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Reviews For: Green Light Labs GPS-710

Category: GPS receivers for APRS

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Review Summary For : Green Light Labs GPS-710
Reviews: 33MSRP: 129.99
Description:
The GPS-710 is a custom built, uncluttered, plug-and-play solution for adding a stand-alone GPS to your Kenwood TM-D710 or RC710 radios. It uses a top-notch 20 channel SiRF-III GPS chipset (with WAAS, ENGOS, and MSAS augmentation) that can acquire GPS lock from a cold start in well under 60 seconds. The active internal antenna has proven itself in prototyping and beta testing to maintain GPS lock, even in very unfavorable placements. The GPS-710 pulls about 40mA of power from the line, and while this peripheral hasn't been approved by Kenwood, it should be well within the operational limits of the TX/RX Base.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.greenlightlabs.com/gps-710/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00334.8
WX4GPS Rating: 2009-12-21
Best standalone option Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
When I got my Kenwood TM-D710 I was using a model Garmin that I normally ran in the car, and ran a cable to the Kenwood, this worked fine, but having to remember to turn the unit on and off, or the additional cables for power, it wasn't that pretty. When I got this, it easily mounted behind the head unit, I even have my head unit down by the center console and it locks on every time within 2 seconds of power the radio and never has lost lock, this works better then my garmin units (60C) I still use my nuvi in the car but I let this GPS be independent for my APRS needs and it works great no clutter.
M0SAY Rating: 2009-07-01
GREAT Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
well its the best gps i have every had it locks on in no time at all very small and easy to setup, every peace of ham tackle should be like this,one downside and if you live in the uk is the customs charge witch is bad its a wopping 26 pounds extra so you guys in the states are ok but it makes it a bit more,but i dont regrest buying it its great,go on buy one.
KF5BBR Rating: 2009-06-23
OUTSTANDING PRODUCT AND VALUE!!! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This thing is truly amazing. $100, plug and play, small, fast locking, and EASY to setup are the first things that come to mind. I don't have to unplug everything to remove the head unit, just unplug one cable and go.

This also frees up TONS of cable clutter around my vehicle, I am exstatic with how this little gem performs. If mine broke today, I'd buy another tomorrow without questioning it.

Don't buy a Garmin and try to interface it, plug it in and go!
K3OOL Rating: 2009-05-10
Excellent Product Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just to add my two cents: the GPS-710 works great and installs very easily on the TM-D710A. It was delivered promptly and works exactly as advertised.
N0AKA Rating: 2009-02-28
Don't waste time with anything else! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
If you are looking for a no-fuss GPS for APRS for your D710 --- STOP LOOKING, YOU FOUND IT!

Don't waste your time hunting for a compatible GPS unit.

The setup is dead simple and the cold start lock on time is super fast.

I have my D710 control head mounted on the center console (about 2 feet below dash level) in my '95 Suburban with the GPS-710 right on the back. No GPS signal problems!

Excellent buy.

73's

N0AKA
www.n0aka.com
M3SXA Rating: 2009-02-09
My GPS-710 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Received my GPS-710 from Green Light Labs, took about a week to arrive here in the UK, it would have been quicker but due to the snow the mail never went out for 2 days!!!

Unpacked it, connected it up and had a gps signal within 30 sec's that was very impressive, and that was having the unit sitting on my desk getting a signal through a small skylight.

I then made the connection to the head unit permanant as per the easy to follow instructions either included in the box or via the web.

Just wish I had purchased when the pound was strong against the dollar.

For those importing you may be unlucky enough to get a custom/vat charges, this arrived via parcefarce, sorry I meant parcelforce who wacked on a £13.96 vat charge and their own handling fee of £13.50

Good experience with Green Light Labs and Michael was extremly helpful.

KQ4KK Rating: 2008-12-04
KENWOOD should have done this! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I've been buying GPSs since 1993. This one, if you have a D710 control head that can see the sky is the one to buy. Took it out of the box, plugged it in, 15 SEC later the D710 GPS was flashing. FAST lock on. A no brainer. Have one instalation that has the control head setting below a ICOM7000 and cannot see the sky. But on another the control head is on the console, between the seats and it locks on! The last instalation the control head is on the dash. That one is the best. Gets rid of a bunch of cables going and coming. A solution that KENWOOD should buy!
KJ4EWA Rating: 2008-11-28
Perfect match for the D710 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been using this GPS for about a week or so and love it. I didn't want to order a full sized GPS like the AvMap G5 for space reasons. I found a reference to this little guy here on eHam and am glad I found it. It arrived promptly just as scheduled and is super simple to hookup. This is actually the second I bought as my previous one a couple weeks ago was accidentally tossed out by the wife. Like I said its pretty small. Its about the size of a matchbox and attached straight to the back of the head unit (Panel) on the D710 using double sided tape. It comes with clear instructions how to hook up the provided cables and how to configure the D710.

It locks on quickly and here in sunny Florida I have no problems with satellite reception.

To me... D710 owners have two clear choices for GPS. Either this small simple GPS or the full featured AvMAP G5 that is able to display APRS points.
KD4GBA Rating: 2008-07-18
Great product at a GREAT price! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Wholy cow! This thing is FANTASTIC! I'm really new to APRS (New Kenwood TM-D710A as of a week ago) and bought this little jewel as a way to finally play with APRS. Well, I did have a few issues in setting up the APRS function on my radio but it was not the fault of this unit. The manual and my online searches were pretty lacking on the documentation. Two things that the manual doesn't really explain well is the blinking GPS icon on the display and the fact you have to select BCON before it will transmit your information. Once I figured that out, the radio and GPS units work like a champ! I even parked it deep in a parking garage and never lost lock on the GPS satellites! What a performer! I really wish I could give this a 10 out of 5 because it performs beyond my wildest dreams. I hope Green Light Labs will find a way to marked the active antenna technology to the car manufacturers for use with the satellite radios because I am tired of losing the signal due to some tall trees by the road.

The gentleman that runs Green Light Labs is exceptional as well. I ordered the unit from his website and then sent him an e-mail that I paid for 2 day shipping because I was going on a trip and really wanted to use it on the trip. He sent it the same day I ordered it and I received it 2 days later, just in time for the trip.

In my humble opinion, don't waste your money with any other unit. This is the best bang for your buck and far exceeds the performance of units costing five times as much.

73,
Avery KD4GBA
K2CG Rating: 2008-06-14
Great GPS Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I received the unit 4 days after I placed the order. The installation could not have been any easier. Super fast GPS lock-on times (within seconds). You will be very hard pressed to find a better GPS value for three times the money.