For Reference notes on this device, I defer to WA7NWP's Sainsonic AP510 page
Additional Notes:
To power the unit and optionally charge its battery, I purchased a StarTech.com Mini USB Cable - A to Right Angle Mini B - 6 Feet (USB2HABM6RA) from Amazon.
The AP510's USB connector is on the very bottom of the unit, so if you want the unit oriented vertically so the antenna radiates efficiently, a standard Mini USB connector will add several inches to the overall length of the unit and not allow it to sit or lean on a tabletop, for example. On this cable, the Mini USB connector is right-angle so it doesn't protrude more than one inch. It's also 6 feet long so that gives you plenty of flexibility for plugging it in.
To connect to an external 144-148 MHz (2 Meter) antenna, I purchased a smaF/pl259f SMA Female to UHF SO239 PL259 Female RG58 Adapter Cable (Sold by: Advanced Specialties Inc.) from Amazon.
When I attempted to install the SMA connector on the AP510, the connector on the unit felt "loose" and I didn't try again. I'm told that internally the AP510 is very well-built and my concern wasn't warranted.
Future Development:
- I want to explore the possibility of using the AP510 as a general purpose TNC.
- The received packets are transmitted from the USB (via the USB to Serial Adapter cable supplied with the unit) - can those packets be plotted on a map or an APRS application?
- The AP510 also provides a Bluetooth interface. That makes all kinds of interesting things possible.