facility 12, for receiving signals.
Tracking station 16a-b are representative of a remote tracking network that may be comprised of as many such tracking stations as is required, but all embodiments require at least four tracking stations. Neither the tracking network nor uplink facility 14 need necessarily be in close physical proximity with master control facility 12. It is generally desirable that the tracking network have a high number of tracking stations widely distributed throughout the coverage area.
Master facility 12 coordinates receipt and transmission of the various signals received by and transmitted from tracking stations 16a-b and uplink facility 14 as well as modulation and error correction of data in selected signals as described below. Uplink facility 14 transmits timing-based, modulated, conventional common carrier frequency signals such as C-band or Ku-band signals. This modulation in the preferred embodiment of the invention is a spread spectrum pseudorandom code (PRC) originating in a stable oscillator such as an atomic clock.
One important aspect of the invention is that little or no capital is required to implement the most expensive equipment necessary for the practice of the invention. The GPS satellite system is largely in place and is a project of the United States federal government. The geostationary telecommunications satellites are also in place and their services are readily obtainable along with equipment for receipt, processing and transmission of signals. Access to and use of equipment comprising geostationary satellites 20a-d, master control facility 12, tracking stations 16a-b, communications links 18a-c, and uplink facility 14 can be obtained by contacting a single sales representative at a commercial teleport as may commonly be found in many major American metropolitan areas.
Another important feature is that the receipt, processing and transmission of all signals employs standard spread spectrum signal technology and so can be used with "off-the-shelf" technology. The sole exception is the conditional error processing described below that is performed by the user. Thus, most of the technology for implementing the invention is readily accessible to the public in sources such as World Satellite Almanac published by Howard W. Sams & Company and Spread Spectrum Systems authored by Robert C. Dixon and published by John Wiley & Sons in addition to commercial teleports and the Interavia Space Flight Directory mentioned above.
Receivers 40 and 50 aboard remote user 10 and located at master control facility 12 track the PRC signals generated at uplink facility 14 and, through correlation techniques, generate a signal that accurately tracks the timing provided by uplink facility 14. The output generated by receivers 40 and 50 contains the measured pseudoranges that are proportional to the range from user 10 to the fixed relays and navigational satellites, respectively. These signals also include errors created by offsets between the clocks of uplink facility 14 and remote user 10 as well as propagation errors incurred in the earth's atmosphere and satellite transponders.
The geostationary satellite ranging receiver, generally denoted 40, is illustrated in FIG. 4 in block diagram form. Antennas 42a-c are, in the preferred embodiment, small directional antennas that must be pointed at satellites 20a-c to achieve the highest gain and background signal rejection. Antennas 42a-c receive signals broadcast by each of satellites 20a-c, respectively, which signals are then amplified and converted by RF sections 44a-c, respectively. The PRN code sequence is tracked in code tracking loops 46a-c, respectively, and the code phase is measured in code phase loops 48a-c, respectively, with respect to local oscillator 45.
Outputs 47a-c consist of pseudorange signals transmitted by satellites 20a-c and received by antennas 42a-c, after data receipt and processing. Multiple antennas, channels, and outputs are necessary because each geostationary satellite will typically transmit on different frequencies and will thus necessitate separate circuits for receipt and processing. Receiver 40 will also output data representing the referenced pseudoranges received from master control facility 12 and the position of satellites 20a-c.
The GPS receiver of the preferred embodiment of the invention, generally denoted 50, is illustrated in block diagram form in FIG. 5. A single omni-directional antenna 52a, radio frequency amplifier 54a, and code tracking loop 56a are employed because satellites 30a-c transmit on the same frequencies. Code tracking loop 56a then discriminates between signals originating from each of satellites 30a-d by virtue of their unique PRN code sequences and separates them out for transmission to their respective code phase loops 58a-d. Code phase loops 58a-d also compare their respective signals to local oscillator 55 for operational purposes to provide the pseudorange measurements output at 57a-d.
There are commercial products available that may be used to implement receivers 40 and 50 of the invention. Geostationary satellite receiver 40 can be one of many c-band communication receivers capable of handling spread-spectrum downlink signals. The preferred embodiment employs the VSAT receiver manufactured by Contel for their VSAT point-to-multipoint low data rate communications services. GPS receiver 50 similarly may be one of many commercial products, and GPS receivers manufactured by Trimble, Magnavox, and Motorola are preferable.
Turning to the operation of the geostationary communication satellite subsystem shown in FIG. 2, uplink facility 14 transmits spread spectrum signals via signal paths 26a-c to satellites 20a-c, respectively, in a common carrier, uplink frequency band. Satellites 20a-c then retransmit them as relay signals via signal paths 22a-c, respectively, to master control facility 12 and as relay signals via signal paths 24a-c, respectively, to remote user 10 at different downlink frequencies. The relay signals are received at master control facility 12 and remote user 10 via signal paths 22a-c and 24a-c simultaneously. These relay signals may be of differing carrier frequencies within the downlink carrier frequency band that are modulated with the same pseudorandom code sequences and at the same chipping and code repetition rate.
Tracking stations 16 and 18 are also employed in conjunction with the geostationary satellite subsystem of FIG. 2. Signals are transmitted from uplink facility 14 to satellites 20a-c whereupon they are relayed to tracking stations 16a-b. Tracking stations 16a-b each have at least one receiver 40. Information generated at tracking stations 16a-b is transmitted to master control facility 12 via communication links 18a-b, respectively.
The operation of the navigational satellite subsystem is illustrated in FIG. 3. Each of satellites 30a-d transmits a signal that is received simultaneously at remote user 10 and master control facility 12 via signal paths 32a-d and 34a-d. As previously mentioned, master control facility 12 has a GPS receiver such as receiver 50 in FIG. 5 that receives the signal broadcast by each of satellites 30a-d to provide pseudorange measurements for each satellite relative to a precisely known antenna location at master control facility 12. Differential corrections to the pseudoranges are then computed to obtain new values for the pseudoranges so that they are accurate at the known location.
These differential corrections are periodically transmitted by master control facility 12 to uplink facility 14 via communication link 18a where they are transmitted to user 10 via telecommunication satellites 20a-c. Remote user 10 then receives those corrections via receiver 40 in FIG. 4 and applies the corrections to his measured pseudoranges obtained from the signal broadcast by satellite 30a-d before processing.
Calibration to eliminate instrumental biases introduced by separate channels in receiver 50 tends to eliminate such biases because each of satellites 30a-d effectively transmits its signal at the same time and at the same frequency. Remote user 10 can compare each of the signals to insure that they exhibit the same delay with respect to the GPS receiver clock 55 and adjust them accordingly utilizing differential correction techniques. Thus the output of any GPS receiver at user 10 master control facility 12 will be largely free of instrumental biases and is self-calibrating in this respect.
