Byon Garrabrant, N6BG of Las Vegas, NV has designed, and is now selling KITS of an APRS TNC based on a PIC Chip.
This is a VERY easy kit to build. The part locations and orientations are silk screened on the circuit board, so you can't go wrong. It's quite small, and can be "built in" to your own case, or tucked into some other piece of gear like a Tripmate.
You "program" the chip (your Callsign, etc.) via a small Windows Program that you download from the BYONICS WWW Page. Very cool! And at $30.00, CHEEP TOO. Check it out!
The TinyTrakII adds some very nice features over the original TinyTrak (now discontinued). You can UPGRADE your old TinyTrak to a II by simply changing out the ROM. Order a new one from Byon.
Some of the new features include:
Time Slotting:
If enabled, the offset setting sets the time from the start of the hour that
a transmission will occur. After that transmission, transmissions will continue
at the Transmit Every rate until re-syncing at the next start of the hour. This
option is useful to preset transmission times for multiple trackers.
SmartBeaconing:
These options setup SmartBeaconing. SmartBeaconing is an algorithm created by
Steve Bragg for adjusting the transmit rate by the speed and heading changes
on the tracker. As the tracker moves faster, the transmit rate will increase
linearly. SmartBeaconing also uses CornerPegging to cause transmissions to occur
when the tracker turns corners.
SmartBeaconing and time slotting are mutually exclusive.
SmartBeaconing Min Turn Angle, Turn Slope, and Min Turn Time:
These settings set CornerPegging parameters for the minimum turn angle (degrees),
turn slope (MPH-degrees), and
minimum turn time (seconds). Turns less than the minimum turn angle since the
last transmission will not cause a
transmission. The lower the turn slope, the quicker TinyTrakII will transmit
due to turning.
SmartBeaconing Slow Speed, Slow Rate:
This setting sets the SmartBeaconing slow speed (MPH) and rate (seconds). Speeds
slower than the slow speed will
cause TinyTrakII to beacon at the Slow Rate.
SmartBeaconing Fast Speed, Fast Rate:
This setting sets the SmartBeaconing fast speed (MPH) and rate (seconds). Speeds
faster than the fast speed will cause
TinyTrakII to beacon at the Fast Rate.
And much more... You can download the entire TinyTrackII Manual from Byon's www site.
The TinyTrakII outputs MIC level audio, which works fine if your going to an HT or Mobile rig. If by chance your going to use the Kantronics TX Board, or some other similar scheme that will require Line Level audio, you will need to boost the audio level coming out of the TinyTrakII.
So... Mike, N9NPB drew up the following small circuit to take TinyTrakII level audio and boost it to a level that drives the KAN Board very well. It's made up of very easily available (read Radio Shack!) parts.
Thanks Mike!
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June. 3, 2001