[aprssig] NMEA output GPS or compass?

Greg D ko6th.greg at gmail.com
Sat Jun 30 01:20:26 EDT 2018


Oops... cancel that.  I was thinking of my other GPS (Vista), which
doesn't have a serial port.  But there was a model in between the two
that I think does have both a serial port and automatic magnetic compass...

Anyway, just a thought that some of the slightly older equipment might
fit the bill.

Greg  KO6TH


Greg D wrote:
> One can pick up a Garmin GPS-III on eBay for about $20.  Serial
> interface built-in, but with the round connector.  It includes a
> magnetic compass, and switches to it when not moving, at least for the
> internal display - not sure what happens to the serial data strings.
>
> Greg  KO6TH
>
>
> John Gorkos wrote:
>> So, does it just want GPHDT?  Putting together a microprocessor that
>> reads a 3DOF compass sensor and outputs the NMEA sentence once per
>> second is an Arduino-101 project.  Hardest part would be getting the
>> signal levels correct going to the back of the LD-250.  The entire thing
>> would fit in an altoids tin (but shouldn't... you know... the whole
>> magnetic field sensor doesn't like that).
>>
>> de AB0OO
>>
>> On 6/29/18 13:41, david vanhorn wrote:
>>> The GPS really would add nothing to the system.  Their map is static.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jun 29, 2018 at 11:52 AM, John Gorkos <jgorkos at gmail.com
>>> <mailto:jgorkos at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>     I'm a little late to this, but what input is the LD-250 looking for?
>>>     If it's straight NMEA with GPHDT sentences, why not just build your own
>>>     little device to do that?  Seems to me, you could do the whole thing for
>>>     about $80:  a $10 Atmega µProcessor like a trinket, a $15 triple-axis
>>>     accelerometer board with a LSM303DLHC chip on it, and a $40 GPS board
>>>     with NMEA out.  Throw in a $10 level converter to get the output signals
>>>     up to "true" RS-232 levels, and put a little glue code in there to
>>>     generate the GPHDT sentence and mix it with the NMEA stream from the
>>>     GPS, and put it all in a nice little box with a power plug on it.
>>>
>>>     Heck, send me $80 and give me a week, and I'll send you the box.  I've
>>>     got everything I need sitting here on my test bench.
>>>
>>>     John Gorkos
>>>     AB0OO
>>>
>>>     On 6/29/18 10:27, david vanhorn wrote:
>>>     > Thanks all. 
>>>     >
>>>     > I am going to hold off till I find a fluxgate compass.  The GPS route
>>>     > would "work" but this thing has enough issues already.
>>>     >
>>>     > The Boltek LD-250 is " Long Range detection Designed for mobile
>>>     use in a
>>>     > moving vehicle with a GPS or Compass connected " (From their web site)
>>>     > However..
>>>     >
>>>     > Their software doesn't work with any known map program.
>>>     > The unit sends strike information as bearing and distance relative to
>>>     > the front side of the sensor.
>>>     > If you add a compass, the strikes are rotated accordingly.
>>>     > The strikes are not converted to anything like an object at a
>>>     coordinate
>>>     > though, so if the vehicle is moving, they are "smeared" across the
>>>     map.
>>>     >
>>>     > It's only really useful while moving if the strikes are converted to
>>>     > absolute rather than relative coordinates, and then the image is
>>>     rotated
>>>     > and panned accordingly to the vehicle rotation and motion.
>>>     > I could easily live without an actual map
>>>     >
>>>     > The GPS wouldn't give me workable heading data when not moving,
>>>     and the
>>>     > LD-250 doesn't give useful data while I am moving..
>>>     >
>>>     > With a compass, at least I could park in whatever direction works, and
>>>     > I'd get a display rotated so that it's oriented north up.
>>>     >  
>>>     > It's a fixed location instrument in a mobile package.   The only
>>>     plus is
>>>     > that it doesn't require a full PC with PCI slot to run.
>>>     >
>>>     > Basically, in the 10 years since I last used it, the half-assed
>>>     > implementation of their software hasn't improved at all.   I need
>>>     it to
>>>     > be at least 3/4 assed. :)
>>>     >
>>>     > It would be really cool if some working mobile app/program whatever
>>>     > could be trained to hear their data and plot it on a working map.
>>>     >
>>>     >   $WIMLI,<ddd>,<uuu>,<bbb.b>*<cs><cr><lf>
>>>     >  
>>>     > <ddd> - corrected strike distance 0-300 miles
>>>     >   <uuu> - uncorrected strike distance 0-300 miles
>>>     > <bbb.b> - bearing to strike 000.0-359.9 degrees
>>>     >        <cs> - checksum in hex
>>>     >    <cr> - carriage return
>>>     >    <lf> - line feed
>>>     >
>>>     >
>>>     >
>>>     > http://www.boltek.com/manual-ld-250.pdf
>>>     <http://www.boltek.com/manual-ld-250.pdf>
>>>     >
>>>     > On Thu, Jun 28, 2018 at 7:25 AM, david vanhorn <kc6ete at gmail.com
>>>     <mailto:kc6ete at gmail.com>
>>>     > <mailto:kc6ete at gmail.com <mailto:kc6ete at gmail.com>>> wrote:
>>>     > 
>>>     > 
>>>     >     I'm reactivating an old project, and I would like to find an NMEA
>>>     >     output GPS unit like the old Garmins with their four pin connector,
>>>     >     or a compass with similar output.
>>>     > 
>>>     >     What I've seen in compasses are crazy expensive ($500), and GPS
>>>     >     units seem to all be USB output now if they have any external data
>>>     >     connection at all.
>>>     > 
>>>     >     What I absolutely need at a minimum is a compass or GPS with an NMEA
>>>     >     output. The system has NMEA+ NMEA-, +12V power to compass/GPS and
>>>     >     ground.  If it's a GPS unit, I would prefer some sort of simple
>>>     >     "puck" style unit rather than something with a display and buttons
>>>     >     to misconfigure.
>>>     > 
>>>     >     Any sources coming to mind?
>>>     > 
>>>     > 
>>>     >     -- 
>>>     >     K1FZY (WA4TPW) SK  9/29/37-4/13/15
>>>     > 
>>>     > 
>>>     > 
>>>     > 
>>>     > -- 
>>>     > K1FZY (WA4TPW) SK  9/29/37-4/13/15
>>>     > 
>>>     > 
>>>     > _______________________________________________
>>>     > aprssig mailing list
>>>     > aprssig at lists.tapr.org <mailto:aprssig at lists.tapr.org>
>>>     > http://lists.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig
>>>     <http://lists.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig>
>>>     >
>>>     _______________________________________________
>>>     aprssig mailing list
>>>     aprssig at lists.tapr.org <mailto:aprssig at lists.tapr.org>
>>>     http://lists.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig
>>>     <http://lists.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> K1FZY (WA4TPW) SK  9/29/37-4/13/15
>> _______________________________________________
>> aprssig mailing list
>> aprssig at lists.tapr.org
>> http://lists.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig




More information about the aprssig mailing list