[aprssig] HamHUD RevE Kit Accesories

[Jason Rausch]

Many APRSSIG members purchased HamHUD kits on the last
go around, so I am cross-posting this here...

I am now ready to start taking
pre-orders for the RevE Breakout Boards and FRAM
Adapters if anyone
is still interested.

The price for the breakout board kit is $45 including
all on-board
parts. This does not include a cable to go between the
breakout
board and the HamHUD. 

I experimented with some off-the-shelf cables, but
there was a
problem. On the HamHUD end, the female was needed.
Every cable I
found had the threaded collars for the tiedowns on
this end of the
cable. So the cable could not be secured to the HamHUD
except for
friction. Laying on a bench it was fine, but as soon
as you put that
setup in a bumpy car environment, it will fall out in
no time.

I will however keep a few of these cables on-hand if
someone would
like to buy one and give it a try. They are nice well
made, black
cables. It was a shame they did not work out the way I
had hoped.

The FRAM adapter is updated as well with an on-board
0.1 uF cap, as
suggested by Dale. I have had the prototype board
running in a RevE
on my bench for the last 2 months without a flaw. The
FRAMboard
comes assembled with the SMT FRAM included. This item
is $20 per.

I have set up a special ordering page just for these
items at:

<http://www.rpc-electronics.com/hhacc.php>

Here is a picture of the board that will be shipping:

<http://www.rpc-electronics.com/img/hh/hhbbv18.jpg>

The breakout board is simply a way to organize and
un-clutter the cabling with the the HamHUD. With the
launch of the RevE design we introduced a new pinout
standard with the DB15 connector. This also
"standardized" a way to interfacing to the HamHUD.

In the past most people, including myself, had
multiple connectors on their HamHUDs that would
connector everything, ie. TNC, GPS and Power. It
could be done somewhat neatly, but when it came down
to it, you still had a minimum of three cables hanging
off of your Hud.

In came the RevE design. The idea was to have one
cable from the HamHUD, run it to somewhere hidden and
have all of the interface clutter there. Somwhere out
of sight and connect everything there. Before,
several of us were doing somthing similar with DB9's
or even Tony's awesome use of an old Apple printer
cable on his HudVee
(http://www.hamhud.net/hh2/Cable.jpg)

The breakout board is basically a way to connect
everything at that "other end" easily and neatly.
I'll run down some features.

1. Only needs a single straight through male DB15 to
female DB15 between it and the HamHUD.

2. Two common pinned DB9 male ports. One for the TNC
and the other for the GPS.

3. GPS port has power for GPS unit on pin 4. This is
jumper settable for either +5VDC (from the HamHUD) or
+12VDC (via on-board regulator).

4. GPS is pinned so that a standard GPS to computer
serial port cable can be plugged directly in. No null
adapters needed.

5. TNC port is pinned for standard DB9 female to DB15
male cable. Direct plugin, no null needed (except
when flashing/programming).

6. RTS line from HamHUD runs through a three pin
jumper. One side goes to the RTS line of the TNC
port. The other side of the jumper runs to the TX pin
of the GPS port. This is for a future feature to send
waypoints back to a GPS for display. This will only
be capable in XFLOW or KISS mode (when available in
future firmware).

7. Power indicator LED.

8. Standard 2.1mm coaxial power jack for main system
power supply. Everything is powered from this point,
except the TNC.

This is a final call for pre-orders.  I will be
placing the board order Friday evening.

Thanks!
Jason KE4NYV
RPC Electronics
www.rpc-electronics.com