BR355 GPS receivers for $30 on EBay

[MichaelS]

In case anyone needs a BR355 GPS receiver, see this listing (listing no. 382122000258)

The usual disclaimers apply.  I haven't bought from the company before, etc.  $30 delivered (US) seems like a good price if you have a use for it.  A handful of clocks are supposed to work with these.

[gregebert]

Once upon a time I thought about going GPS, but I now have 3 options that make it unnecessary

• Internet-based. As long as my WiFi & router are up, the Raspberry Pi Zero W acquires and regularly synchronizes to an accurate time source. It is indistinguishable from the cellular network time on my phone.
• DS3231 RTC chip. I have one that's been running for over 2 years now in the garage, and I have never adjusted the time. It's within 15 seconds of the real time. That's about 0.25 PPM. I did not do any tweaking of the aging-offset register.
• AC line frequency reference. Boy, was this a surprise to me. My first nixie clock design uses the AC line frequency, and I never need to change the time except when daylight savings time starts or ends. While it may drift +/- a few seconds throughout the day, the utility company is going to extreme measures to keep it accurate over the long term.

[MichaelB]

Hey Michael, that's a great deal for a nice GPS that many of us diehards still use on those clocks that still work best with it. Thanks for sharing! Let's hope this seller is a reliable source.

[MichaelS]

Yeah - to be honest, I feel better using a GPS receiver over a foreign made WiFi module inside my "safe" firewall.  Excuse me while I don my tinfoil hat!  :D

These GPS modules may be old enough to justify Fire Sale pricing, since they're limited to 4800 baud and you can get newer modules for less.

The auction ends in 2-3 hours, if anyone's on the fence.  Who knows if they'll be relisted, but they haven't exactly been selling like hotcakes.  Only three sold so far.

One is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.  'will report later.

[Luka C]

But what if the NSA had radio transmitter and bug secretly planted in your GPS module?

Just kidding when you mentioned the tinfoil hat. But...I've recently finished reading the book about how the US and/or Israel undermined Iranian nuclear enrichment program. One of the interesting things is, they (NSA/CIA) do actually intercept electronic devices and plant so called "implants" in them, which pretty much collect data (usually the "bugged" device will be connected to the local network) and send it out over specific radio frequency. The NSA then sets the antenna in the surrounding buildings and receives it. This way admins looking through the local firewall/intrusion prevention system logs can't detect any signs of data extraction.

[Jon D.]

$28.95 for Amazon Prime.  

GlobalSat BR-355S4 GPS Receiver (Black)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AMAJFUO/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I17ZDEXIIKQ0NX&colid=1237BGL4IH61Z

[MichaelS]

Cool - wonder if it's bulk packaging... still waiting for mine.

[MichaelS]

Well, after USPS sent the package to the wrong state, it arrived today as described.

The box was somewhat crushed and torn because it was shipped in a small padded mailer.  Everything else was fine.  It included a suction cup & mini CD with documentation, drivers, etc.  This receiver seems to lock on quite a bit faster than the Haicom HI 204-iii, which is a bit older.