Section 2 - Introduction; Overview; Northstar 8700; Northstar 8800 Series - NorthStar 8700 Technical Reference Manual

2.1 Overview

2.1.1 Northstar
8700
2.1.2 Northstar
8800 series
2.1.3 Northstar
8900 series
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Section 2 - Introduction

Northstar's family of position sensors, comprised of models 8700, the
8800 series, and the 8900 series, features self-contained, 12-channel GPS
modules with two-channel, automatic, medium-frequency radio-beacon
receivers, packaged in rugged "black box" aluminum enclosures.
These high-performance units provide reliable GPS and/or DGPS posi-
tioning for the following applications:
Custom OEM systems requiring superior, "all-in-view" GPS perfor-
•
mance
Automatic vehicle location (AVL) and monitoring systems, including
•
railroads, highways, emergency, public transportation, and trucking
Mobile ground information systems (GIS) data acquisition, including
•
asset management and mapping
Precision agriculture, including yield mapping, yield monitoring, and
•
sampling
Forestry, including aerial spraying, planting, and forest mapping
•
Surveying/mapping, including aerial, highway, and legal surveys;
•
utility mapping
Marine navigation
•
The Northstar 8700 is a 12-parallel-channel, DGPS-ready, fast-acquisition
GPS receiver that continuously tracks all available satellites. The 8700
accepts DGPS corrections from any source of Radio Technical Commis-
sion for Maritime Services (RTCM) SC-104 data. See Section 4, "GPS
Receivers," for complete information about the Northstar 8700.
The Northstar 8800 series (comprised of either the 8800 or the 8801, an
8800 bundled for agricultural applications) is a two-channel, auto-tuning,
Minimum Shift Keying (MSK) radio-beacon receiver, also known as a bea-
con demodulator, or BDM, which supplies fully automatic differential
corrections for an external DGPS-ready receiver. While the 8800 series'
Channel 1 processes real-time corrections, Channel 2 automatically
searches for alternates. The 8800 series works worldwide with beacons
that conform to the SC-104 specification.
See Section 5, "Beacon Receivers" for complete information about the

Northstar 8800 series.

Northstar combines the 8700 and the 8800 to form the Northstar 8900
series of sensors, which provide optimum performance in self-contained,
fully automatic DGPS units. See Section 6, "GPS/Beacon Combination
Receivers" for complete information about the Northstar 8900 series.
Section 2 - Introduction
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