New TT4 functionality

Here is a heads up I thought you migh be interested in. Its from a release to Byonics customers regarding a Ham convention in Dayton next week, and reads in part:

I have been working on a TinyTrak4 with a display. I call it
TinyTrak4D. It currently works much like the PICPAC, decoding
received packets to the display. It can display raw packets, as well
as fully parsed MIC-E packets, and I will be adding support for other
protocols. It should also be able to display range and bearing of
received stations to you if you connect a GPS. It will be able to
store and recall several received packets. I have also added a
keyboard port so you can connect a standard PS/2 keyboard. With this,
I plan to make it a APRS messaging terminal, so you can type, send,
receive, and browse APRS messages. There will also be buttons to
scroll through packets (emphasis added)
This is the product I will be designing a new Micro-Trak around, and it sounds like it will do what you want for mid-air rendezvous.

Allen
VHS

Sounds very interesting. Also sounds like a textual collision avoidance "aid." That should really minimize my brain freeze trying to determine where Rick is.

Allen

So are you basically going to make a Micro-Trak 8000 FA with the TT4?

Let us know, I am ready to get in line with my cash.

Micro-Trak TT4

Wade,

Actually, the first Micro-Trak I will build for production will be single channel (144.390-sorry Europe....) to keep cost, size,and complexity down. 99.9% of all the people using these are likely to be Americans anyway. Later generations will be frequency agile, like the MT-8000 FA. This new unnamed TT4/Micro-Trak exists as a prototype on a 3 X5 sized card right now, and for testing only puts out 500 mW's. The production version will be an 8-10 Watt device, like the 8000 series Micro-Traks. I guess we had better start looking for mini ps/2 style keyboards!

Allen
VHS

That keyboard better be placarded "for passenger entertainment only" . I'm sensing a mid air collision enhancer here... Stay safe with eyes out the window. I already spend enough (too much) time looking at my mode S "fish finder".

Thanks Allen.

Keyboard port question

Is that USB and if so can the firmware and other configuration info be updated that way? Can a thumb drive (?) be inserted to update info?

I am assuming (dangerous) that a full size, baby sized or cellphone type keypad can be found in USB form.

USB

Ron,

Nope, we will be using serial and PS/2 serial, not USB.

Allen
VHS