How do I find the
GPS Coordinates of my Home?

GPS devices have become the ultimate travel companions. Gone are the years when man relied on stars and moon signs to determine directions. Gone are the days when people relied on maps and local folks for directions. Gone are the days when people drive miles and miles just to realize that they are already lost. Gone are the days of delayed arrivals due to the mistake of taking the longest route instead of the shortest.

As it eliminates the guess work on navigating maps and unfamiliar places, driving with a GPS device is never an option. With the recent developments on GPS technology, GPS devices became more accurate and precise when it comes to locating points of interest like nearby gas stations, atm machines or even your home. Hence, it is important to determine the precise coordinates of your home on the map.

How does it work?

Most GPS devices make use of Google Maps search application. It can be used to also learn the map coordinates of the location of your home. You can actually do this in two ways.

Using your GPS device, open the Google Maps search application. Encode your home address to the search box. Now, your home address will appear on the left pane, which usually goes with a balloon and letter for distinction.

Click on the balloon or letter that corresponds to your correct address. This action will bring up a small window, which displays several options like "Get Directions", "Search Nearby", "Zoom Here" and many more.

At this point, you have two options to know the precise coordinates of your home. First, you can click on the "Link" option located on the top right corner of the Map window to bring up a window with two boxes; "Paste link in email" or "IM". Now, notice the URL on your browser. There, you will find the coordinates of your home.

Sample URL:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=100+W.+Madison+St.,+Chicago,+IL&sll=41.93271,-87.648733&sspn=0.002985,0.009474.

The highlighted portion is your home's precise map coordinates; latitude and longitude.

On the other option, you can click on the "Send" option located on the page's small window. This should bring up a message box that will also give you the same URL after listing your address.

Reminders

Consider the quality, function features and accuracy of your device. Not all GPS models and brands are created equal; it is never safe to assume that every GPS device is accurate.

GPS brands maintain marketing leverage by offering the highest possible accuracy as well as latest GPS technology. But be forewarned that no matter how accurate you determine your home's GPS map coordinates, GPS units can possibly be off those measurements by 5 to 10 meters.

Hence, to optimize the accuracy and precision of your device's navigation operations, make sure that it has a strong signal. There are GPS devices that do not work well indoors because of low or near zero signal. Also, factors like tall buildings, overcast skies, and heavy foliage can affect signal strength, which can also compromise the accuracy of your device.

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