From: Mark Bock (markbvt_at_adelphia.net)
Date: Thu Aug 07 2003 - 05:32:46 PDT
>On Wed, Aug 06, 2003 at 04:34:42PM -0400, Mark Bock wrote:
>> Once it's on, lo and behold, there's a very nice little app on there
>> that interfaces with a GPS, a radio, and a laser designator and
>
>Sir, this could possibly be your 15 kilobytes of fame on this planet.
>Do whatever you can to make these packages public, please. I now regret
>not bidding on that Newton-used trimble card & antenna on ebay last
>week that was part of the same project.
Yeah, it would be nice to get the accessories. In addition to the
fire-control software and associated map pack (don't get excited,
they appear to only be maps of the test area), there are also three
drivers installed on the 130: the Trimble GPS one, an Ericsson radio
one, and a Leica something-or-other, which I deduced must be a laser
designator/rangefinder because (a) Leica makes optical equipment and
(b) if you have a GPS and a radio, a laser designator/rangefinder is
the only remaining piece you need to call in an accurate air strike.
>> allows the user to become part of the fire-control network and call
>> in strikes on a large variety of targets (it has nice little icons
>> for what you want to blow up -- tanks, artillery, etc).
>
>Large targets? Does anyone know what kind of car Jobs drives these days?
The way the software works is kind of funny. You get a screen full of
icons (tank, artillery, rifle, ship, etc) and just click on whichever
type of target you want destroyed, then it brings up a toggle menu
for specifics (for instance, the rifle icon covers a variety of
materiel). It's really quite intuitive, actually. Not really very
quick though, which I imagine is why they cancelled the program.
Filling in all the required information takes a lot longer than
picking up a radio and saying, "Hey, can you bomb the tank bearing
down on me from the northeast, half a kilometer from my current
position? You can? Great, thanks, I appreciate it..."
>I have a camo utility pouch that was offered through here a few months
>ago that held the 130s.
Yeah, I wish I'd picked one of those up.
>Someone mentioned previously what kinds of
>radios they linked up with.
Ericsson, as I said, but I don't know exactly which model.
>The fact that you have one of the actual
>discharged-from-service Newts (with full honors) that hasn't been
>erased is incredible.
Yeah, I was very surprised as well. I think the only reason it wasn't
erased is because they couldn't figure out how to turn it on due to
the bad power switch. That part is fixed now.
When I get home tonight I'll continue trying to extract the package
from the 130.
--mark
-- . . . . . mark bock KB1EXL markbvt_at_adelphia.net "A youth who can't hit a cathedral at thirty yards with a Gatling gun in three-quarters of an hour, can take up an old empty musket and bag his grandmother every time, at a hundred." --Mark Twain PGP Public Key: available at http://www.armchaircommando.org/key.html PGP Fingerprint: 1A59 BBB7 DF23 9FEC 5897 5C7B 7703 78FB CC33 6ABC -- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries List FAQ/Etiquette/Terms: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
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