Nuts and Volts - February 2008

SHOWCASE

Printed Circuit Board Design Schematic Capture, Auto routing, Gerbers. Using Altium - Protel Microprocesor Embeded Design Motorola, Texas Instruments, Atmel, etc. Prototype and production runs Fully automated SMT assembly lines. Plastic Parts Mold manufacturing. No order to small or too big. Very competitive on high labor parts. For very small orders, we can inject your parts on manual low pressure machines, dramaticaly reducing the cost of the mold (parts up to 2 oz).

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■ HARDWARE ■ SOFTWARE ■ GADGETS ■ TOOLS

convenience of your computer, via Windows Live Local, and then wirelessly send locations to your nuvi 880.

The nuvi 880 has Bluetooth wireless technology for hands-free calling when paired with compatible phones. Using the unit’s speech recognition capabilities, users can find and dial phone numbers (specifically supported phones

Interface a sharp LCD display to your BASIC Stamp® or other micro-controller project with ease. No-solder wiring harnesses and easy mounting kits available too. See www.seetron.com today.

• 3. 2 x 1.4 in. supertwist LCD

• 2400/9600 baud serial

• Low (≈2mA) current draw

• Great with BASIC Stamps^®

BPI-216N

• 3. 2 x 2 in. backlit LCD

• 1200-9600 baud serial ^ILM-216L

• Advanced protocol, 4 switch inputs

• EEPROM for configuration settings

• Favorite for OEM applications

• 3. 2 x 1.4 in. graphics LCD

• 2400/9600 baud serial

• Font and 15 screens in EEPROM

• Easily draw points, lines, screens

SGX-120L

• 3 x 2 in. supertwist LCD

TRM-425L

• 1200-9600 baud serial

• ESD-protected, 4x4 keypad input

• Store up to 95 screens in EEPROM

can even access their history log of received, missed, and dialed calls) or nuvi’s points of interest database (hotels, restaurants, stores, and more). This new premium PND also has a built-in FM transmitter, allowing users to wirelessly transmit turn-by-turn directions and street names, MP3s, and audio books through their vehicle’s stereo. The nuvi 880 has front-firing stereo speakers and a removable lithium-ion battery.

The unit features a bright, sunlight-readable 4.3-inch color touchscreen display (480x272 pixels), and the nuvi 880 is loaded with maps of the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The new unit incorporates a high-sensitivity internal GPS antenna that makes it thinner and easier to mount in a car. Turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions guide drivers to their destination, announcing streets by name along the way. If they miss a turn, the nuvi automatically recalculates a route and gets them back on track.

To help drivers find their car in an unfamiliar spot or crowded parking lot, the unit automatically marks where it was last removed from the windshield mount. Users can save 10 routes, specify via points, and preview simulated turns, and the unit automatically sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands, deliveries, or sales calls. It also displays speed limits for highways and interstates, and a trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points.

The nuvi 880 includes many entertainment and travel tools including a music player (MP3, Ogg, and Flac formats supported), audio book player (subscription to Audible.com required), alarm clock, picture viewer, currency converters, and more. The units also are installed with Garmin Lock™, an innovative patent pending theft prevention system that disables the unit from performing any functions until the user types in a specific four-digit PIN or takes the unit to a predetermined secure location.