Video: so it worked the first satellite navigation system

Posted on 12-05-2014 at 21:06 by JordyS – 17 Comments”

There was a time that TomTom and Google Maps did not exist yet and the road had yet to find with anything but practical maps. Nevertheless, it is the first satellite navigation system already 33 years old.

The principle of the first satellite navigation system actually worked very easy, especially when compared with the GPS systems of today. The Electro Gyrocator, Honda made use of plastic cards: a lot cheaper than the upgrades from TomTom. The system worked without the satellites and calculate your position based on the distance travelled and the direction.

How ever, as precise as could work the system to be used for navigation? Honda used an extra gear in the transmission to calculate the distance, and a helium gyroscope to determine position. Then have yourself only the plastic cards to be added to be able to see where you are at that moment. That was the most difficult chore: shoved the card in the wrong in the Electro Gyrocator, then lost you hopeless.

The navigation was a year long as an option offered with the purchase of a Honda Accord, but was not a great success. Not so crazy if you consider that the system is now 5,000 euro (a quarter of the price of the Accord) would cost. In addition, you had planned routes itself with a black marker on the card draw. For that amount of money you expect something more…

Watch the video with the navigation system on Autojunk.