Master control facility 12 receives signals relayed from each of geostationary satellites 20a-c and transmitted from navigational satellites 30a-d as previously described. Master control facility 12 has at least one receiver akin to receiver 40 in FIG. 4 and one akin to receiver 50 in FIG. 5 for this purpose. Each receiver generates a pseudorange measurement by measuring the epoch of the received code sequence with respect to an independent oscillator or clock (not shown) at master facility 12. The measurement is a code phase measurement proportional to the range from master facility 12 to the respective satellite but contains an arbitrary offset introduced by the clock of master control facility 12.
Five sets of pseudoranges are generated in the preferred embodiment of this invention:
(1) geostationary satellites 20a-c relative to user 10;
(2) geostationary satellites 20a-c relative to master control facility 12;
(3) geostationary satellites 20a-c relative to tracking stations 16a-b;
(4) navigational satellites 30a-d relative to user 10; and
(5) navigational satellites 30a-d relative to master control facility 12.
Once generated, those pseudoranges not generated at user 10 but needed to generate correction data are transmitted to user 10 for use in computing a fix.
The pseudorange measurements with respect to geostationary satellites 20a-c relative to master control facility 12 are made simultaneously, thereby obtaining a set of data represented by Equation 1:
ZM =the vector of the measured pseudoranges at master control facility 12;
RM =the vector of ranges from master control facility 12 to the respective geostationary satellites;
DM =the vector of common clock offsets by the clock of master facility 12;
DU =the vector of transponder delays in respective geostationary satellites; and
NM =vector of the measured random noise at master control facility 12.
Pseudorange measurements made at master control facility 12 using Eq. 1 are reference pseudorange measurements that are sent to uplink facility 14 via communication link 18c. Uplink facility 14 also has a local clock (not shown) from which the PRN codes are derived, as well as a modulator (also not shown). The modulator of uplink facility 14 accepts the data from master control facility 12 and modulates it onto the uplink carrier signal in a manner well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The clock of uplink facility 14 does not introduce error or delay and consequently has no bearing on the generation of user measurements, but should nevertheless be stable enough to create slowly varying pseudorange measurements of both master control facility 12 and remote user 10. A carrier signal modulated with the master pseudorange data is then transmitted to remote user 10.
Simultaneously, pseudorange measurements with signals from the geostationary satellites 20a-c are calculated at remote user 10. These measurements can be represented by Eq. 2:
ZU =the vector of measured pseudoranges at remote user 10;
RU =vector of ranges from user 10 to the respective geostationary satellite;
DU =vector of the common clock offsets of the clock at remote user 10;
DUG =vector of transponders delays at the respective geostationary satellites; and
NU =vector of measurement of random noise at remote user 10.
Transponder delay DU is common to Eqs. (1) and (2) and can be eliminated by taking their difference to obtain:
A major source of instrumental bias is thereby eliminated, including all delays and offsets produced at master control facility 12, uplink facility 14, and propagation delays incurred in signal transmission along signal paths associated with satellites 20a-c. This significantly eliminates the need to transmit timing information and overcomes synchronization problems found in the art.
Eq. (3) shows that the ZD is a function of four unknowns: the three cartesian coordinates latitude, longitude, and altitude of user 10's position and the common clock differences offset (DU -DM). When using three geostationary satellites as described above, the additional measurement required is the altitude of user 10 measured from a reference datum. This altitude is accurately predictable for most users on the Earth's surface. However, knowing the user's altitude is not a critical requirement of this invention since additional satellite measurements are used as is described elsewhere.
Finally, in order to provide user 10 with the precise locations of geostationary satellites 20a-c as required for Eq. (3), pseudorange measurements of geostationary satellites 20a-c are made with reference to at least four remote tracking stations such as remote tracking stations 16a-b of FIG. 1. The measurements are made by receivers located at these fixed known sites and are transmitted to master control facility 12. Master control facility 12 then computes from pseudorange measurements made at tracking stations 16a-b and those at master control facility 12 to accurately determine the position of each of satellites 20a-c. The positions of satellites 20a-c once calculated are then transmitted via communication link 18c to uplink facility 14 for modulation onto a carrier signal and transmission to remote user 10. Pseudorange data is calculated from signals received from the navigation satellites which take the form of Equations 1-2 above and common pseudoranges errors likewise be eliminated by differentially correcting.
Remote user 10 receives pseudoranges measured at master control facility 12 with respect to geostationary satellites 20a-c, at tracking stations 16a-b with respect to geostationary satellites 20a-c, and at master control facility 12 with respect to navigational satellites 30a-d. User 10 collects these measurements along with the pseudorange measurements made at remote user 10 with respect to geostationary satellites 20a-c and with regard to navigational satellites 30a-d to create a single user data set. This user data set is then separated into subsets.
The first subset contains unknown errors which must be determined from the data and can be considered a trial group. The second subset contains data with much smaller errors relative to the trial group such that it can be considered a control group. The data of both groups is applied to conditional error processing module wherein very accurate estimates of the error in the trial group are determined.
The conditional error process can be explained from a mathematical perspective. Assuming the vector Z to be defined as:
X≡an unknown vector representing the user's location
H≡the linear relationship between X and Z; and
V≡as vector comprised of random errors, the least squares solution for X is:
where HT is the transposition of H. The residual after the least squares fit is:
where I is the identity matrix and M is an idempotent transformation.
The residual vector R is defined by the single user data set comprised of differentially corrected GPS measurements and geostationary satellite measurements. Thus, when the user data set is partitioned into control and trial subsets, this is a partitioning of the vector components of the residual vector R. The differentially corrected GPS measurements are almost always the most accurate because the reference signal is visible both the user's location and at the known reference site. Longitudinal measurements to geostationary satellite such as satellites 20a-c could, however, be substituted as a control group in an alternative, lesser preferred embodiment. The differentially corrected GPS measurement are consequently used as the control group.
The residuals for the control group are assumed to be zero and are used to minimize the residuals for the entire data set based on that assumption. Z* is obtained by accumulating the elements of M in Eq. (7) over a prescribed period of time and then partitioning the accumulated M and culling the submatrices resulting from the control group residuals. Z* then is comprised of "conditional errors" in the trial group measurements and can be applied to the trial group subset (i.e., geostationary satellite measurements) to obtain more accurate measurements and, hence a "fix".
