SkyTraq Introduces High Performance 20Hz -165dBm GPS Receiver

Hsinchu, Taiwan, November 19, 2010 — SkyTraq introduces Venus638FLPx, a new GPS receiver that pushes consumer/industrial-grade GPS receiver performance to a new level. The new Venus638FLPx features industry leading 20Hz update rate, -165dBm signal tracking and -148dBm cold starting sensitivity, 29 second cold start TTFF, 67mW full-power navigation, and in 10mm x 10mm x 1.3mm LGA69 packaging.

The device contains all the necessary components of a GPS receiver, including GPS RF and baseband, SAW filter, LNA, 0.5ppm TCXO, RTC crystal, LDO regulator, and passive components. A complete GPS receiver requires only antenna and power supply to work. Exceptional low cascaded RF section noise figure of 1.2dB allows Venus638FLPx to work directly with passive antenna, reducing much cost.

Best-in-class TTFF, low power, high sensitivity performance and miniature size make Venus638FLPx an ideal choice for embedding location awareness into portable applications. Dedicated signal parameter search engine capable of performing 8 million time-frequency hypothesis testing per second offers fastest signal acquisition performance in the industry. Advanced track engine along with multipath and jamming detection mitigation algorithms allows continuous accurate navigation in harsh environments such as urban canyon and under deep foliage.

Venus638FLPx has 8Mbit internal Flash, 2 UART, 2 SPI, I2C, and 19 GPIO pins. Flash-based design makes it capable of supporting customized firmware; 50% usage of Flash memory by the GPS kernel software enables possibility of simple user application development on the remaining 512kByte program space. Venus638FLPx has operating temperature range of -40 ~ +85degC.

Volume delivery of Venus638FLPx to customers begins in December 2010; engineering sample, datasheet, reference design, and evaluation kits are available now. Equivalent performance ROM type Venus638LPx for extremely cost-sensitive volume application will be shipping in Q1 2011.

About SkyTraq
Founded in 2005, SkyTraq Technology Inc. develops high-performance chipset solution for the consumer satellite navigation market. Its initial product is GPS centric, with later products covering GPS, Galileo and GLONASS. For additional information, please visit www.skytraq.com.tw