New Product Announcement: GPS

[Tanner]

Is it a separate/new system or does it work with existing transmitters?

[Captain Gizmo]

The rechargeable battery looks like you would take the lid off the old 1/3N, dump it out and screw the rechargeable in place of the old lid. I suspect it is a gram or two heavier looking at the size.

Regards,
Thomas of the Desert

[jdrmd]

Marshall just announced the rechargeable battery system for GPS on Facebook. Fantastic!

Longer life, rechargeable batteries, micro usb charger compatible. Charger does 3 at once.

See pic below, $45 for additional batteries, available mid October.

Nice!! Looking forward to seeing how well it works. Thanks for posting...some of us don't use facebook.

[Tasha55403]

The rechargeable battery looks like you would take the lid off the old 1/3N, dump it out and screw the rechargeable in place of the old lid. I suspect it is a gram or two heavier looking at the size.

Regards,
Thomas of the Desert

I think I saw a FB post yesterday that said it added 0.5 gram Well worth it, I would think!

[Tasha55403]

Yup, found it...here's the quote "The challenge is that rechargables are genrally 2x the size for the same energy, and we are all about staying small to allow leg and tail-mounting. So we found a way to get the same or better life than the 1/3N with just under 50% increase in size (not 100%) while gaining only .5 of a gram."

[Tasha55403]

I like that it says it will help acquire GPS lock faster. I got to try out a friend's GPS on V the other day and it took ages for it to sync up to the satellites. It would've been much simpler and eaten up a lot less battery life if you could wait till you got a point, turn it on and have it sync up quickly so you could fly before the game flushed. Instead, we had to turn it on, wait for it to sync, then look for a point while the battery is being steadily drained while we walked.

[Captain Gizmo]

The rechargeables are going to have a higher voltage. I can see where this would give a bit bigger transmitter output and some improvement in range. Rechargeables are also capable or very high discharge rates, so I can see where they would hold voltage better when the GPS draws big current in a cold environment. As to how either the higher voltage or higher current capability would help acquisition time I can not see. Acquisition is a software function.

Regards,
Thomas of the Desert

[goshawkr]

I think the rechargeable batteries are a step in the right direction. However, what I really want to see before I bite into this is better optimization of battery life.

I have a scout transmitter custom tuned by Marshall to give the longest possible battery life. I had them reduce the pulse length and pulse frequency as much as possible. I haven't timed it, but I think I get one 1/4 second chirp about every 6 seconds. With that optimization, I get about 60 days of use per battery.

Being somewhat of the thrifty persuasion, this is great. But its not the $3 per year battery bill that really got me focused on this. Its the peace of mind that my transmitter will still be banging strong if I loose my hawk for more than 3 weeks.

When I first started using this transmitter, I expected that telemetry hunts would take a bit more time because of the delayed pulse, but really it makes no difference. In the amount of time it takes me to pan an Arc, I get enough pulses to determine where the strongest part of the arc was. With the more frequent pulses from a normally set TX, it takes me just as long to pin down the strong signal, even though I will get several times more pulses come in.

I don't need or want several miles of range. I'll trade in distance for long battery life every single time. I also don't need frequent updates. Once every 5 minutes is quite excessive for my style of use. I realize that there is a big market for Marshall with the people who do want frequent updates and long range products, but there is another market they are ignoring at present.

[rkumetz]

I don't need or want several miles of range. I'll trade in distance for long battery life every single time. I also don't need frequent updates. Once every 5 minutes is quite excessive for my style of use.

75% of the time that I take out my receiver it is to just turn it on with the antenna folded and spin around to figure out which tree my bird is in. Crappy eyesight is a real pain in the backside. Having a variable update rate so you can adjust to your level of comfort would be helpful. With a new bird you may want to have it update more often until you have an idea how its pistachio sized brain works
and whether or not it is likely to do something odd.

[jdrmd]

I like that it says it will help acquire GPS lock faster. I got to try out a friend's GPS on V the other day and it took ages for it to sync up to the satellites. It would've been much simpler and eaten up a lot less battery life if you could wait till you got a point, turn it on and have it sync up quickly so you could fly before the game flushed. Instead, we had to turn it on, wait for it to sync, then look for a point while the battery is being steadily drained while we walked.

I typically turn the transmitter on as I get in the truck heading to the field. It takes anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes to get where I am going and the bird is ready to go when I get there. I missed a rabbit slip early last year because I wasn't ready when I drove into the field...not anymore.

Hopefully, the new battery will make a significant improvement is acquisition time.

[dboyrollz76]

With this system is it necessary to have a ham radio license to use?

[jdrmd]

With this system is it necessary to have a ham radio license to use?

