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A 6 channel GPS receiver from 1993

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Re: A 6 channel GPS receiver from 1993

#21

Post by metadat »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #18

The original GPS receivers in the late 80s and early 90s did not have maps. And they used LCD screens. The one I owned by Lowrance required 6 AA batteries. Not AAA. Not rechargeable. Optional power through a cigarette-auto cable, but that's not helpful when on foot. It burned through batteries like crazy. I owned this one: https://web.archive.org/web/20231104153749/http://retro-gps.... (Lowrance GlobalNav Sport) 160…

Which model was yours? This page appears to show every model of handheld GPS ever made, and Lowrance has 4 entries.

Thanks for sharing this, I never had the chance to see one of these units. It's so weird now to imagine GPS with no map!

P.s. What does a six-channel GPS receiver even mean? Is more channels more better?

Re: A 6 channel GPS receiver from 1993

#22

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

metadat wrote: post #21
TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #18

The original GPS receivers in the late 80s and early 90s did not have maps. And they used LCD screens. The one I owned by Lowrance required 6 AA batteries. Not AAA. Not rechargeable. Optional power through a cigarette-auto cable, but that's not helpful when on foot. It burned through batteries like crazy. I owned this one: https://web.archive.org/web/20231104153749/http://retro-gps.... (Lowrance GlobalNav Sport) 160…

Which model was yours? This page appears to show every model of handheld GPS ever made, and Lowrance has 4 entries. Thanks for sharing this, I never had the chance to see one of these units. It's so weird now to imagine GPS with no map! P.s. What does a six-channel GPS receiver even mean? Is more channels more better?

Here's a better picture of what I owned. It had a huge hard-plastic case:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/314936082464

The antenna flipped up and doubled as a screen protector:

http://retro-gps.info/photos/files/page2-1023-full.jpg

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/zxUAAOSwDspimA3F/s-l1600.jpg

Sorry, I don't remember what 6-channel means. I would guess it could receive data from up to 6 satellites? Don't know.

IIRC, this cost about $700 but cartridges were extra. Very expensive for the time. It worked without the cartridges, but I think it only displayed lat/long then, or in any case much more limited info. The carts added more info like town/city/state.

Unfortunately, I could not find any YouTube videos of early GPS receivers.

Re: A 6 channel GPS receiver from 1993

#23

Post by ShamelessC »

skhr0680 wrote: post #17
ShamelessC wrote: post #12

> Why is it shaped like an ambulance? Good question. Was hoping there was an actual answer for that question. Or am I missing something? Otherwise reads like "good question, who fucking knows!? certainly not me the person making the assertion!"

Am I missing some sarcasm, or do you honestly think that the board in question doesn't look like an ambulance?

No sarcasm. Yes, it looks like an ambulance (seemingly deliberately). The tweet/fart/whatevertheyrecalled just has strange choice of phrasing implying they will follow up on this, then they don't. _Why_ is it an ambulance? Well who cares, I guess - but the author of the poof/squirt/whatevertheyrecalled is the one who draws attention to it in the first place.

Re: A 6 channel GPS receiver from 1993

#24

Post by skhr0680 »

InCityDreams wrote: post #20
skhr0680 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Am I missing some sarcasm, or do you honestly think that the board in question doesn't look like an ambulance?

But why is it shaoed so?

Why would someone in 1993 have had the foresight to think that they might need to know their location to within a hundred meters or so?

Re: A 6 channel GPS receiver from 1993

#25

Post by skhr0680 »

ShamelessC wrote: post #23
skhr0680 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Am I missing some sarcasm, or do you honestly think that the board in question doesn't look like an ambulance?

No sarcasm. Yes, it looks like an ambulance (seemingly deliberately). The tweet/fart/whatevertheyrecalled just has strange choice of phrasing implying they will follow up on this, then they don't. _Why_ is it an ambulance? Well who cares, I guess - but the author of the poof/squirt/whatevertheyrecalled is the one who draws attention to it in the first place.

