Engineered Access Solutions

News Release from: Abacus Express South
Subject: Tyco A1029A and A1030 GPS modules
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 11 January 2006

Tiny GPS modules take position on the shelf

Abacus Express has added the industry's smallest GPS modules to feature dead-reckoning as well as satellite positioning.

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Abacus Express has added the industry's smallest GPS modules to feature dead-reckoning as well as satellite positioning, following the extension of Abacus Group's franchise with Tyco, to include navigation as well as electromechanical components. The latest models from Abacus include the compact A1029 and a complete controller solution, the A1030. Together with existing offerings for GPS, GSM/GPRS and high-end microcontroller products, these strengthen Abacus' position in the telematics and automotive location markets.

A1029A and A1029B modules are Tyco's smallest, and now offer dead-reckoning functionality as well as satellite positioning.

By processing sensor data alongside GPS signals, the modules can determine position accurately, even without access to satellites, for example in tunnels and urban canyons.

As a result, the A1029A is the smallest dead reckoning module on the market, requiring the least number of external components for correct and continuous position calculation.

Performance comes from two industry leading GPS integrated circuits - the ST Microelectronics STA2051 GPS baseband chip with embedded ARM processor, RAM and Flash, coupled to the low-power and small-sized SiGe SE4100L GPS RF chip.

This results in a complete ultralow-power-consumption module that is available off-the-shelf, ready-to-use and NMEA-compliant.

Broader capability still is offered by the A1030 - a complete controller module that combines standard GPS and dead reckoning with augmentation services such as WAAS/EGNOS (Wide Augmentation System/European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) and data logging functionality.

It has an integrated battery backup circuit and antenna current limiter, enabling comprehensive solutions, in particular for telematics applications.

The A1030A is not only a high performance GPS receiver, but also a microprocessor module with extensive communication and digital I/O capabilities.

Running Tyco's GPS software, it offers high sensitivity, excellent time-to-first-fix values and ultralow power consumption for a wide range of standard GPS applications.

An accurate one pulse per second signal synchronised to Universal Time (UTC) supports timing and synchronisation tasks, and the interpretation of WAAS/EGNOS signals allows for very accurate positioning.

As with the A1029 modules, dead reckoning is an integral part of the A1030A and its ST Microelectronics' STA2051 microprocessor enables communication links such as HDLC, SPI or I2C.

It supports CANbus and USB, and even allows access to a smart card interface.

In combination with a professional tool set, the A1030A is especially applicable in the automotive arena.

Abacus Express provides full technical support via specialised engineering teams, along with competitive pricing excellent logistics support and stock.

Development kits and documentation are all available on request.

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