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Unread 05-06-2012, 23:32
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Billfred Billfred is offline
...and you can't! teach! that!
FRC #5402 (Iron Kings); no team (AndyMark)
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GPS antenna for an outdoor autonomous vehicle?

...or, Billfred Lets His Marketing Degree Show Proudly

Over the summer, Los Pollos Locos is working on an autonomous vehicle project a little beyond our norm: an autonomous pace car designed for 30 miles per hour (44 feet/second). The conditions are impractical for camera or encoder methods of navigation. This sounds like a job for GPS!

But wait--for all the times GPS has saved us on competition trips, we've never used GPS on a robot!

Having searched through sites like Adafruit and Sparkfun, I see plenty of modules to choose from (channels, interfaces, antenna types...) and plenty of differing amounts to spend. What should I be looking for in a module like this? Am I even barking up the right tree by looking at these types of sites?

(For reference, the track is roughly 38 feet wide according to Google Earth. Much of the track has very few obstructions nearby thanks to run-off areas, though there are two straights of 300-400 feet that have trees very close by. And while our exact canvas is TBD, my car is 5'9" wide for the sake of argument.)
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William "Billfred" Leverette - Gamecock/Jessica Boucher victim/Marketing & Sales Specialist at AndyMark

2004-2006: FRC 1293 (D5 Robotics) - Student, Mentor, Coach
2007-2009: FRC 1618 (Capital Robotics) - Mentor, Coach
2009-2013: FRC 2815 (Los Pollos Locos) - Mentor, Coach - Palmetto '09, Peachtree '11, Palmetto '11, Palmetto '12
2010: FRC 1398 (Keenan Robo-Raiders) - Mentor - Palmetto '10
2014-2016: FRC 4901 (Garnet Squadron) - Co-Founder and Head Bot Coach - Orlando '14, SCRIW '16
2017-: FRC 5402 (Iron Kings) - Mentor

93 events (more than will fit in a ChiefDelphi signature), 13 seasons, over 60,000 miles, and still on a mission from Bob.

Rule #1: Do not die. Rule #2: Be respectful. Rule #3: Be safe. Rule #4: Follow the handbook.
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