This afternoon I decided to begin building my APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System). I bought a plastic case, some connectors, RG-59A/U cable, machine screws, spacers, and nuts. I installed the APRS circuit board and 12V regulated power supply on aluminum standoffs, cut holes for the 9-pin D-sub connector, SMA antenna connector and power leads, and began cutting and stripping the various wires that will connect the main circuit board to the D-sub.
Reference Info: This system is a MicroTrak 8000-FA made by Byonics (www.byonics.com). The power supply is a Byonics Micro-Volt 12, which is highly recommended by the manufacturer in this application because this particular transmitter requires short-duration 2-Amp pulses of power, and is fairly voltage-sensitive. The GPS is a Byonics GPS-2, which will be powered by the APRS unit through the D-sub connection. (This connection will also be used for the programming of the unit). The antenna will be a 2-meter "rubber ducky" type, about 15" long, mounted in the wingtip along with the transmitter and GPS reciever puck. The system will be powered from the main electrical bus, and will be switched on and off with a toggle switch in the cockpit. Total system weight: 1.1 lbs. And, of course, you must have a Ham radio license to use a system like this -- which I do.
[Superseded with a different, smaller unit, and a J-pole antenna.]