Review by Dave Burrows

RoyalTek originally brought us the Sapphire and the newly updated Sapphire RGM-2000, now RoyalTek have brought to the market a new low power GPS Mouse called the Onyx (RFG-1000).

The Onyx is a small flat square GPS Receiver sporting a low power chipset and an 8 channel GPS Receiver.  The Onyx weighs in at a light 25 grams and is only 57mm x 50m in size.

As the Onyx has a low power chipset typically <25mA, the receiver doesn't support the full 12 satellites like most receivers can.  The Onyx will only receive data from up to 8 of the constellation.  With 8 sat receivers, TTFF's can be a little extended compared to 12 sat receivers.

RoyalTek Onyx GPS Receiver

Bearing that in mind, the longest TTFF's we received from cold was 2m 23s which although is longer than the Sapphire and the average 12 sat GPS Receiver which is around 50 seconds, it's still quite good.  Although TTFF's are a little extended, once the Onyx locked onto the satellites it managed to maintain a lock quite well.  Unlike the Sapphire the Onyx doesn't have a flashy design, it's a plain black plastic receiver, but much smaller in size when you compare it to other similar receivers like the Leadtek which really are oversized now for what they do.

The onyx like the new Sapphire RGM-2000 comes with a new style Y connector, and much better in my opinion.  PDA's supported include:-

- iPAQ 36/37/38/39/54 series

- Casio E125/E200/E500

- Jornada 540/560

- Fujitsu Siemens Loox

- Dell Axim

- Yakumo delta

- NEC E200/300

- ViewSonic V35

- Toshiba e740

- Palm 5xx Series

- O2 XDA! 

The good news is that any cable sets for the new Sapphire RGM-2000 will also fit the Sapphire RGM-2000 making it very easy to interchange cables across models. 

RoyalTek have quite an impressive set of cables for the new Sapphire.  RoyalTek sent us a 3800 connector cable set.  You can also purchase a serial or USB connector allowing you to connect the Sapphire direct to your laptop if you desire a larger screen.  The onyx is very small and lightweight and is hardly noticeable sitting on the dashboard once the cables are hidden out of view.

The bottom of the receiver is magnetic so if you wanted to fit this to the exterior of the car and pass the cable inside, then you can.  The only thing the receiver is really lacking is a felt type backing for the base.  One thing we did find due to it's size and light weight, it did seem quite quick to slide across the dashboard of the car.  A small square of double sided sticky tape should soon put a fix to that.

The RoyalTek Onyx sports the following features:-

• Compact size

• Eight parallel channels

• Built-in active antenna

• Super-cohesive magnetic for installation

• High sensitivity to satellite signal

• Super Low power consumption

Technical Specifications

• Eight parallel channels in GPS.

• Built-in active antenna.

• Super-cohesive magnetic for installation.

• High sensitivity to satellite signal.

• Super Low power consumption.

• Apply to any devices with nine-pin COM port & PS2 ,USB and some specific PDA.

• NMEA 2.2 GGA, GSA, GSV and RMC, Baud rate 4800bps.

• Navigation update rate: 1Hz.

Drivers

There's one difference with the Onyx over conventional mouse type GPS receivers and that's down to it needing a driver to be installed to control the receiver.  Most GPS receivers you can connect direct to via serial connection, but with the Onyx you have to load a driver onto the PDA or PC.  Installing the driver to the Pocket PC was straight forward, just insert the CD, select the relevant driver, and follow on screen prompts.

Once the driver is installed, simply run the driver from START | PROGRAMS | ROYALTEK DRIVER and you'll be greeted with the first screenshot below.  This allows you to connect between manual and auto plug and play mode.  Plug and Play will automatically detect the connection of the receiver and start receiving data, where as the manual option may be required if you don't want to use the receiver but connect the Pocket PC to say ActiveSync.  The second screenshot shows a connection with a 6 out of 8 sat view.  Although the receiver plugs into the bottom sync port of the Pocket PC, it doesn't actually use COM1, the driver pushes the signal out to a virtual com port, in this instance on a Compaq iPAQ 3870 it used COM5 and NMEA 4800 baud.

GPS Hardware TTFF (Time To First Fix)

Conclusion

The RoyalTek Onyx is nice and compact and very lightweight and performs well for an 8 sat receiver.  It's Time To First Fix is slower than the regular 12 sat receivers, but it still well within reach of acquiring complete data from the satellites in a short time.  The Onyx is also waterproof which means you can place it outside on the bodywork of the car without any worry!

The only thing it really lacks is a felt backing or a suction cup through the cable to keep it in one place on the dashboard.

References

Manufacturers Website

http://www.royaltek.com

Pocket GPS Reviewer

Dave Burrows

Pocket GPS Reviewer Website

Dave Burrows.com

Rating

Durability

Windscreen Suction Mount Strength

not supplied

Air Vent Mount Strength

not supplied

Car Power Cable Quality

Overall Rating 90%

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