"Steve" <SteveK@owens-export.com> wrote:
> I have a Trimble GPS unit for sale.
> It is model 12545-00
[...]
> This unit requires some codes to work. I do not
> have the codes, I do not know if it works, I am
> selling it as-is.
That is a Trimble Trimpack GPS receiver, one generation older than the
ones that Fair Radio Sales was selling for $400 (model 16768-20, not
including installation kit) back in 1996. I forget what Fair was
charging for the installation kit. Granted, their units were used and
a bit banged up, while yours looks like it came right out of the box.
The newer version is basically the same, except it has some additional
user interface features. I have one of the newer models, as well as a
technical manual that I ordered from Trimble, and mine works just
fine.
Although both units were made for the military (and are built like
brick $#!^houses!), they use the standard civilian GPS service, and do
not require any crypto keys like units which use the military-grade
GPS service (I forget the exact terminology for the two grades). If
you power it up and turn it on, outside where it can see the sky, it
should get a GPS fix within a half hour, or much more quickly if it
has been operated recently. The "STS" setting will show you how many
satellite vehicles (SV's) it's tracking. Like any GPS unit, it can
give you latitude and longitude once it's tracking three satellites,
and can also give you altitude once it's tracking a fourth. It'll give
you better answers if it can track more than four birds.
It has an old 3-channel receiver, and is much less sensitive than
new-fangled 12-channel units. You'll be lucky if it can see any
satellites indoors. Try it outdoors in an open, treeless area.
Unless you have the AA battery adapter, you'll probably need to power
it with the external power cable supplied in the installation kit. It
should run on 9-32 VDC, so it'll run just as happily in a civilian
vehicle as in a HMMWV.
-- Mark J. Blair, KE6MYK <mblair1@home.net> PGP 2.6.2 public key available from http://pgp.ai.mit.edu/ Web page: http://www.qsl.net/ke6myk/ DO NOT SEND ANY UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL EMAIL TO THIS SITE
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