The conditional error processing module is illustrated in FIG. 7 and the processing algorithm in flow chart form in FIG. 8. Conditional error processor 76 in FIG. 7 receives its input data from both groups, the trial group at input 72 and the control group at input 74. The control group at input 74 in the preferred embodiment is the subset comprised of differentially corrected GPS measurements and the trial group at input 72 is the geostationary satellite measurements. Conditional error processor 76 then zeros out a set of accumulators and begins the iterative process for a predetermined period of time.
The iterative process begins by performing a least squares solution for all measurements including those in both the trial group and the control group. The differences (residuals) between the data in the trial group and the solution is determined from a linear mapping of all data, and the differences are stored and accumulated as a linear mapping of the raw data. The differences between the data in the control group and the solution are assumed to be zero and are also accumulated as a linear mapping. This iterative process in the preferred embodiment is performed for a period of approximately one to two minutes.
At the end of the iterative process, the conditional errors are computed by appropriately partitioning the accumulated linear mappings of raw data so that the differences of the control data are culled, inverting the resulting matrix, and then processing the accumulated residuals to determine the errors in the data of the trial group. The result is a new data set containing "conditional errors" that are applied to the original trial group subject (i.e., geostationary satellite measurements) to minimize the overall residuals. Processing then returns to the next accumulation cycle.
The output of conditional error processor 76 then consists of corrections 78 for the trial data 72. The corrected trial data is then grouped again with the control group data and processed using a conventional standard processor 75. Statistical processor 75 in the preferred embodiment implements a Kalman filter as is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Output 79 of statistical processor 75 then consists of accurate positional coordinates as a function of time.
It is an essential characteristic of the conditional error processing that the accuracies of the error estimates must be the highest possible given the total amount of data available to remote user 10. They must be higher, for example, than if a simple comparison was made between the trial and control group of measurements. This is accomplished in conditional error processing by comparing the errors of all data that has been optimally combined via least square fitting procedure thus insuring the results will have to smallest possible statistical uncertainty.
By using the pseudoranges measured at remote control facility 12 with respect to navigational satellites 30a-c as the control group, the uncertainties in the error estimates will be several times less than the readout associated with the measurements in the control group, i.e., the differentially corrected GPS pseudo-ranges alone. Thus, the effects of residual unknown errors in the GPS data will have minimum effect on the accuracy of the error estimate corrections.
Geostationary satellites 20a-c function as fixed relays and can be replaced by radio navigation towers 36a-b shown in FIG. 1 in an alternative preferred embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, radio navigation towers 36a-b transmit signals via signal paths 38a-b to remote user 10 whereupon remote user 10 extracts measurements from the system that are proportional to the range of each shore station. Measurements extracted from signals 38a-b can be represented by Equation 4 below:
ZS =vector of the measured ranges;
RS =vector of the true ranges to shore stations 36a-b;
NS =measurement noise; and
BS =instrumental biases.
Since the exact locations of radio navigation towers 36a-b are known, there are three unknowns and the users coordinate position can be determined therefrom without the need for tracking stations 16a-b or associated measurements. This information is then used along with GPS measurements taken as previously described to establish the single user data set for the conditional error processor.
It is therefore evident that the invention claimed herein may be embodied in alternative and equally satisfactory embodiments without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The preferred embodiments disclosed above must consequently be considered illustrative and not limiting of the scope of the invention.
Patent Citations
Non-Patent Citations
Referenced by
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The SAT has become such an important and memorable test in students' lives that many adults still remember their scores decades after taking it.
But according to Peter Coy in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, that test is holding many American students back:
Designed to ferret out hidden talent, the tests have become, for some students at least, barriers to higher education. Scores are highly correlated with family income; Harvard law professor Lani Guinier calls the SAT a "wealth test." Type "SAT" into Amazon.com, and you'll have to scroll past more than 200 test-prep volumes before you get to one book that's a history or critique of the test. Because the SAT and ACT are now thought of as yardsticks of ability, students who do poorly on them are marked — or mark themselves — as failures. Overreliance on the SAT and ACT threatens to make America's institutions of higher education even more elitist, adding to income inequality and harming U.S. competitiveness. The irony is that these were the very ills the tests were designed to combat.
Today, more than a quarter of all American colleges and universities make reporting standardized test scores such as the SAT or ACT optional.

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Obituaries, April 22, 2014
Linda Jean Bowen
DURHAM — Linda Jean Bowen, 70, passed away on Saturday, April 19, 2014 at Wayne Memorial Hospital.
Linda was born in Durham County on September 4, 1943 and was the daughter of the late Edward Earl Bowen and Elma Lee Bowen. She retired from Cherry Hospital and was a member of Daniels Memorial United Methodist Church. Linda was a wonderful mother and grandmother. She will always be loved by her children and will be greatly missed by those who knew her.
The family will receive friends Tuesday, April 22, 2014 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Seymour Funeral Home followed by a service celebrating Linda's life at 7:00 p.m. in the chapel with Rev. Robert Bandy officiating. Interment will be Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. in Maplewood Cemetery in Durham.
Linda is survived by her sons, Todd Quinton and wife Landi of Olive Branch, MS and Barry Quinton of Knoxville, TN; brother, Larry Bowen and wife Karen of Durham; and eight grandchildren.
Flowers are welcome or memorials may be made to Daniels Memorial United Methodist Church, 2803 E. Ash Street, Goldsboro, NC 27530.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.seymourfuneralhome.com.
Herbert Brown
DURHAM — Mr. Herbert Brown, age 62, departed this life on April 18, 2014. He is survived by a brother, Euless Brown, Jr., two sisters, Gladys,Halley and Elma Brown.
Services will take place on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at Scarborough and Hargett Chapel, 923B Old Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27701 at 1 p.m. One hour prior to the service, the family will greet friends.
Scarborough and Hargett Memorial Chapel and Gardens is assisting the family.
Robert Owen Gooch
DURHAM — Robert Owen Gooch, 83, died Sunday April 20, 2014 at Duke Regional Hospital. A native of Durham he was the son of the late Floyd Gooch and Ruby Picket Gooch.
Robert was a Veteran of the U. S Air Force. He was longtime member of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, served as deacon, and Sunday school teacher. He retired after 42 years from Duke University Brace and Limb Shop. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Stafford Gooch.
Robert is survived by his sons, Robert Douglas Gooch of Hillsborough and friend, Judy of Butner; Kenneth James Gooch and wife, Susan of Hillsborough; his sister, Peggy Brown of Durham; his grandchildren, Stephanie Gooch, Brittany Gooch and his great grandson, Brenan Gooch.
Funeral Services will be held 2:00PM Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at Mt Moriah Baptist Church with the Rev. James Taylor and Rev. Jimmy Bland officiating.
Friends may visit from 1:00 – 2:00 pm prior to the service Wednesday at the church.
The family would like to extend their appreciation to Duke Hospital and Brookshire Nursing Home for their kind and compassionate care.
