[Space] the APRS gear hath arrived

Mikolaj Habryn dichro at rcpt.to
Fri Feb 5 00:17:42 UTC 2010


I'll bring it by Noisebridge around 8.30 tonight. We have a pair of 5W
transceivers (ham license required to operate, so easy on the trigger
fingers :), a pair of APRS trackers, and a Garmin GPS.

Things to do:
* solder up the opentracker kits
* solder cables to connect tracker to radio
* upgrade firmware on Garmin GPS, make sure it's in aviation mode (and
whatever else it says to do on the argentdata product page for it)
* connect one of the radios to a laptop
* power tracker off lab power supply
* bench test - measure tracker current draw, confirm we get position
data end to end
* hook up antenna that Christie bought
* work out battery supplies for tracker (has an on-board regulator, supposedly)
* distance test (across the bay?) - probably for Saturday

I also have an SD card for the camera that's in the balloon box and
will bring my universal lithium charger. The pressure sensors are in
the box as well, and have a 6 pin SIP connector that ought be simple
to connect up to the opentracker, and the final bonus points shall be
awarded to whomever builds a trivial voltage divider that will let us
monitor voltage and current draw from the battery pack via the
tracker.

m.



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