New GPS Receiver Initialization. When your GPS unit is turned on for the first time, it does not know where it is, the date or the time. To initialize a GPS unit is to basically tell the receiver where it is, what the date is, and what the time is. This allows it to know which satellites should be overhead, so it can start searching for them to lock onto them. When a new GPS receiver is first powered-up, even if it is not initialized, it can still determine its …