The Gooch family is under the care of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service, Durham. Online condolences: www.hallwynne.com Select Obituaries.
Joyce Ann Hancock
DURHAM — Joyce Ann Hancock, 76, died Easter Sunday following a long illness. Joyce was born in High Point on April 15, 1938 to Jewell Roosevelt Keith and Jeffie Josephine Collins Keith. Mrs. Hancock retired in 1999, after 37 years, from Duke Hospital in Durham. Joyce, along with Hank Holland, became the first people, in Duke Hospital's history, certified by the American Society of Extracorporeal Circulation Technology as cardio-pulmonary perfusionists. She was an avid reader and bowler, and most recently enjoyed playing games on her computer. She was preceded by her husband, Karl M. Hancock and a brother, Floyd Green.
Surviving are: a son, Alan Hancock of Emerald Isle; a daughter, Pamela Moore and husband, Kenneth of Durham; two step-sons, Karl Hancock and wife, Theresa of Hillsborough, Michael Hancock and wife, Kelly of Durham; two sisters, Betty Walker and Jewel Blake, both of Durham; two grandchildren; Amber Bullard and husband, Phillip of Hillsborough, Cameron Moore of Durham; four step-grandchildren, Troy Hancock and wife, Denise of Wilmington, Pepper Pollard and husband, David of Hillsborough; Michelle Rigsbee and husband, Jonathan of Raleigh, Joshua Hancock and wife, Amanda of Durham; three great-grandchildren, Jalonah, Mason, Camyah and by many step great-grandchildren.
The family will be present 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Wednesday at Hall-Wynne Funeral Service, 1113 West Main St., Durham. Graveside services will follow at Maplewood Cemetery, Durham. Online condolences at www.hallwynne.com. See Obituaries.
Ada Lou Rose Howard
BAHAMA — Ada Lou Rose Howard, 95, passed away Sunday, April 20, 2014 at her home. She was born and reared in Ashe County to the late Weaver Walter Rose and the late Laura Bana Ham Rose. Mrs. Howard was also preceded in death by her husband, Henry Jackson Howard; son, Billy Jackson Howard; and brother, Willis Vaughan Rose. She moved to Durham in 1941, was married for 60 years to Mr. Jack Howard. She was a homemaker who loved spending time not only with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren but also with the neighborhood children.
Mrs. Howard is survived by her daughters, Rosemary Doty (Coy) of Clemmons, Virginia Spell (Barry) of Rougemont; grandchildren, Kim McKeel, Amy Outlaw, Jeff Doty, Jan Adams, Heather Lanford, Rebecca Morgan; great grandchildren, Brice, Zachary and Kyle McKeel, Sydney, Jackson and Billie Outlaw, Amanda and Sean Doty, Tyson and Brayden Adams, Cole Lanford and Peyton Morgan; sisters, Della DeBord, Betty Jessup and daughter-in-law, Kyle Howard.
A graveside service will be held Thursday 11 a.m. at Oak Grove Memorial Gardens with Pastor Arvyette Patterson officiating. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday evening at Clements Funeral Home in Durham.
Flowers are acceptable or memorial donations can be made to Heartland Hospice, 4505 Falls of Neuse Rd, Ste 650, Raleigh, NC 27609.
The family would like to give a special thanks and recognition to her homecare giver, Robyn Justice, and volunteers Brenda Wilson, Tailey Joway, Beatrice Browne and volunteers from Heartland Hospice Care.
The family is being assisted by Clements Funeral Service, Inc., in Durham, N.C. Online condolences may be made at www.clementsfuneralservice.com.
Cecil Johnson Jr.
DURHAM — Cecil Johnson Jr., 50, departed his life on April 19, 2014.
He leaves behind three daughters, three sons, three grandchildren, one brother and two sisters.
Funeral Services will be Thursday at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. Wake at Noon, funeral at 1:00 pm.
Arrangements entrusted to Holloway Memorial Funeral Home.
Glossie Mae Phyllis Pratt Johnson
DURHAM — Glossie Mae Phyllis Pratt Johnson, 81, of 512 Finley Street, Durham, NC, passed away peacefully with her family at her side, Friday, April 18, 2014. She is the daughter of the late Thomas Haywood and Elouise Nunn Pratt. A son, Frankie Eugene Johnson, and grandson, Dezzie Denard Johnson, preceded her in death.
She is survived by her best friend and husband, J. C. "Chris" Johnson; two sisters, Pamela Pratt and Etta Mae Hayes of Durham; six (6) loving children, Rev. Calvin Johnson (Monica), Thomas Gregory "Wine" Johnson, Amy Diane Johnson, Wayne Eddie Johnson (Kimberly), Ida Delores Johnson, all of Durham, and John McIntosh, of Sanford; a daughter-in-law, Diann Johnson of Durham; two sisters-in-law, Mattie Pratt and Lee Esther Johnson of Durham; seven (7) nephews; four (4) nieces; 19 grandchildren; and a host of great-grandchildren, relatives and friends.
She graduated from Hillside High School and earned a degree in Nursing from Durham Technical Community College. Ms. Johnson worked for many years as a private duty Nurse. She also served dutifully for many years as a member of the Nursing staff at Duke University Medical Hospital and Lincoln Memorial Hospital, eventually retiring from the latter medical facility.
She joined New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church at an early age and remained a faithful member until her homegoing. She was a member of the Senior Citizens Ministry and always provided assistance with other ministries when asked and needed.
To her family she was a wonderful confidant, friend and great mother. She will be forever remembered for her warm smile.
Visitation will be held from 12 noon to 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 23, 2014, at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, 2508 Crest Street, Durham, NC. Funeral services will be Wednesday, April 23, 2014, at 1:00 p.m., at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. Private burial will take place at Glennview Memorial Gardens, Apex Highway, Durham, NC.
Arrangements entrusted to Holloway Memorial Funeral Home.
Adell Woody McClain
DURHAM — Mrs. Adell Woody McClain, born on February 5, 1939 in Roxboro, NC, departed this life on April 19, 2014. She leaves behind a son, a daughter, five grandchildren, two great grandchildren and a sister.
A viewing will be held at 12 noon at Cox Memorial Freewill Baptist Church on Friday, April 25, 2014, with funeral services at 1:00 pm.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Holloway Memorial Funeral Home.
Annie E. Toomer
DURHAM — Annie E. Toomer, 91, departed this life on April 21, 2014.
She leaves behind four daughters, eleven grandchildren, twenty-one great grandchildren and one sister.
A viewing will be held Thursday at 12 noon at St. Johns Missionary Baptist Church, 917 Onslow St., Durham, NC, with a 1:00 pm service.