Whoever designed the board may have just done it as a joke, but I think giving the coastguard etc. an idea of your general location when in distress would have been a good civilian use of GPS in 1993

Re: A 6 channel GPS receiver from 1993

#26

Post by skhr0680 »

metadat wrote: post #21
TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #18

The original GPS receivers in the late 80s and early 90s did not have maps. And they used LCD screens. The one I owned by Lowrance required 6 AA batteries. Not AAA. Not rechargeable. Optional power through a cigarette-auto cable, but that's not helpful when on foot. It burned through batteries like crazy. I owned this one: https://web.archive.org/web/20231104153749/http://retro-gps.... (Lowrance GlobalNav Sport) 160…

Which model was yours? This page appears to show every model of handheld GPS ever made, and Lowrance has 4 entries. Thanks for sharing this, I never had the chance to see one of these units. It's so weird now to imagine GPS with no map! P.s. What does a six-channel GPS receiver even mean? Is more channels more better?

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2...

> The receiver has six channels that continuously track four primary GPS satellites and sequentially acquire and track all other visible and healthy satellites on the fifth and sixth channels.

Re: A 6 channel GPS receiver from 1993

#27

Post by thom »

GPS seems fairly pedestrian now but my dad had one of the early Garmin models in the 90s and it was a kind of magic back then. Even outside of the actual location info, just seeing this thing in your hand listening to satellites up in space felt incredibly powerful. Later on you could get units compatible with Windows CE and mobile devices and it was easy to see why it would be a killer app on smartphones. It’s sad that the complexity and cleverness is all hidden now.

Re: A 6 channel GPS receiver from 1993

#28

Post by metadat »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #22
metadat wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which model was yours? This page appears to show every model of handheld GPS ever made, and Lowrance has 4 entries. Thanks for sharing this, I never had the chance to see one of these units. It's so weird now to imagine GPS with no map! P.s. What does a six-channel GPS receiver even mean? Is more channels more better?

Here's a better picture of what I owned. It had a huge hard-plastic case: https://www.ebay.com/itm/314936082464 The antenna flipped up and doubled as a screen protector: http://retro-gps.info/photos/files/page2-1023-full.jpg https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/zxUAAOSwDspimA3F/s-l1600.jpg Sorry, I don't remember what 6-channel means. I would guess it could receive data from up to 6 satellites? Don't know. IIRC, this cost…

Thanks @TDT for your prompt and rapid reply, always nice to connect with such a generous person who indulges me :D.

What a spiffy looking unit, it looks like belongs mounted in the dash of a 198x Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette, Bronco, or similar alongside one of those old school built-in car phones.

Archive links of the eBay resources:

1a. https://web.archive.org/web/20231104152903/https://www.ebay....

1b. https://archive.ph/QxwrN

2a. https://web.archive.org/web/20231104153359/https://i.ebayimg...

2b. https://archive.ph/crpGm

(Adding because of how many broken eBay links I've encountered on forums over the years.. it's always frustrating, haha.)

Re: A 6 channel GPS receiver from 1993

#29

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

metadat wrote: post #28
TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a better picture of what I owned. It had a huge hard-plastic case: https://www.ebay.com/itm/314936082464 The antenna flipped up and doubled as a screen protector: http://retro-gps.info/photos/files/page2-1023-full.jpg https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/zxUAAOSwDspimA3F/s-l1600.jpg Sorry, I don't remember what 6-channel means. I would guess it could receive data from up to 6 satellites? Don't know. IIRC, this cost…

Thanks @TDT for your prompt and rapid reply, always nice to connect with such a generous person who indulges me :D. What a spiffy looking unit, it looks like belongs mounted in the dash of a 198x Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette, Bronco, or similar alongside one of those old school built-in car phones. Archive links of the eBay resources: 1a. https://web.archive.org/web/20231104152903/https://www.ebay.... 1b. https://arch…

You're welcome! This is the best photo in my opinion -- shows the antenna up (not covering screen), unit is powered on, and the unit itself is in excellent condition:

https://web.archive.org/web/20231104153749/http://retro-gps....

Re: A 6 channel GPS receiver from 1993

#30

Post by tpmx »

thom wrote: post #27

GPS seems fairly pedestrian now but my dad had one of the early Garmin models in the 90s and it was a kind of magic back then. Even outside of the actual location info, just seeing this thing in your hand listening to satellites up in space felt incredibly powerful. Later on you could get units compatible with Windows CE and mobile devices and it was easy to see why it would be a killer app on smartphones. It’s sad t…

I mean, both GPS and WiFi was super exciting stuff in the early 2000s. There was a GPS magazine for GPS terminal enthusiasts (!). It's still sort of around: https://www.gpsworld.com/.
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