From the Marshall Q & A located on the product page of the website:

"What are the regulations in the US and Canada for using the UHF bands?
The use of the 434 (or UHF) band in the USA & Canada requires the user to apply for a Ham Radio License (easily attainable by paying a small fee and passing a written test). Once done, the user is now a legal ‘station’ and is able to use the quiet UHF band and at much higher power levels. To legally use telemetry on this band, your transmitter must broadcast your station ID (Ham Radio Call Sign) once every ten minutes in Morse Code (a feature exclusive to Marshall transmitters). You simply enter your call sign or temporary station ID (phone number) into AeroVision."

[FredFogg]

From the Marshall Q & A located on the product page of the website:

"What are the regulations in the US and Canada for using the UHF bands?
The use of the 434 (or UHF) band in the USA & Canada requires the user to apply for a Ham Radio License (easily attainable by paying a small fee and passing a written test). Once done, the user is now a legal ‘station’ and is able to use the quiet UHF band and at much higher power levels. To legally use telemetry on this band, your transmitter must broadcast your station ID (Ham Radio Call Sign) once every ten minutes in Morse Code (a feature exclusive to Marshall transmitters). You simply enter your call sign or temporary station ID (phone number) into AeroVision."

Not needed anymore, I was told!

[dboyrollz76]

I guess I'll give them a call in the morning! Anyone know if they are open on Saturday?

[rkumetz]

With this system is it necessary to have a ham radio license to use?

Yes but if you passed the falconry test the ham test won't be much of a challenge.

[dboyrollz76]

Yes but if you passed the falconry test the ham test won't be much of a challenge.

your probably right. i was going to do it when the marshal system was released had one on back order then cancelled it. I was going to get it as I was wanting to get into abatement work. Figured it would help the employer be a little more comfortable, with me flying their birds.
I studied the ham radio books, but lost interest when the abatement work idea, was tossed by no one seemed to be hiring. Now I want one just for personal use.
Guess I'll brush of the dust on these books!

[raptrlvr]

I use the GPS transmitter with Aerovision on my iPhone 6. I don't have the receiver and instead I put a 216 transmitter on my birds and use my regular receiver just in case the GPS should stop working or lose connection to the satellite. Losing connection has happened 2 times so far. Do I need a ham license for that?

[Captain Gizmo]

I use the GPS transmitter with Aerovision on my iPhone 6. I don't have the receiver and instead I put a 216 transmitter on my birds and use my regular receiver just in case the GPS should stop working or lose connection to the satellite. Losing connection has happened 2 times so far. Do I need a ham license for that?

Jim,

Get rid of the "Need" word and substitute "technically supposed to have".

The Cheap Beep Project transmitters run on UHF. I put my call sign on each one, unless someone with a Ham license wants their own call sign. I keep my phone and Email current on the FCC data base. I have yet to hear from a helpful Ham that he is hearing one of my beacons.

I keep an open inquiry on the "legal?" silliness. I have heard of neither help nor hassle on VHF or UHF. Marshall has not heard of anyone receiving a "Cease and Desist" letter from the FCC.

My take on it is: Yes, it is good manners to carry a Ham license when operating a UHF amateur band transmitter of any kind.

Regards,
Thomas of the Desert

[Captain Gizmo]

For a more complete take on "What, me legal?" in which bands see:

Forum- Telemetry
Thread- Cheap Beep Project
Post- #45

Retrogrades
Thomas of the Desert

[rkumetz]

My take on it is: Yes, it is good manners to carry a Ham license when operating a UHF amateur band transmitter of any kind.

I would like to suggest an alternative description. You also don't NEED a driver's license as long as you never get pulled over (or try to fly on a commercial flight but that is another issue altogether). I suppose the same thing could be said for a falconry permit too.

As falconers it is simply a good idea for us to "keep our noses clean" as my grandfather used to say. If one person ends up being the subject of a complaint and is sent a C&D letter then all of a sudden we are not flying under the radar any more and the witch hunt may begin. We share the frequencies with hams who did get licenses so as Tom points out it is simply polite to do the same.

Considering that it is way easier to get a ham license than either a driver's license or a falconry permit why not just do it and be 100% legal?

[rkumetz]

your probably right. i was going to do it when the marshal system was released had one on back order then cancelled it. I was going to get it as I was wanting to get into abatement work. Figured it would help the employer be a little more comfortable, with me flying their birds.
I studied the ham radio books, but lost interest when the abatement work idea, was tossed by no one seemed to be hiring. Now I want one just for personal use.
Guess I'll brush of the dust on these books!

I can't believe I am about to say this but...
If you have no inkling that ham radio is another hobby you would like to pursue then ditch the books and go to one of the free test study web sites such as https://www.qrz.com/hamtest/ My wife went to that site
and took tests for 20 minutes a day starting on a weekend. The next Friday she took the test and passed. She admits to knowing virtually nothing about radio but she did pass and not by the skin of her teeth either. As a volunteer examiner I sort of shudder at the fact that the hobby has been dumbed down to the point where most people just memorize the answers to the questions. (You can tell when you are listening to hams on the air these days) This is, as they say, no longer your grandfather's ham radio.....