ITAR - opensource GPS.

I'm interested in a project to make an open source phone - specifically,
the neo1973, running OpenMoko - which is a sort of linux.

This has GPS hardware, which is currently using a program - without
source - supplied by the vendor.

Presumably this implements the 1000kt/60000ft limits.

My question is severalfold.

I assume the ITAR regulations are still in place.

Are they export only, or can devices be imported. (to the US)

Do the regulations tend to be followed by other countries?

Does anyone have a view on whether supplying a open source program that
took the output from a correlator chip, computed a position (with limits) and
then output it, would make the device infringe ITAR?

It could be relatively easily changed to not limit the position output -
but it would not come by default in that state.

Oh, yes.


ITAR covers both exports and imports. Exports are the business of the
Department of Commerce, and imports the Treasury.


I doubt it. One of the ironies of ITAR is that it restricts US industries and
gives free reign for foreign companies to develop ITAR-restricted products for
foreign markets. An "own goal" in LA Galaxy-speak


Well, this is USENET, where views are free, and worth every penny!

If developed in the USA, you're walking on eggshells. You might get done for
conspiracy even if you produce nothing illegal. Would a -DNO_LIMITS C
preprocessor macro count as conspiracy? I have no idea.

If developed outside of the USA, you're still not safe, as Jon "DVD Jon"
Johansen found out when the grubby hands of US lawyers reached across the pond
to Norway to make his life hell.

End use counts as well. If the product is designed or modified for use by the
military or for UAVs capable of delivering large bombs, it's covered by ITAR.
Ditto if it's P(Y) code capable.

If there is no strong encryption/decryption , no expected use in a WMD, and the
source code is indeed published on a free website, you'll have covered the major
bases.

FWIW, GPS Creations http://www.gpscreations.com/ sell receiver boards running
OpenSource GPS software which incorporate the ITAR limits. They recommend
against removing these limits (but then they would, wouldn't they?) and claim to
have a PDF document which covers this. Ask them for a copy.

The general Usenet advice still applies -- if you have legal questions, speak to
a lawyer.

Sorry, I missed the original post, so I'll answer
to this one.


It is Linux, not a sort of. It's based on X11 and GTK+, with
an additional widget library for the OpenMoko look.


Maybe (see Marc's answer), but it's much more than that. It's a
Hammerhead GPS:

http://www.globallocate.com/SEMICONDUCTORS/SEMI_HAMMER_Frameset.htm

The chip is not an autonomous GPS receiver, as you seem
to expect. An autonomous receiver contains a processor
with associated RAM/ROM for receiver management and
calculating the position.

Hammerhead has your main processor do that job. Your closed
source program is about 90% (in code size) of the firmware of
a normal GPS receiver. The chip only covers the hard-realtime
part of the solution.


I know of at least one European GPS receiver design which
had no artificial limitations in that respect. It probably
would have stopped working long before 1000kt, for completely
unrelated reasons.


It's not necessarily as simple as that. The correlator
hardware and loop filters could, in principle, also
limit you. Of course, it won't be an exact 1000kt/60000ft
limit.

Unless the manufacturer plans to sell the receiver in the
military market, parts of the receiver may well be designed
such that reaching military-grade performance is unlikely.
As in "failed to design" for high altitude/speed.

Kind regards,

Iwo

'Sort of' - in the same sense that redhat is a sort of linux.


Yes, I know, that's why it's a tricky question.
That's why I say 'the program - without source -' this is the current
situation.


Practically they can't.

The correlators have to track +-2Km/s or so, which is the peak of an
approaching or retreating satellite. They may fail slightly over this.
This will at the very least leave the satellites that are not heading
straight for you working at 1000Kt.

it. Rather than an explicit way to turn the limits off.

In this case it's a phone.

to

Interesting, thanks!