Product category: Wireless Communications
News Release from: Fastrax | Subject: Fastrax UC322 and Fastrax IT321
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 28 January 2008
GPS receivers simplify the design
process
The Fastrax UC322 features an innovative embedded antenna design that does not necessitate a separate large antenna ground plane.
The new Fastrax UC322 GPS receiver is aimed at the personal navigation device (PND) market The receiver is based on a completely new concept and includes a integrated chip antenna that provides optimal performance and sensitivity
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 5 Oct 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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The Fastrax UC322 with on-board chip antenna enables very slim design of PNDs.
While a standard solution with a patch antenna typically requires a thickness of 20mm, the Fastrax UC322 cuts the size by up to two thirds, enabling a thickness of just 5 mm.
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The Fastrax UC322 features an innovative embedded antenna design that does not necessitate a separate large antenna ground plane, as the end device's printed circuit board functions as part of the antenna.
The convenient SMT mounting requires no cable assembly, connectors or manual soldering, which reduces the manufacturing and bill of material costs of the completed end product.
The receiver has an extremely thin form factor, with external dimensions of 30 x 10.4 x 2.9mm.
The Fastrax UC322 is based on the SiRFstarIII LT chipset.
The ROM based firmware eliminates the need for expensive Flash memory and simplifies the design of GPS-enabled mass-market navigation devices.
The receiver uses only 90mW of power during navigation with a sensitivity of -159dBm.
With a form factor of 10.4 x 14.0 x 2.6mm, the Fastrax IT321 is one of the smallest complete 20-channel receivers on the market.
The receiver is designed for devices that require a combination of small size, low power consumption and navigation performance.
Key features of the Fastrax IT321 encompass a SiRFstarIII LT chipset with ROM based firmware.
The receiver is a complete OEM GPS receiver including a TCXO oscillator, real-time clock (RTC) and Low noise amplifier (LNA).
The Fastrax IT321 is designed for demanding navigation applications such as car navigators, asset tracking devices, sports accessories and handheld battery operating devices like mobile phones, PDAs and PNDs.
The receivers have very high sensitivity (-159dBm) and very fast time to first fix and reacquisition.
"These new products are the next step in the evolution of our OEM GPS solutions".
"Recent developments in the mobile industry anticipate a significant increase in the demand for GPS receiver solutions in location-enabled devices and with the Fastrax UC322 and Fastrax IT321 receivers, we are ideally positioned to address this rapidly growing worldwide market", said Taneli Tuurnala, President and CEO, Fastrax.
Fastrax also released a revised product naming system.
The previous iTrax receivers will now be called Fastrax ITxx, with 'xx' standing for the specific model number of the receiver.
Similarly, the uPatch product line of OEM GPS receivers with integrated patch antenna will be renamed the Fastrax UPxx receivers.
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