New uPatch OEM GPS Receiver Modules

Fastrax Ltd. (Finland) announced the latest additions to its uPatch family of ultra-compact receiver modules with an integrated high-performance patch antenna.

The RoHS-compliant uPatch100-S expands the Fastrax line of GPS receivers based on Sony GPS chipsets. The uPatch100-S is an ultra-small OEM GPS receiver with a built-in antenna. With a form factor of 22 x 22 x 8mm, it is a compact and versatile receiver for NMEA-only applications. Typical Hot Start Time to First Fix (TTFF) is 3 seconds, while state-of-the-art signal acquisition and tracking circuitry enables reliable navigation with weak signals and in difficult environments.

The RoHS-compliant uPatch 101 is a new addition to the uPatch product family. The compact receiver offers all the flexibility and high performance of other Fastrax OEM GPS modules, while providing additional options for product design through an integrated battery backup capacitor for low power modes.

The new uPatch102 is a RoHS-compliant upgrade to the previous-generation uPatch100 receiver module. The receiver features two additional I/O pins for baud rate selection, providing an interface that is otherwise identical to the uPatch100. This offers manufacturers the ideal way of upgrading their uPatch100-based designs for navigation performance while keeping hardware redesign time and costs to a minimum.

For the uPatch 102 and uPatch100-S receivers, low-power backup battery mode is achieved simply by removing the main power supply at any time. The receiver will resume normal operation once the main power supply is reconnected. The uPatch 101 operates with power from the internal battery backup capacitor for up to six hours while main power is removed.