Arrangements entrusted to Holloway Memorial Funeral Home.
Terrance "Terry" Coghill
HILLSBOROUGH — Mr. Terrance "Terry" Coghill, 68, a resident of 815 Highway 70 E., Apt #120 in Hillsborough, died Saturday while visiting Myrtle Beach, SC. Mr. Coghill was born in Henderson, NC, son of the late Edgar A. and Catherine Deedy Coghill. He was preceded in death by a son, Tony Darnell. Prior to retirement, Mr. Coghill was a truck driver. He was a veteran of the United States Army.
A Funeral Service will be conducted Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. at Clements Funeral Chapel in Hillsborough by Rev. Marilyn Shipman. The family will receive friends at Clements Funeral Home in Hillsborough Tuesday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
He is survived by his wife, Linda M. Coghill; two daughters, Karen D. Painter of Hillsborough and Theresa A. Coghill of Asheville; a sister, Elizabeth C. Ellis and fiancée Gerald Warren; a brother, Bill Coghill and wife Nancy; five grandchildren, Jessica Rutherford, Brittney Darnell, Brandi McPherson, Natasha Watson and Travis Darnell; and two great-grandchildren, Cayden and Brenleigh.
The family is being assisted by Clements Funeral Service, Inc., in Hillsborough, N.C. Online condolences may be made at www.clementsfuneralservice.com.
David St. Pierre (Pete) DuBose Jr.
CHAPEL HILL - David St. Pierre (Pete) DuBose Jr. Was born on August 22, 1931 in Baltimore MD. He was the oldest son of David St. Pierre DuBose and Laura Valinda Hill DuBose. He graduated from Duke University with a degree in Civil Engineering. He received a Masters Degree in Structural Engineering at the University of Illinois. After graduation, Pete taught algebra at the San Antonio College and was employed by Southwest Research Institute.
Pete enjoyed sharing his love of hunting and fishing with his children and grandchildren. His was active in his church and a member of the Durham Rotary Club. Pete was a founder of Caring House and established the Caring House Endowment Fund in Durham NC. Pete was often seen enjoying good food and spirits with friends and family on the back porch of his Morehead City home.
Pete was married to his lifelong sweetheart, Anna Frank (Frankie) Strosnider on September 4, 1953. Pete and Frankie's 60 year romance resulted in five children and eleven grandchildren. Together Pete and Frankie taught lifelong lessons about faith, family, and friends. Frankie was instrumental in converting Pete into an avid Carolina fan enjoying countless basketball and football games.
Pete is survived by his brother Dr. John McNeely DuBose and his sister Faison DuBose Boylayer, his daughter Anna DuBose Doughton (husband J. H. (Bud) Doughton), son David St. Pierre (Peter) DuBose III (wife Evelyn Hoover DuBose), son Charles Franklin DuBose (wife Sally Peters DuBose), daughter Valinda DuBose Coates (husband Dr. Gerald L. Coates), and daughter Nancy DuBose Greenway (husband Garland D Greenway lll). Grandchildren; Horton Doughton (Lisl), Lawre Doughton, Petey DuBose, Sarah DuBose, Blissie DuBose, Drennen DuBose, Jerry Coates, Anderson Coates, Garland Greenway, Christian Greenway, and William Greenway.
The Lord has welcomed Pete DuBose in Heaven and will bless and protect him forever.
There will be a Celebration of Life at the Church of the Good Shepherd on April 22 at 11:30 am with a reception following.
In lieu of flowers, memorials, may be made in Pete's honor to the Caring House Endowment Fund, 2625 Pickett Road, Durham NC 27705 or Church of the Good Shepherd, 3741 Garrett Road, Durham NC 27705.
Howerton & Bryan Funeral Home is assisting the family. Online condolences may be submitted to http://www.howertonbryan.com,/ select obituaries.
Allie Stanford (Buddy) Gallup
VA BEACH, VA — Allie Stanford (Buddy) Gallup of S. Kings Road, Virginia Beach passed away on Friday, April 18, 2014 at his home at the age of 81. Buddy was a native of Virginia Beach, the son of Walter B. and Lolace Willeford Gallup,and grew up on Birdneck Road. He was a graduate of Oceana High School and Virginia Tech University, and served in the United States Air Force. Buddy had a 40-year career as a civil engineer with the Atlantic Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Norfolk, VA. He is survived by his beloved wife of 55 years Betty Lloyd (Amis) Gallup, formerly of Durham, NC, daughter Dr. Amy Gallup Klann and her husband Dr. Eric Klann of New York City, sister Mrs. Ann Williams of Suffolk, VA, sister Mrs. Joan Brinkley and her husband Warren Brinkley of Beaufort, NC, and aunt Mrs. Sue Babb of Virginia Beach. Buddy was devoted to his family and neighbors in Chesopeian Colony. Donations may be made to the Plaza Volunteer Rescue Squad, Virginia Beach and the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads. A visitation will be held at the Lynnhaven Chapel of Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home, 3600 Virginia Beach Blvd., on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.
Charles Stanford (Stan) Gallup
VA BEACH, VA — Charles Stanford (Stan) Gallup of S. Kings Road, Virginia Beach, passed away Friday, April 18, 2014 at Virginia Beach General Hospital, at the age of 51. Stan was the son of Buddy and Betty Lloyd (Amis) Gallup, formerly of Durham, NC. He is survived by his mother Betty, sister Dr. Amy Gallup Klann and her husband Dr. Eric Klann, of New York City, and a city and neighborhood filled with love and kindness. Stan was part of the legacy and inspiration that brought community awareness to and programs for the handicapped in Virginia Beach during the 1960s. His legacy will continue through his kind bequest made possible by LifeNet Health. Donations may be made to the Plaza Volunteer Rescue Squad of Virginia Beach and the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads. A visitation will be held at the Lynnhaven Chapel of Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home, 3600 Virginia Beach Blvd., on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.


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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
It's time to lace up the walking shoes and hit the track.
Relay for Life's annual walk takes place Friday night, as supporters of cancer research and awareness will take to the track at Gerald Moody Field at Bonner Stadium on the campus of Berkeley High School to raise some money.
For the past few months Pinopolis and Moncks Corner have assumed a decidedly purple hue as ribbons began blossoming like springtime flowers on street signs, lamp posts and mailboxes around town.
"Purple is the international color for cancer awareness and the foundation behind the purple ribbons," said Relay for Life volunteer Georgie Ford.
Ford said Friday's Relay for Life Walk format will change slightly this year.
The start time will bump up two hours to 5 p.m. and the event will end at 2 a.m. More activities are planned this year to fill the nine-hour walk, according to Ford.
