After buying two Uniden BC-GPSK Serial GPS Receivers (I have a number of HP1's, a number of BCD-436HPs, one HP2 and one 536HP) I decided it would be nice to have a small, battery-powered GPS unit with a display and capable of feeding GPS data to more than one scanner at a time. I started looking around for useful information about the GPS port connector pinouts, etc. and found this VERY useful thread: http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-tech-support/307752-gps-cable-mod-uniden-scanners.html.
I pulled out an Arduino Uno, a TFT LCD module, an Adafruit Ultimate GPS module and a protoboard and created a small GPS unit with a display and 4 USB sockets so that I could connect up to 4 radios at a time (with Rosewill RCW-109 cables). Works perfectly and was fun to build.
After reading comments in several threads asking, "Since location-based scanning is a thing, why don't scanner manufacturers include built-in GPS?"
I decided to ask and answer a different question..."Why wait for scanner manufacturers to integrate on-board GPS into their scanners?"
The BCD-x36HPs, HP-1, HP-2 and others have a dedicated GPS port that wants RS-232 NMEA GPS data. GPS modules are readily available that spit out NMEA GPS data, but at TTL levels rather than RS-232 levels. So, if you combine a GPS module, a TTL <--> RS-232 converter and a compatible cable, you get GPS for your scanner. If you power the GPS unit from the batteries in your scanner, you get portability. See attached photo for parts I used and final result.
Note: Neither the mini-USB control port nor the 4-pin GPS port on the BCD-436HP seem to provide power...so "power the GPS unit from the batteries in your scanner" means connecting Vin on the GPS module and TTL-side of the voltage converter to the positive terminal of the top-most battery in the BCD-436HP. No +V connection is needed on the RS232 side of the converter, and you'll get a ground connection from the GPS cable (which also means the GPS module is only powered up when plugged into the GPS port, so there's your "off" switch.
So, why keep waiting? Make it yourself today!
And no...I will not build you one, sell you one, sell a parts kit, begin a kickstarter, etc. -- what part of "Make it yourself" wasn't clear? ;-)
MUCH credit and appreciation to this thread: http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-tech-support/307752-gps-cable-mod-uniden-scanners.html
I pulled out an Arduino Uno, a TFT LCD module, an Adafruit Ultimate GPS module and a protoboard and created a small GPS unit with a display and 4 USB sockets so that I could connect up to 4 radios at a time (with Rosewill RCW-109 cables). Works perfectly and was fun to build.
After reading comments in several threads asking, "Since location-based scanning is a thing, why don't scanner manufacturers include built-in GPS?"
I decided to ask and answer a different question..."Why wait for scanner manufacturers to integrate on-board GPS into their scanners?"
The BCD-x36HPs, HP-1, HP-2 and others have a dedicated GPS port that wants RS-232 NMEA GPS data. GPS modules are readily available that spit out NMEA GPS data, but at TTL levels rather than RS-232 levels. So, if you combine a GPS module, a TTL <--> RS-232 converter and a compatible cable, you get GPS for your scanner. If you power the GPS unit from the batteries in your scanner, you get portability. See attached photo for parts I used and final result.
Note: Neither the mini-USB control port nor the 4-pin GPS port on the BCD-436HP seem to provide power...so "power the GPS unit from the batteries in your scanner" means connecting Vin on the GPS module and TTL-side of the voltage converter to the positive terminal of the top-most battery in the BCD-436HP. No +V connection is needed on the RS232 side of the converter, and you'll get a ground connection from the GPS cable (which also means the GPS module is only powered up when plugged into the GPS port, so there's your "off" switch.
So, why keep waiting? Make it yourself today!
And no...I will not build you one, sell you one, sell a parts kit, begin a kickstarter, etc. -- what part of "Make it yourself" wasn't clear? ;-)
MUCH credit and appreciation to this thread: http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-tech-support/307752-gps-cable-mod-uniden-scanners.html
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