ASTM International

Standard Guide for Basic Wilderness GPS/GNSS Use (GPS/GNSS-IW) Endorsement
 N F3071

Annotation

This guide establishes the minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities required to use a GPS/GNSS2 receiver to determine one's position, and collect location data, in the wilderness.

This guide applies to the use of a GPS/GNSS receiver on land, on and off roads, and on small bodies of water, wherever GPS/GNSS signals can be received.

This guide applies to the use of a GPS/GNSS receiver in disaster areas where local positioning aids or references may be lost or damaged.

This guide does not apply to the use of a GPS/GNSS receiver on large bodies of water, at sea, or in the air.

A person who meets the requirements in this guide is only prepared to operate a GPS/GNSS receiver to determine his or her location, and collect position and movement information, in a wilderness environment.

This guide does not imply that a GPS/GNSS receiver is a replacement for a map and compass. Use of the latter is strongly recommended as a backup for GPS/GNSS navigation.

This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2 This guide refers to GPS/GNSS, rather than GPS, receivers, due to the increasing number of global satellite navigation systems worldwide. Currently, only GPS and GLONASS are in operation and provide global satellite coverage. However, satellite navigation receivers are now manufactured which are capable of utilizing GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo satellites to determine a position on or above the earth's surface.