"Everything's new," she said. "Plus we have Deon the DJ back."
Moncks Corner has earned some fundraising bragging rights, Ford said. The group ranks third in the state in Relay for Life fundraising behind Greenville and Spartanburg.
"This is just tiny little Moncks Corner," she said. "And we're holding our own with these much bigger cities."
In addition to great entertainment will be great food so walkers are encouraged to arrive hungry. "We'll have great food and all proceeds go to benefit Relay for Life," Ford said.
Purple ribbons are still on sale and can be purchased at Crafts Plus and Berkeley Florist for $10.
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Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy Season 9, Episode 5 Review: What Did You Think of "Beautiful Doom"?
Grey's Anatomy Season 9, Episode 5: "Beautiful Doom" was all about our favorite friendship. That's right, it was the Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) show, and it was nice to spend some quality time with the twisted sisters.
How was the episode? Read on for Wetpaint Entertainment's review of the episode, and rate it yourself.
Read spoilers at your own risk! For more on Wetpaint Entertainment's philosophy on spoilers, click here.
In Cristina's plotline, she and Dr. Thomas worked together on a complicated double surgery that brought out Cristina's softer side, both towards her patient, and towards Dr. Thomas. On the other hand, it put her at odds with her "sex friend" Dr. Parker, who had it out for Thomas and wanted to get him fired.
By choosing to do a risky but important surgery, Thomas put his job on the line, much to Cristina's dismay. But together, they were a dream team — until Thomas collapsed in the ER and died. And then we cried. A lot. Did anyone see that coming?
Meredith, meanwhile, had a double whammy of hard. First, she had to deal with balancing mommy duty and doctor duty while Derek (Patrick Dempsey) was out of town. That ended up being a challenge, even with Callie's (Sara Ramirez) help. In fact, it took the entire hospital to take care of Zola.
But Mer's real struggle was with her patient, a young woman who was hit by a car, and ended up with injuries very reminiscent of the ones that killed Lexie (Chyler Leigh). Despite Richard's (James Pickens Jr.) concern that Mer's feeling were clouding her judgment, she kept the case. In the end, she made the right calls, and her patient came through. Plus, the experience let her finally come to terms with Lexie's death.
And the best part of the episode? Cristina finally made it back to Seattle. Yay!
Overall, we enjoyed the episode. The split screen was used well, and we loved seeing Cristina and Mer talk to each other about their lives. Dr. Thomas continued to be a delight, and his death really struck home.
We give it 3.5 stars. What about you?
I didn't like it.
Great episode!
Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
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|Dr. Jason Lowe
Dr. Jason W. Lowe began his practice of obstetrics and gynecology in 2003 in Canton, and expanded his practice to Peoria, joining Women's Health Institute in 2008. Dr. Lowe received a B.A. in Biology at Monmouth College and earned his M.D. degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria, Illinois. He completed his OB/GYN residency training at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver, Colorado, where he was Chief Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He has received specialized training in laparoscopic and urogynecologic surgery.
Dr. Lowe is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is currently Vice-Chairman of the Methodist Medical Center OB/GYN department, and is an active hospitalist providing emergency OB/GYN care with Peoria Obstetrics and Gynecelogy Group. Dr. Lowe is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Attending Physician for the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, and enjoys teaching residents and medical students.
Dr. Lowe appreciates the unique bond an obstetrician develops with his patient over the course of pregnancy, culminating with birth… the great miracle of life! His surgical philosophy embraces the saying that "less is more." Dr. Lowe emphasizes, "After exhausting the medical and non-surgical alternatives, some patients simply benefit the most from surgical treatment. Whenever possible, minimally invasive, or incision-free surgery is my preference, for its quick recovery, little down time, and excellent outcomes." Dr. Lowe is proud to be associated with Women's Health Institute and Dr. Overcash, his uncle and mentor throughout his medical career, in a practice well-known for its excellence in vaginal surgery.
Dr. Lowe maintains privileges at Methodist Medical Center, OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Proctor Hospital, Graham Hospital in Canton, and Peoria Day Surgery Center. He has medical offices in Peoria and Canton . In his off-time, Dr. Lowe enjoys spending time with his two sons. His hobbies include playing piano, guitar, and saxophone; songwriting and recording; and performing with his group, Lowe Profile.


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DURHAM, N.H.-University of New Hampshire athletic director Marty Scarano announced today that three football games on the upcoming 2001 schedule will be carried live on Manchester's WMUR-TV (Channel 9).
The three contests include: the season-opener on Sept. 1 vs. perennial top 25 powerhouse Hampton, starting at 1 p.m at Cowell Stadium.; a key Atlantic 10 Football Conference matchup at home on Sept. 8 vs. James Madison (noon), and then the battle for the bragging rights of New Hampshire on Sept. 22 when the Wildcats travel to Hanover to battle cross-state rival Dartmouth (noon).
Handling the play-by-play duties will be WMUR Sports Director Charlie Sherman. Color commentary will be provided by Jamie Staton and Jason King.
"We are excited again this year to have our games broadcast live on WMUR," said third-year head football coach Sean McDonnell. "Charlie and his staff at WMUR have done an outstanding job over the years covering our football program and helping us to spread the word about our team all over the state of New Hampshire."
The television partnership between WMUR and the University of New Hampshire football team is now entering its 13th consecutive season. During that time-span, the station has covered many significant games and milestones. In 1994, the Wildcats won the Yankee Conference title and went on to compete in the NCAA I-AA Playoffs. That same season, head coach Bill Bowes earned his 150th career victory and was named Yankee Conference Coach of the Year. In 1991, the Wildcats were the Yankee Conference Co-Champions and advanced to the playoffs. WMUR also followed the amazing career of Jerry Azumah (95-98), who went on to win the Walter Payton Award in 1998 as the top offensive player in the nation. Azumah, who set numerous NCAA rushing, scoring and all-purpose yardage records, now plays for the NFL's Chicago Bears. Last season, UNH jumped out to a 4-0 start for the first time since 1977 and two of those four contests were carried live on WMUR.
"We are excited to be able to bring UNH football to the entire state, and are especially excited to once again carry the University of New Hampshire-Dartmouth rivalry that began again during the 2000 season," remarked Jeff Bartlett, general manager of WMUR-TV. "With our game-week previews we hope to bring outstanding local athletes the attention they deserve. Great sports contests make for great television, and these three match-ups promise to deliver."
"As New Hampshire's sports leader, we are once again looking forward to bringing UNH football to Granite State sports fans," remarked Charlie Sherman, sports director at WMUR-TV. "Head coach Sean McDonnell's team, led by New Hampshire's own Ryan Day at quarterback, should be one of the top teams in their conference. The 2001 edition of the Wildcats should be one of the most exciting to date."
