In article , VHFRadioBuff
says...

The usual scheme is that the GPS receiver feeds its data to the
TNC (in my case, a Kantronics KPC-3+), and the TNC interfaces with the
radio involved to move the data. APRS, as its name implies, is mainly
for position reporting.

But if I'm using a Palm Pilot, how does the Palm Pilot interface with the TNC?
Do you need a splitter so both can plug into the TNC? Can you recommend a GPS
unit that will do what I need? It's going to be a mobile setup, but doesn't
need to be the top of the line.

You need a serial (RS232) port on the Palm Pilot. If it lacks
such, or cannot be adapted to have one, you're pretty much SOL. In that
case, you would probably need to look at using a laptop computer.

In short: You have a serial connection from the GPS device to the
TNC. You have a second one from the TNC to the computer. The KPC-3+ can
accomodate both, as it has two hardware serial ports.

Choice of GPS unit is, again, a very individual and subjective
thing. I would suggest visiting http://www.gpscentral.ca -- they have a
wide variety of units from all manufacturers, and you get to take
advantage of the good exchange rate between US Dollars and Canadian. I
bought my OEM module from them.

--
Dr. Anton Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t c&o&m
"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (Red Green)

VHFRadioBuff and Dr. Anton Squeegee hacked out on digital impact entry devices:

Looking at the manual, it says it's version 5.0. When I use the "version"
command, I get this:

KPC3-54CF3230-5.1

I am guessing this is version 5.1? Is there a firmware update to bring it to
6.0?
Do you need a splitter so both can plug into the TNC? Can you recommend a
GPS
unit that will do what I need? It's going to be a mobile setup, but doesn't
need to be the top of the line.

You need a serial (RS232) port on the Palm Pilot. If it lacks
such, or cannot be adapted to have one, you're pretty much SOL.

If your Kantronics is V6 or higher, read the manual about connecting a GPS to
it. It will 'share' a port on the TNC.

Heh...you'll have to give me the "Anton Squeegee" reference again....forgot the
ref. for that, but it rings a bell. Also, lovely use of Latin...who said it
was dead??

That said, all Palms up to but excepting the Zire have an RS232 serial port
built in (and there may be some newer ones which are USB only...not sure).
I've used a Palm IIIc, a IIIx, a M505, and my M515 for pocketAPRS use. I
settled on the IIIc as I got it cheap and the wife complained when I "borrowed"
her Palm for testing.

Mine is run using a hacked HotSync cable. Power is obtained from the 12V car
system via a 5V regulated supply (love them cell phones...cheap/free parts!)
hooked to the appropriate connections in the H/S cable. GPS is hooked to the
TNC, the serial port of the TNC hooks to the Palm. Radio interface is off the
TNC. All of this is right out of the book...no mystical incantations or dead
chickens (other that what was in the sandwich, of course) (chicken, that is).
SO!!

The power supply powers the RatShak GPS head via the unused fourth wire in the
serial connection cable (uses an RJ11 cable ala telephone connector). This
took a bit of hacking internally....just ran thru a diode the + lead to the
unused fourth connector, wired the other end to the +5 for the Palm (actually
5.5V out, diodes for protection on both devices). TNC is under the seat along
with the radio. Antenna is a $5 RatShak glassmount POBGF which works for this
application. Data and power are run up to the Palm/GPS via one cable. 12V at
the radio/TNC is connected to the PS for the Palm & GPS head.

Lost you yet? Unit works OK, with only 4W out (old Icom commercial HT) I have
been able to maintain tracking around the small towns and cities here in
central NC. Works great for ARES work, esp. when we have flooding/storms and
folks want to see where you are located.

As for the TNC...you need at least V.6. Don't know if Kantronics has an
upgrade....lemme dig thru my junkbox, thought I had a dead KPC-3 board with the
later version ROM on it. To go the the "Plus" version you will have to upgrade
the board....but V.6.0 will get you GPS connectivity.

Andrew

In article , AA says...

snip

Heh...you'll have to give me the "Anton Squeegee" reference again....forgot the
ref. for that, but it rings a bell. Also, lovely use of Latin...who said it
was dead??

snicker Thank you! I was wondering if someone would ask me about
that. Think 'Firesign Theater.' More specifically, their latest album
'All Things Firesign.' There's a track on there called "Everything You
Know Is Wrong!" You'll need to listen to it to understand where I came
up with Anton Squeegee.

