CF18 GPS drama :-((

Well after getting the "wild mouse" tamed I don't seem to get the critter to work. It is enabled in bios, m/s streets&trips finds it on com5 but wont use it. Wrong protocol I guess. Is there a way to configure the GPS or a known good software that can be used with the oe unit? Or am I missing something? The Pharos finds 12 sats and a strong signal when I plug it in to A USB PORT I wanted it to be self contained if possible. Any hints or should this project be scraqpped?
Thank you for any advise, but I am running out of ideas

 

If it finds it on com 5 configure S@T to com 5 4800baud rate

Alex

 

I have used XPort to make GPS serial data available to multiple programs, and it does that well. It has a graphical interface that should show you if the GPS is outputting data, what rate, and all virtual ports that are using the GPS data. Not sure if it can help your problem but it's free and would at least indicate data flow.

 

S&T only gives you a choice of ports and it must comply with NMEA2.0 or higher no other config. Mr. Gates at his best to "make things easy"
The data stream from it is pretty short only about 40 charitcers long the Pharos fills the box with data if that is any help. I appreciate the help this is really out of my A O R

 

In what window(box) are you seeing the data stream from the Pharos and the small amount of data from the internal GPS? If you can see any NEMA sentences at all then the computer is seeing the GPS. The small amount of data means the GPS does not have a fix. Not surprising for an OEM internal GPS. Take it outside and give it time. it will eventually get a fix and will not take so long in the future. My personal experience with X-port was that it ran amuck causing all sorts of problems and needed to be executed in the banana republic sense of the word. Streets and Trips will most certainly work with the OEM GPS.
CAP

 

Hey Cap, I may be buying a boat here soon (if this deal does not work, I will wait until spring, more on that later), what maps do you normally recommend for near offshore and inland waterways? I am located in Mexico Beach, FL and will also use it in the Charleston, SC area (one of these days).

 

I use a program from Maptech called Offshore Navigator. I don't think they sell it without charts any more so it has gotten quite a bit more expensive. It will use NOAA charts which can be downloaded for free. Get in touch on the other place and we'll see if we can hook you up, wink wink.
CAP

 

It is in Earth Bridge under GPS status
The stream is like this:
$GPVTGA*3F
$GPRMC,,V..........A*5C
and other variations all beginning with $GP

 

I would try something a little more powerful. I like VisualGPS, the standard on the forum seems to be WinFast Navigator. Both are free downloads.
CAP

 

Copy all and will do. Thanks!