In addition to the live coverage of the games, WMUR produces features during game weeks highlighting outstanding individual performances and provides previews of upcoming opponents.
WMUR has covered many outstanding UNH players who hail from the Granite State and this year's roster has 11 student-athletes with New Hampshire high school ties. At the top of the list is senior captain and quarterback Ryan Day, who is a native of Manchester and played his high school football at Manchester Central High School. Another key offensive starter and captain from New Hampshire is offensive center Jason Ball out of Londonderry. On the defensive side of the football, senior defensive lineman Mike Wells, out of Salem, should finish high on UNH's career tackles and sack listings, as could senior linebacker John Paul, a product of Manchester Central. All four should be up for post-season honors in 2001.


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I do not really know of everyone who made our life so great. Maybe I should say thanks to our local Perry County News. It made no matter what we wanted in the newspaper, they put it in there.
I was reading the March 4 issue of the Perry County News and saw the comment in the story that when Waupaca first came to town, the first 500 employees were easy to find. Then they claimed that they struggled to find people to fill jobs.
I say bull crap! I think there are plenty of people who can do the job and are perfectly willing but Waupaca only wants to hire through temporary services. How can people not be good enough to work a full-time job with full benefits and full pay but are good enough to work the same job under temporary conditions for less pay?
Greetings from northern Indiana. My sister, Kathleen Liddy (Kramer), was born in 1959 in Tell City and I was born in 1960 in Tell City. Both of us enjoyed a recent weekend in Tell City. Kath lives in Forth Wayne and I live in Kendallville.
We attended the Tell City High School Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony Feb. 16 to honor our father, Norman Kramer, a 2013 class inductee.
To everyone concerned with animal issues in Perry County Feb. 22, citizens of Perry County met with state Sen. Richard Young and state Rep. Lloyd Arnold. Many issues were discussed, but one that was brought up was pending legislation – Senate Joint Resolution 7 – concerning the rights to hunt, fish and crow crops.
The Tell City Junior-Senior High School After-Prom Committee would like to thank the community for supporting our chili lunch and dodgeball tourney fundraiser. We would also like to thank the following businesses for donating items to help make this fundraiser possible: Farm Bureau Insurance, Cash Saver, Wendy's and R&A Sports.
Tell City Junior-Senior High School would like to thank the following individuals, businesses and organizations that attended our health fair Feb. 8:
The Horse Rescue South ,Inc would like to thank (News Managing Editor) Kevin Koelling for the wonderful article that he wrote for the rescue.
We wanted to let know how grateful we are for him.
Thank you again.
JO SODREL and BECKY THORN
Horse Rescue South
Volunteer opportunities exist to assist Junior Achievement programs in Perry County in coming weeks.
Third-Grade Volunteer Opportunities
All third-grade classes at Perry Central and William Tell Elementary Schools will participate in the Junior Achievement Our Region program. This program provides an introduction to students about entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurs use resources to produce goods and services in a community. Students solve problems by weighing risks and rewards.
Four decades ago, on Jan. 22, our Supreme Court voted to legalize abortion. There was an outcry from Americans who realized the sacredness of life in the womb. The outcry was ignored and finally it subsided. A battle had been fought and a victory secured for those who believed babies could be "eliminated" just because they were unwanted.
I am writing in regard to the dangerous intersection at Indiana 37 and Indiana 237.
Why hasn't the state put in some rumble strips on Indiana 237? If you are drowsy or on your phone or otherwise not paying attention, you will miss the flashing yellow light, but two or three sets of rumble strips will certainly get your attention.
If you go to neighboring counties, you will hit rumble strips before entering a dangerous intersection.
Copyright © 2015
The Perry County News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Perry County, Indiana, and the surrounding area.


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In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court smacked down an argument by the Administration of President Barack Obama claiming police weren't "searching" criminal suspects when they secretly planted GPS tracking devices on their vehicles and monitored their comings and goings.
The court didn't opine on whether that kind of secret GPS surveillance can be done only after police have obtained a search warrant or whether it could proceed simply from cops' developing of probable cause.
But by telling the Department of Justice (DOJ) that law enforcement agencies must regard GPS stalking as an equivalent to other types of traditional police searches, it did ensure that future convictions based on secret GPS surveillance would have a heck of a time surviving legal challenges until laws concerning the technology had set clear boundaries for what the cops can and can't do with GPS — and at what stage of an investigation they can do it.
With that legal mystery yet to be solved, parties are taking sides in arguments this week before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. There's the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is appealing a portion of the SCOTUS ruling on behalf of the criminal suspects in the original case. Then there's the Obama Administration and Attorney General Eric Holder. Can you guess which side they're on?
The DOJ is staking out as much territory for warrantless law enforcement officer power as it can.
The Obama Administration is now arguing that using GPS data to watch the comings and goings of anyone police deem suspicious, 24 hours a day, for days on end, doesn't infringe the 4th Amendment's assurance that people have a right to be "secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures."
The collateral assurance, that "no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized," also shouldn't apply to GPS searches, the DOJ argues.
What's the basis?
U.S. attorneys are invoking the "automobile exception" to 4th Amendment limitations on warrantless searches and seizures. A precedent rule that's stood since the rum-running Prohibition era, the automobile exception essentially has allowed cops, provoked by evidence thought to be present in the car at the time they develop probable cause, to go ahead and conduct a search, without a warrant, before a suspect might flee their jurisdiction with contraband in tow.
The ACLU says that's B.S.; that Obama's legal goons pretty much know they're comparing apples with oranges; that secretly watching someone's every coming and going is exactly the opposite of pulling someone over because he's believed, either in that moment or through the issuance of a search warrant, to be transporting something illegal.
To apply the automobile exception to GPS searches, as the government urges, would be to radically expand the doctrine. The exception permits stops of moving vehicles upon probable cause and searches of a car for contraband and evidence of crime, not tracking of its driver and passengers. Put otherwise: The automobile exception is about preventing contraband and evidence of crime from absconding; GPS searches are about tracking individual persons as they go about their business.
Thus, the primary justification for the automobile exception, the exigency created when physical evidence of crime might disappear, is wholly absent in the GPS context…
…The overwhelming majority of GPS searches involve no such risk of destruction or removal of evidence. Rather, they involve surreptitious attachment in the dead of night and extended remote monitoring, the very antithesis of exigency. To be sure, in cases of actual exigency, for example, where police have both probable cause to believe that a vehicle contains contraband or evidence of criminal activity and good reason to believe that the vehicle might disappear before a warrant can be obtained, no warrant will be required for the initial attachment.
