NeXT
Veteran Member
I mentioned the IPS-360 as well from the previous blog entry. It seems that a few boaters and geocachers use them and they all complained it takes forever to pull in enough satellites to work. Mine arrived slightly more used than the 760. It least it had a carrying case.
Again we have the documentation. We don't have the AC adapter but we have the cigarette lighter adapter. No cards thankfully but we're missing the weight. I guess while using it as a handheld there's a lump of metal you screwed to the back of the antanna which tilts. Presumably the antenna needs to be level to accurately grab a signal. Like the 760 the antenna detaches from the main unit and you can put it elsewhere using an extension cord. In something like a car I can see the receiver being being mounted somewhere on the dash.
One thing that came with the unit I DID NOT want was batteries. They had leaked and stained the plastic but it didn't seem to crumble or otherwise affect the unit. Still didn't know however if it leeched inside. We would know soon enough.
The receiver is held together with four screws hidden under a gasket. You can peel it off and set it aside for now. Again, this is gasketed like a pro so you might need to work a bit to pop the front off.
The LCD board is held in with four screws. Remove those, put the board to the side and there's another four screws hiding underneath. You can't see it here but the gaskets for the power switch is a royal pain to get around. You need to pull it off the switch, push the switch inwards with a screwdriver and you should have enough clearance to rotate the board out.
The actual GPS here is stupid simple but again we find surface mount caps on the power board. Also, no battery damage! That supercap looks to be the backup battery instead of using a real CR2032 like the 760.
The real magic is happening inside the antenna. After reassembling the receiver (again, that power switch is a pain in the ass to get around) I undid the screws on the back of the antenna. You need to disconnect a coaxial line from the top which must be the antenna. Again, the gaskets are AMAZING.
The top PCB comes off by removing several white screws. Then you can remove the bottom board which is under MORE shielding by removing several black screws. Once that's out you remove a bunch more screws to find another battery (it's reading 2.8v but that's still amazingly healthy) and an EPROM soldered to the board.
I'm curious to know what is on that chip but I'll leave that for another time. I'll be back in here anyways when I replace all the caps.....
Anyways, here's the total cap list:
I know for a fact that just recapping the power board on the 360 will bring it back but I really want to see what the 760 is like.
I'm really amazed how well built both units are. I've had to deal with the GPS-45 which you can't really open because it's filled with nitrogen, Garmin StreetPilot III which had hairline breaks in the card connector and one of the Magellan RoadMate 700 which was nothing short of a nightmare. The Sony units are built like tanks. I have never seen a consumer GPS so well built. No wonder these cost about $1000 each.
Again we have the documentation. We don't have the AC adapter but we have the cigarette lighter adapter. No cards thankfully but we're missing the weight. I guess while using it as a handheld there's a lump of metal you screwed to the back of the antanna which tilts. Presumably the antenna needs to be level to accurately grab a signal. Like the 760 the antenna detaches from the main unit and you can put it elsewhere using an extension cord. In something like a car I can see the receiver being being mounted somewhere on the dash.
One thing that came with the unit I DID NOT want was batteries. They had leaked and stained the plastic but it didn't seem to crumble or otherwise affect the unit. Still didn't know however if it leeched inside. We would know soon enough.
The receiver is held together with four screws hidden under a gasket. You can peel it off and set it aside for now. Again, this is gasketed like a pro so you might need to work a bit to pop the front off.
The LCD board is held in with four screws. Remove those, put the board to the side and there's another four screws hiding underneath. You can't see it here but the gaskets for the power switch is a royal pain to get around. You need to pull it off the switch, push the switch inwards with a screwdriver and you should have enough clearance to rotate the board out.
The actual GPS here is stupid simple but again we find surface mount caps on the power board. Also, no battery damage! That supercap looks to be the backup battery instead of using a real CR2032 like the 760.
The real magic is happening inside the antenna. After reassembling the receiver (again, that power switch is a pain in the ass to get around) I undid the screws on the back of the antenna. You need to disconnect a coaxial line from the top which must be the antenna. Again, the gaskets are AMAZING.
The top PCB comes off by removing several white screws. Then you can remove the bottom board which is under MORE shielding by removing several black screws. Once that's out you remove a bunch more screws to find another battery (it's reading 2.8v but that's still amazingly healthy) and an EPROM soldered to the board.
I'm curious to know what is on that chip but I'll leave that for another time. I'll be back in here anyways when I replace all the caps.....
Anyways, here's the total cap list:
Code:
Sony Pyxis IPS-360
4 x 10v 100uf
2 x 10v 33uf
2 x 16v 10uf
9 x 6v 22uf
1 x 6v 47uf
1 x 16v 47uf
2 x 6v 100ufI know for a fact that just recapping the power board on the 360 will bring it back but I really want to see what the 760 is like.
I'm really amazed how well built both units are. I've had to deal with the GPS-45 which you can't really open because it's filled with nitrogen, Garmin StreetPilot III which had hairline breaks in the card connector and one of the Magellan RoadMate 700 which was nothing short of a nightmare. The Sony units are built like tanks. I have never seen a consumer GPS so well built. No wonder these cost about $1000 each.