[aprssig] D710 GPS Port

[Jason Winningham]

On Aug 17, 2007, at 7:49 AM, Dave Baxter wrote:

> The main problem still applies,
> you need to know the comm's spec of the device you connect to it,  
> if it
> is just using a serial TTL to USB chip (another FTDI procuct) then it
> could be easy to unscramble and get the data.

Their current firmware (I don't remember which version) already knows  
how to talk to an FTDI usb/232 device.  I haven't quite figured out  
the utility of such an arrangement, unless it is to extend it so that  
several such devices can be used at once.

I wouldn't mind seeing USB HID keyboard and mouse firmware for it.   
(Oddly enough, it seems to have support for two PS/2 ports, but I  
haven't explored that.)

> As to the TH-D710.  I doubt if I will ever own one.

Me either, but if they have pulled the microcontroller out of the  
radio case and put it in the control head, then it opens up the  
possibility of reverse engineering the protocol and replacing the  
control head with some custom device.  I guess technically we could  
have done that with the D700 (and I seem to recall someone got a  
start on it).

All things considered, it still seems like a giant step sideways  
(with maybe a tiny forward movement) compared to the D700.  Hopefully  
the price will come down to match the D700 once the stock of D700s  
are cleared out and the "new" wears off a bit.

-Jason
kg4wsv