# How fast do GPS systems work ?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-gps-systems-work/115103>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 20, 2002, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-gps-systems-work/115103 "2002-06-20T17:32:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2002, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-gps-systems-work/115103/1 "2002-06-20T17:32:29Z")

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Can I get a distinct position reading 10 times a second or 10,000 times a second ? GPS guided bombs must update their position pretty regularly. Is the rate of acquisition limited on civilian, as opposed to military GPS devices ?

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**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2002, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-gps-systems-work/115103/2 "2002-06-20T17:41:11Z")

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I don’t know a number of readings per second. My consumer GPS gives me the impression that everything happens pretty damn close to real-time. Is there a lag? There has to be a delay in transfering the information to the screen, but it is very, very slight.

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**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-gps-systems-work/115103/3 "2002-06-21T03:40:11Z")

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I think the standard for civilian GPS receivers is about 1 update per second. Which is just fine for most everyone’s use in everyday activities. How fast you COULD get the updates, I don’t know. I imagine it would just depend on how long the data stream takes.

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**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-gps-systems-work/115103/4 "2002-06-21T04:04:56Z")

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And how fast an update speed does a bomb need, anyway? A good computer could continuously calculate the bomb’s position while only receiving actual position corrections every few seconds.