As for the Latin: That's simply a quote from 'The Red Green
Show,' a bit of Canadian comedy. Think of Red (aka Steve Smith) as the
Canadian version of Tim Taylor, but with a beard and graying hair.

That said, all Palms up to but excepting the Zire have an RS232 serial port
built in (and there may be some newer ones which are USB only...not sure).
I've used a Palm IIIc, a IIIx, a M505, and my M515 for pocketAPRS use. I
settled on the IIIc as I got it cheap and the wife complained when I "borrowed"
her Palm for testing.

They do? Good heavens... I had no idea. I always thought the
docking station did some voltage-level shifting to make it talk to the
PC's serial port.

Mine is run using a hacked HotSync cable. Power is obtained from the 12V car
system via a 5V regulated supply (love them cell phones...cheap/free parts!)
hooked to the appropriate connections in the H/S cable. GPS is hooked to the
TNC, the serial port of the TNC hooks to the Palm. Radio interface is off the
TNC. All of this is right out of the book...no mystical incantations or dead
chickens (other that what was in the sandwich, of course) (chicken, that is).
SO!!

Well, congrats! I'm glad someone knew of an alternate solution.

There you are, VHFRadioBuff... All the help you need from someone
who's actually done it.

--
Dr. Anton Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t c&o&m
"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (Red Green)

snicker Thank you! I was wondering if someone would ask me about
that. Think 'Firesign Theater.' More specifically, their latest album 'All
Things Firesign.' There's a track on there called "Everything You Know Is
Wrong!" You'll need to listen to it to understand where I came up with Anton
Squeegee.

As for the Latin: That's simply a quote from 'The Red Green
Show,' a bit of Canadian comedy. Think of Red (aka Steve Smith) as the Canadian
version of Tim Taylor, but with a beard and graying hair.

Ah, yes....I'll have to check that out...ah, for the days when people actually
USED their brains....and verbal spars and parries were witty, not profane. I
have always agreed with Samuel Clemmons (Mark Twain) when he said that
profanity was the last refuge of the weak mind.

And will check out the Red Green show next time I'm at our Montreal
office....but I really don't watch much TV. As for the Palm/APRS solution,
post here and I'll try to pull the details together to post, if one is
interested.

Cheers!
Andrew
KG4GSC

And my favourite...

"...if one tolerates bad manners, they grow worse. I must find the oaf who did
this thing, explain to him his offense, give him a chance to apologise, then
kill him." (R.A. Heinlein, "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls")

snicker Thank you! I was wondering if someone would ask me about
that. Think 'Firesign Theater.' More specifically, their latest album 'All
Things Firesign.' There's a track on there called "Everything You Know Is
Wrong!" You'll need to listen to it to understand where I came up with Anton
Squeegee.

As for the Latin: That's simply a quote from 'The Red Green
Show,' a bit of Canadian comedy. Think of Red (aka Steve Smith) as the Canadian
version of Tim Taylor, but with a beard and graying hair.

Ah, yes....I'll have to check that out...ah, for the days when people actually
USED their brains....and verbal spars and parries were witty, not profane. I
have always agreed with Samuel Clemmons (Mark Twain) when he said that
profanity was the last refuge of the weak mind.

And will check out the Red Green show next time I'm at our Montreal
office....but I really don't watch much TV. As for the Palm/APRS solution,
post here and I'll try to pull the details together to post, if one is
interested.

Cheers!
Andrew
KG4GSC

And my favourite...

"...if one tolerates bad manners, they grow worse. I must find the oaf who did
this thing, explain to him his offense, give him a chance to apologise, then
kill him." (R.A. Heinlein, "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls")

In article , AA says...

snip

Heh...you'll have to give me the "Anton Squeegee" reference again....forgot the
ref. for that, but it rings a bell. Also, lovely use of Latin...who said it
was dead??

snicker Thank you! I was wondering if someone would ask me about
that. Think 'Firesign Theater.' More specifically, their latest album
'All Things Firesign.' There's a track on there called "Everything You
Know Is Wrong!" You'll need to listen to it to understand where I came
up with Anton Squeegee.

