[aprssig] Really CHEAP Puck-type USB GPS Receiver

[Lee Bengston]

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 4:48 PM, Dave B <dave at g8kbv.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> BUT...  Take care if you have Windows 7 (32 or 64 bit)  On this box, (32
> bit) the Prolific drivers (whatever version I can find) BSoD's the system
> after a random time when this device is used.  Irrespective of whatever
> application it's used with.  (Maps, APRS, GPSView etc.  Even PuTTY's
> serial terminal!)
>
> Sometimes it'll work for hours, sometimes it'll fall over within minutes.
>
> Windows logs always point to "Driver" issues, and the only "recently
> connected hardware" is that GPS puck.

Overall Prolific doesn't have a good track record with either LInux or
Mac OSX - at least not in the context of users posting on APRS related
mailing lists.  Based on my own experience, Prolific is fine in Linux
for the GPS application - even a long road trip won't reproduce the
problem.  However, a 7x24 IGate is another story.  Prolific based USB
to serial adapter = 2-3 days of continuous operation followed by the
port freezing - reboot to recover it.  FTDI based USB to serial
adapter = no issues - runs for weeks.  No changes were made to any
other hardware or software.

Not surprisingly the adapters at the bottom of the price scale are
usually Prolific based.

Lee - K5DAT