Re: Building a GPS Receiver

Hi Scott,

> I am a Land Surveyor and software developer that is very interested in
> building a GPS receiver that uses an off-the-shelf commercial GPS
> receiver and open source software.

If you're talking about an OEM GPS receiver board, then it's called the
GPL-GPS project, and you can read about it on our website:

 http://gps.psas.pdx.edu/

Feel free to join the GPL-GPS mailing list if this is what you're
interested in.

> [1] Is there any active development on a "homegrown" GPS receiver? If so
> which project? Would I be able to help with those development efforts?

There's lots of "homegrown" GPS projects out there. Most require a PC to
operate. For example, see the OpenSource GPS project at:

 http://home.earthlink.net/~cwkelley/

And here's a list of most of the open source projects:

 http://gps.psas.pdx.edu/OpenGnssProjects

There's unfortunately no one working on a embedded open hardware GPS
receiver... it's a project we'd like to do with GPL-GPS, but it's a lot
of RF work and a pretty expensive endeavor as well.

> [2] I'm not very familiar with low-level programming and digital
> electronics. I do know some basic prinicples of logic circuit design and
> dabble in the C programming language. I do have a lot of experience with
> high-level programming languages, and lots of time using survey-grade
> GPS. I am a Linux user, but I'm no Unix pro. I am willing to learn new
> skills, but am I getting in over my head if I try to build my own GPS
> receiver?

Getting involved in GPS is by its very nature an "over your head" kind
of thing because it involves everything from RF to DSP to software. But
it's fun! And as long as you have the time, it's possible to do. There
are tons of books and resources to help you out on your way. You can
focus on the things you want to, and let other people handle the details
you don't want to.

In terms of GPL-GPS, all you need is a Linux box with a few serial ports
and you're on your way... everything is detailed on the website. We'll
soon have instructions for Windows development as well.

I hope that helpes!

Andrew


-- 
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Andrew Greenberg

Portland State Aerospace Society (http://psas.pdx.edu/)
[email protected]  P: 503.788.1343  C: 503.708.7711
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