As for the Latin: That's simply a quote from 'The Red Green
Show,' a bit of Canadian comedy. Think of Red (aka Steve Smith) as the
Canadian version of Tim Taylor, but with a beard and graying hair.

That said, all Palms up to but excepting the Zire have an RS232 serial port
built in (and there may be some newer ones which are USB only...not sure).
I've used a Palm IIIc, a IIIx, a M505, and my M515 for pocketAPRS use. I
settled on the IIIc as I got it cheap and the wife complained when I "borrowed"
her Palm for testing.

They do? Good heavens... I had no idea. I always thought the
docking station did some voltage-level shifting to make it talk to the
PC's serial port.

Mine is run using a hacked HotSync cable. Power is obtained from the 12V car
system via a 5V regulated supply (love them cell phones...cheap/free parts!)
hooked to the appropriate connections in the H/S cable. GPS is hooked to the
TNC, the serial port of the TNC hooks to the Palm. Radio interface is off the
TNC. All of this is right out of the book...no mystical incantations or dead
chickens (other that what was in the sandwich, of course) (chicken, that is).
SO!!

Well, congrats! I'm glad someone knew of an alternate solution.

There you are, VHFRadioBuff... All the help you need from someone
who's actually done it.

--
Dr. Anton Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t c&o&m
"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (Red Green)

VHFRadioBuff and Dr. Anton Squeegee hacked out on digital impact entry devices:

Looking at the manual, it says it's version 5.0. When I use the "version"
command, I get this:

KPC3-54CF3230-5.1

I am guessing this is version 5.1? Is there a firmware update to bring it to
6.0?
Do you need a splitter so both can plug into the TNC? Can you recommend a
GPS
unit that will do what I need? It's going to be a mobile setup, but doesn't
need to be the top of the line.

You need a serial (RS232) port on the Palm Pilot. If it lacks
such, or cannot be adapted to have one, you're pretty much SOL.

If your Kantronics is V6 or higher, read the manual about connecting a GPS to
it. It will 'share' a port on the TNC.

Heh...you'll have to give me the "Anton Squeegee" reference again....forgot the
ref. for that, but it rings a bell. Also, lovely use of Latin...who said it
was dead??

That said, all Palms up to but excepting the Zire have an RS232 serial port
built in (and there may be some newer ones which are USB only...not sure).
I've used a Palm IIIc, a IIIx, a M505, and my M515 for pocketAPRS use. I
settled on the IIIc as I got it cheap and the wife complained when I "borrowed"
her Palm for testing.

Mine is run using a hacked HotSync cable. Power is obtained from the 12V car
system via a 5V regulated supply (love them cell phones...cheap/free parts!)
hooked to the appropriate connections in the H/S cable. GPS is hooked to the
TNC, the serial port of the TNC hooks to the Palm. Radio interface is off the
TNC. All of this is right out of the book...no mystical incantations or dead
chickens (other that what was in the sandwich, of course) (chicken, that is).
SO!!

The power supply powers the RatShak GPS head via the unused fourth wire in the
serial connection cable (uses an RJ11 cable ala telephone connector). This
took a bit of hacking internally....just ran thru a diode the + lead to the
unused fourth connector, wired the other end to the +5 for the Palm (actually
5.5V out, diodes for protection on both devices). TNC is under the seat along
with the radio. Antenna is a $5 RatShak glassmount POBGF which works for this
application. Data and power are run up to the Palm/GPS via one cable. 12V at
the radio/TNC is connected to the PS for the Palm & GPS head.

Lost you yet? Unit works OK, with only 4W out (old Icom commercial HT) I have
been able to maintain tracking around the small towns and cities here in
central NC. Works great for ARES work, esp. when we have flooding/storms and
folks want to see where you are located.

As for the TNC...you need at least V.6. Don't know if Kantronics has an
upgrade....lemme dig thru my junkbox, thought I had a dead KPC-3 board with the
later version ROM on it. To go the the "Plus" version you will have to upgrade
the board....but V.6.0 will get you GPS connectivity.

Andrew