In the 2011 case (the one that smacked down the Obama Administration's argument that GPS tracking isn't a "search" as defined by the 4th Amendment), the justices observed that government GPS stalking could "suddenly produce what sounds like 1984" and that, "If you [the U.S.] win this case then there is nothing to prevent the police or the government from monitoring 24 hours a day the public movement of every citizen of the United States."
A U.S. attorney in that case told the court there was no reason why the Feds couldn't secretly put GPS trackers on each Supreme Court justice's car — or on an overcoat — and watch every public move they made.


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BPL Community Profile
Daniel Pittman (pitsy) - BPL Premium Member
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All Forum Posts by Daniel Pittman
Re: Anyone score a killer deal at the REI Garage Sale?
Second day wearing my New Balance MT10v2 shoes around the house. No issues yet. Gonna wear them tomorrow running errands and such, then perhaps a few miles of trail on New Year's Day. They w...
Re: Shoes
The heels make your calves look fantastic. I paid full price for my Exped UL-7 and it's worth every penny.
Re: hell of a good deal
Looks like you got some fancy lady shoes, as well Andy! Seriously though, how many sleeping pads does one need? Do you stack them up like the Princess and the Pea?
Anyone score a killer deal at the REI Garage Sale?
What's got two thumbs and bought a $200 Marmot Zeus jacket for just $50? This Guy! Someone had returned it because of the tiniest little thread snags on one sleeve. No down coming out or any...
Great post!
She'll remember that trip forever.
Re: Do you get a tailor involved?
Oh man, it's hard to find a good tailor. I had a great one when I lived in San Diego, but haven't found one in central Texas yet. When I do get a lead on a good tailor here, it always com...
Re: Interesting Gear under the Tree for You or Significant Others?
I may have mentioned it in a few threads already, but I got Mrs. pitsy a hat from Kat_P because she goes to work at 4am and our little VW doesn't heat up before she gets to work. She got me ...
Re: 2013 Staff Picks
Also a bit underwhelmed by the article, but enjoying the responses! Ultralight backpacking gear: Exped UL-7 sleeping pad and Exped Schnozzel pump bag. Can't say enough good things about th...
Re: Re: Re: Houdini
*groan* Justin, that's horrible. And who is William Dafoe? Is he related to Willem Dafoe?
Re: Houdini
Jesus, Max! Your avatar has more teeth than Carly Simon! Who is that? OP, Icebreaker has some excellent UL Merino base-layers.
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Showing 1 - 1 of 1 | Page: 1
MSR Titan Kettle
Use it with a fancy feast stove. Cut a wind-screen as tall as will fit inside the kettle. Store your stove, matches, mini bic, fuel, bandana, olive oil, s&p, Dr. Bronner's, etc. inside it. ...


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South East Pest Control, LLC
South East Pest Control (SEPC) is a professional provider of pest control services. We appreciate your business and the opportunity to assist you with controlling pests in your home/business.
South East Pest Control is licensed and insured to serve KY. We only use products registered by the EPA. SEPC is a member of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA and the Kentucky Pest Management Association (KPMA).
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Millions visit the Costa Blanca North for holidays each year, Benidorm is one of the biggest tourist cities in Spain. Actually the Spanish represent more than 50% of the tourist, so not everyone on holiday is from the UK, even if that is the impression you might get from Benidorm. The area also get tourists from Scandinavia, with Norway being the biggest group, and of course Germany, France and even Italy. Some state that its become so pricy to go to the south of France that the French come to Costa Blanca, it could be true as we see more and more French people.
The value for money in this area is amazing, especially dinning out cost so little. You can dine on really nice restaurants from 20-30 euro per person, including wine. You can of course also get away with 6 euro for a 3 course meal and wine, but we will not even consider that route, treat yourself to some decent food! Sadly many Spanish eat at home on holiday, and lots of English have an full board deals in Benidorm, this mean restaurants and bars don't have as good business as they should, but this year (2014) we have seen sales going up again, so hopefully the recession is over and people are starting to spend money again.
Being on holiday you will stay most of your time on the beach, and if there is something we have enough off there is beaches. In our opinion Villajosa have the best beaches, both their main city beach both also smaller beaches outside the city center. Benidorm is not far behind, but can be packed in July and August. In Albir/Altea we don't have sandy beaches, so a sun bed is recommended, but on the positive side, with no sand the water is is even clearer, and you don't get sand in your shorts.
If you are looking for activities there is a lot to do, with some truly spectacular Theme Parks and Water Parks offering an amazing variety of entertainment - making it one of the most exciting family holiday destinations in Europe. You should also check out Guadelest, one of the most vistied sites in all of Spain. There are also diving excursions, adventure rides by boat, car and motorcycle. You will not get borred, just dont forget to get that important beach time to relax and enjoy what holidays are all about, doing nothing at all. Click on the links below to learn more:


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Devious Maids Is a Go: Marc Cherry's Next Soapy Show Gets Lifetime Pickup
Desperate Housewives ended its eight-season run this spring, but we won't have to wait long for more sudsy fun from creator Marc Cherry.
Lifetime has ordered 13 episodes of Cherry's Devious Maids, a series based on a Mexican telenovela and developed as a pilot for ABC. Starring Susan Lucci, Ana Ortiz, Judy Reyes, Dania Ramirez, and Roselyn Sanchez, among many others, the show follows the lives of five ambitious housekeepers in Beverly Hills.
Look for this new batch of desperate ladies to hit the small screen in 2013.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
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American Society for Nutriton
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Health Canada
The College of Family Physicians of Canada
Almond CS, Shin AY, et al. Hyponatremia among runners in the Boston Marathon.
N Engl J Med.
Ayus JC, Arieff AI. Glycine-induced hypo-osmolar hyponatremia.
Arch Intern Med.
Elhassan EA, Schrier RW. Hyponatremia: Diagnosis, complications, and management including V2 receptor antagonists.
Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens.
Hyponatremia. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated July 9, 2014. Accessed November 6, 2014.
Mittal R, Sheftel H, et al. Management of hyponatraemia.
Br J Hosp Med (Lond).
Peng K. Management of hyponatremia.
Am Fam Physician.
Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated December 15, 2012. Accessed November 15, 2013.
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Alisha Turner
Ramon Montoya
Find out why career took such a dramatic change and what was the initial inspiration for the change.
Roadtrip Nation Exploration
Zina Zarco
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My teammates are Anthony and Ramon. With each of us having very different interests, we desided to go on this road trip to learn about the career choices that some interesting people have made and (read more)
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Well our group name is Einstein Vogue and we are going on our roadtrip to find people who what they do for the love of the profession, not for the love of money. I hope to be able to find myself in (read more)
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