new products

I have taken the liberty to copy this info from the MicroTrak Yahoo forum where Allen Lord has announced some new products to be released in the near future. Some of these will no doubt be of interest to APRS aviators.

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I attended the Dayton Hamvention with Byonics last week, and our
booth was always busy! I was showing two new prototypes of Micro-Trak
products. The first one is called the Micro-Trak AIO (all-in-one)
which has an 8 Watt, frequency agile transmitter and a built in SirF
III GPS in a waterproof case ( I suppose its always safer to
say "water resistant: isn't it?) Power is an 8 pack of AA batteries.
The case has an O-ring sealed SMA connector, and the only control is
under the water tight door. This unit is designed for SAR teams and
others that want a one stop tracker. In fact, we will be offering
this device pre-programmed with the customers call sign, etc. ( You
will of course be able to program it yourself if you wish) The case
is a Pelican Micro-Case, about the size of a hand-talkie, and built
for abuse. I will post photos soon, and expect to be shipping by mid
June.

The second product we showed was a Micro-Trak based on the TinyTrak 4
controller. This device will allow you to send and receive tracking
information, and display it on your PC, our compatible GPS display
receiver. Byon is also working hard right now on developing
digipeater firmware for this unit.

Byon is adding a liquid crystal display and a PS/2 keyboard to the
TT4, which I will incorporate into the TT4/Micro-Trak. This will
allow APRS messaging, packet capabilities, and other features, such
as displaying the range and bearing to other stations. ( aircraft
people are going to love this!) The unit will be a single channel,
1/2 Watt transceiver.

73,

Allen
VHS/Byonics
KG6HXO

Are you sure about the power?

0.5 watt. Why not adjustable up to 8 watts?

Ron,

I have to seperately develop a power amplifier that will work for both sending and receiving-current Micro-Trak products only transmit, and a switching system will have to be added. You can use any commercial ham radio 2 meter amp (that will accept 1/2 Watt drive) for the time being, but I am developing an outboard amplifier for this product as well.

Allen
VHS

Another cut-n-paste from the Micro-Trak Yahoo forum. While this isn't the "aviation" unit, seems to me it would work great mounted on a bracket inside a wingtip. Would still need the Micro-Volt regulated power supply. A mini-jack on the bottom surface of the wingtip would allow quick programming without removing the tip.

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I have been addressing this question on a piecemeal basis, but FYI, I
expect to have all the special order parts I need to start assembling
the Micro-Trak AIO by Mid-June, and shipping shortly thereafter. I have
lots of things to do, including building a drilling fixture for the
through-hole in the case for the O-ring sealed SMA connector, and
having Byon tweak the firmware for power saving, but things are looking
very good. The Micro-Trak AIO will be frequency agile, adjustable high-
power (nominally 8 Watts) and run on a pack of 8 AA alkaline batteries.
The PC board has a 2.5mm stereo plug (Kenwood Style) for programming,
but we intend to make these available pre-programmed for the computer-
phobic ham! The whole unit is packaged in a water-resistant Pelican
Micro-1030 case. ( About the size of a mid-sized,hand-held radio)All
the controls will be under the water tight door. If there is interest,
we will probably have a custom cordura nylon holster made for the case.
The built-in GPS unit is a SirF 3 with WAAs enabled and integral
antenna. I will post photos as soon as I get my new PC boards in hand.

Allen
VHS

Micro-Trak for aviation

Sam, Sam, Sam, did you really think I had forgotten about you guys? The aviation version will be a Micro-Trak 8000FA with a built in voltage regulator and provision for a remote display/control panel. It will be packaged in a lightweight aluminum extruded case or just sold as a board. You don't need the power management functions of the portable, and it would only get in your way for your applications.

Allen
VHS

Allen, that sounds great. Thanks for developing in the direction of our needs. Most of us are qualified tinkerers (by the fact that we fly an airplane we built in our garage), so are probably a great audience for your efforts. I'm loving my MT 8000, but will surely be in need of another one for the next ship.

Micro-Trak All-In-One

I have posted photos and a little more info about the new Micro-Trak AIO (All-in-one) on the Micro-Trak Yahoo Users' group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MicroTrak/) I also want to remind you that the old MT-8000 is totally gone, and there are only a few MT-300's left ( except for the European frequency) These will not go back into production when sold out.

Fly safe,

Allen
VHS

KITPLANES Magazine

Sam,

Did Kitplanes publish your article on APRS? I have received a few E-Mails about an article there.

Allen
VHS

Wow, Sam now you're a celebrity just like Dan and Paul. Great article in the latest Kit Planes!

VHS said:

Sam,

Did Kitplanes publish your article on APRS? I have received a few E-Mails about an article there.

Allen
VHS

Click to expand...

rv9aviator said:

Wow, Sam now you're a celebrity just like Dan and Paul. Great article in the latest Kit Planes!

Click to expand...

Yes Allen, the article is in the latest (August) issue...ramp up the production line.

Thanks for the kind comment, Jim--'bout the article...not sure about being like Dan and Paul!!