GPS input to DSC radio

[europe172]

Has anyone got any suggestions for a low cost way of getting GPS info into my radio, can I buy a GPS reciever for a PDA (£25) and connect it striaght into the radio?

 

[dnickj]

probably not as this wont have its own power supply

 

[mainmarine]

I think you will find that your radio will only accept NMEA input, so you would need a GPS that provides this, you can probably buy a used one for little money, Garmin 45/48 etc

 

[RestlessL]

You could try a "GPS Mouse" with a serial connector. These are becoming a bit of a rarity now asmost are USB, but you may find one on ebay.

Also, you may need to find a way to provide a 5V supply, although I did once have one which ran on 12V.

John

 

[Pasarell]

Icom sell a GPS aerial (for about £40 I think) that is suitable for connecting to their radios. I'm fitting mine to my new DSC radio today

 

[Avocet]

I use a GPS "mouse" with a USB connector but cut the connector off and played around with the wires until the DSC set got data. I have a small battery pack to power it (I think they'll pretty much all work at anything between 5 and 9 volts so mine gets 4 x 1.5 volt Alkaline batteries which seem to last fine for the short passages that I do.

 

[affinite]

Get one of the older simple function handheld garmin GPSs off ebay. No one really wants the old mono screen versions but I have 2 Garmin 45s that I bought for £25 each along with a cradle and 12v /data cable and they work just fine. One unit provides NMEA data for my plotter software, DSC radio and GPS cockpit repeater. The other is held as an emergency spare.

 

[europe172]

Many thanks for all the info, I have gone for a GPS mouse from e bay (£12) and I will power it from either a battery pack or a 12volt supply stepped down to 6 volt. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif