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POCKET TRACKER TINY TRACK3 TIGHTLY INTEGRATED WITH A SPECIALLY DESIGNED APRS TRANSMITTER NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT. |
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I was
holding off an announcement on the TAPR lists until we were able to build more stock, but here goes. Orders can be placed now, but shipments may be delayed as we try to catch up with demand. Thanks, Byon & Tony Byonics, in concert with HiValue Radio*, is pleased and proud to officially announce introduction of The Pocket Tracker - the simplest, lightest (< 3 ounces), most economical, most compact, and cutest little APRS tracking transmitter you've ever seen. Connect a GPS receiver with a simple two-conductor cable and you're ready to make tracks! If you've ever thought about getting into APRS, this is the place to start: http://www.byonics.com/pockettracker A Pocket Tracker is a TinyTrak3 that's been tightly integrated with a specially designed APRS transmitter. The Pocket Tracker module precisely fits in an Altoids tin and there's still room for the battery. (See the web-site for other packaging examples.) At a once- per-minute beacon rate, a Pocket Tracker will operate for over 100 hours on a single 9-volt alkaline battery. That's over 6,000 position reports! No matter if you are an APRS novice, or a seasoned guru, you will appreciate all the fantastic features engineered into this little marvel. Two hams, both professional engineers and patent-holding inventors with over 60 years of combined ham radio experience, worked nearly full-time for an entire year developing the Pocket Tracker. There are no complicated radio connections to figure out or radio cables to buy or build or lose or break or wiggle loose. We've shrunk a TinyTrak3 (version 1.1) to about 40% of its original size by replacing everything except the DIP PIC and the resonator with the surface-mount equivalent components, yet the TinyTrak3 circuitry is schematically identical to the traditional through-hole TinyTrak3 that thousands of satisfied customers world-wide know and love. The Pocket Tracker even uses the exact same genuine Byonics DIP PIC that's used in all the through-hole TinyTrak3 kits. This smaller, mostly surface-mount version of the TinyTrak3 is embedded in, and tightly integrated with, a custom-designed from the ground-plane up, digitally-enhanced, PIC-controlled, PLL-stabilized, FM APRS transmitter. Pocket Trackers sing real modem tones. You can clearly hear the difference. Everything else sounds ragged by comparison. APRS receiving stations love to lock onto and decode these pure, fully- modulated tones. Connect a 5/8ths wave antenna to the BNC connector and Pocket Trackers routinely get directly into digi-peaters that are 45 air miles away. We've even had good luck at 23 miles with a stubby duck in a vest pocket. We've made it even easier for you to assemble by offering the Pocket Tracker in "semi-kit" form. You get all the advantages of surface- mount technology without having to solder a single surface-mount component. The heart of a Pocket Tracker kit is a PC board that's been populated by one of the world's premier contract manufacturers. All 65 surface-mount components are machine-loaded and machine- soldered; then every single solder joint is quality checked by automatic visual inspection machines. Both PIC micro-controllers are pre-programmed. There are only 24 through-hole components left for you to install: 13 inductors, 7 capacitors, a diode, a crystal, a resonator, and a DIP socket. The only other parts are just a few wires, connectors, and the TinyTrak3 chip (version 1.1). View the Kit Contents drawing and illustrated Assembly Instructions on the website. It's never been simpler - or less expensive - to experience the fun, convenience, and added security of APRS. Pocket Tracker accessory cables are available too. Look for the Pocket Tracker / PC Programming Cable, and the Pocket Tracker / GPS "pigtail", available very soon. Keep on trackin'! ™ Byon - N6BG, and Tony - N7MTZ *HiValue Radio - Simplifying APRS ™ http://www.byonics.com/pockettracker http://www.hivalueradio.com |
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