[OZAPRS] Packable Tracker

[Andrew Errington]

On Wed, May 7, 2008 08:44, vk3xci at aanet.com.au wrote:
>

> Guys,
> I have done this! not quite as portable as you want perhaps but good
> enough for motorcycle/pushbike Briefly...
> Quansheng handheld, tinytrack III, SLA battery and Battery charge
> regulator are in a METAL suitcase (from Dick Smith) on the carrier rack.
> 1/4 wave whip sits on case lid, Garmin GPS 12 on handlebars/ fairing.
>
>
> Maybe try a metal box rather than a plastic lunchbox...

G'day,

This is my first post on this mailing list.  I am Andrew ZL3AME.  I have
been watching this thread with interest, and like Norm, I have done this
too, with another ham in Christchurch.  I built a FreeTrak[1] (which is a
PIC-based APRS tracker) on some stripboard, and we put it into a Milo tin.
 The Milo tin is a bit large, but it is made of metal, and there is room
inside for a small SLA battery, a handheld, and the tracker.  A BNC
pigtail is mounted on the lid, along with the GPS unit.  Having a BNC
connector on the lid means that many different antennas can be used.

You need to be careful that the gel cell doesn't short out on the inside
of the tin, but the whole thing is self-contained and easy to carry in a
backpack or something.

You could use a metal lunchbox from KMart or The Warehouse, but we already
had the Milo tin (we drank all the Milo first).

I have also noticed that the connectors for the TinyTrak are *huge* in
comparison to the TinyTrak itself.  When I built the FreeTrak I used RJ11
connectors on the stripboard.  These are much smaller, and the connectors
latch.  You only need 4 wires for the GPS or the radio, and it's easy to
make up a 4-conductor RJ11 cable, or salvage a telephone cable from
somewhere.  For the GPS you need power, ground and data out (data in is
optional).  For the radio you need Tx audio, Rx audio, PTT and ground.  I
made a number of cable looms for different GPS models and different HTs.

73,

Andrew
ZL3AME

[1] http://www.ringolake.com/pic_proj/gps_trak/freetrak202.html

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