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Some very preliminary documentation regarding the BRB900 transmitter and receiver. BRB900 Windows programming software. If you have the "new" brb900 with the u-blox chipset, use this version.
Click for a larger picture ANTENNA OPTIONS are described here. The BRB900 TX/RX builds on the success of the 70cm Beeline GPS, and eliminates the need for an expensive receiver and an amateur radio license. The base models consists of a GPS receiver and a 900 Mhz spread spectrum transmitter for the device being tracked (see picture on the left), and a matching receiver with a USB interface (middle picture). Just plug unto your computer, and monitor the GPS data stream in real-time! The transmit/receive pair acts as a "virtual wire" link between the GPS and your computer, so it appears as if the GPS in the device being tracked is directly connected to the receive computer! Software from the GPS module manufacturer is available to select which NMEA sentences are produced, and the rate at which they are transmitted. Similar software is available on the receive side to monitor the data from the GPS module. An optional upgrade to the transmitter adds a microcontroller, non-volatile memory and G-switch to record in-flight data for later viewing in Google Earth (kml file). Up to 20 minutes of data is saved with positions stored every second. The upgraded transmitter can also be programmed to "summarize" the data from several NMEA sentences into a smaller data packet, saving bandwidth on the RF network and adding a unique identifier to allow for multiple units to be used easily at the same time. An optional upgrade to the receiver adds an LCD screen (pictured on right) and eliminates the need for a computer on the receive side. The 3x16 line sunlight viewable display shows latitude, longitude, altitude and many other important parameters. An internal battery recharges via the USB interface, which echoes the same data as the base model described above. Range is approx 6 miles using the included antennas, up to 15 miles using higher gain (Yagi) antennas for the receiver, but you'll have to supply that. SOFTWARE/FIRMWARE BeeFlash version 11: Flash update utility used to update the BeeLine GPS firmware BRB900 Firmware version 016: Corrects problem with G-switch Trimble Studio is used to program the Lassen IQ GPS Module. You use this with the entry level BRB900 transmitter to modify the rate and selection of the transmitted NMEA sentences: X-CTU is used to configure the RF Module. This is used to configure the software in the receiver products. The transmitter in the entry level transmitter must be transferred to a receiver for programming, and the "Smart" BRB900 transmitter has it's own software to configure the RF device. License free, and so simple to use! |
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