Can I use any GPS receiver with Garmin Mobile PC?

Hello forum members.
New to the forum so I can place stupid questions....
Can i use a BT GPS ( G-Top/G-22) on the Garmin MobilePC software?
Have been trying this, but no results.
Am using GPSGate to create Garmin protocol, but Garmin does not want to see it.
Any help ?

There are three different Garmin Mobile PC products.

1. Mobile PC software-only.
2. Mobile PC with GPS10x bundle.
3. Mobile PC with GPS20 bundle.

You need to tell us which one you have before we can help.

Mobile PC software-only version will work with any GPS receiver as long as it is NMEA compliant.

The two that are bundled with Garmin receivers will only work with the receivers they came with. It is a waste of time to try to make them work with another receiver.

You do not need GPSGate to create Garmin protocol for Mobile PC. It will use NMEA.

If you have the software-only version of Mobile PC it should find your Bluetooth receiver automatically, without using GPSGate. You might need to force it to look. You can do this by clicking on the satellite icon in the upper right corner of the screen, then click on the DISABLE button, click "Use Bluetooth GPS", and click the ENABLE button. Now it should find your Bluetooth receiver.

...ken...

Thank you Ken,
It's GPS 10 but GPS broken.
So now have to look for -software only -
Tks fr help
Andre

Your 10x is broken? Is it physically damaged or just not working?

Terry

physically broken.
Rgds

That is too bad. Definitely one of the disadvantages of the hardware version. Have you contacted Garmin to see if there is another solution? Probably not but its worth an email.

Terry

That's a very good question. It could be interesting to know what Garmin would suggest.

• Should you buy another GPS10x? Normally, another GPS10x, which was not included in the original package with your DVD, would not work.
• Would they recommend you buy new software/hardware bundle?
• Or perhaps they would be nice enough to sell you a new software/hardware bundle for the price of the broken GPS10x?

They would probably ask for the 10x to be sent in for re and re. That might not be a cost effective solution though.

Terry

Hello, I came looking to ask this same question. I have the software only package and I'm trying to link it to a Trimble Ag GPS 106. Are there any particular settings I need to set in the reciever? It is currently set to GGA & VTG, 38400, parity none. I am also using the serial power/data cable from Trimble. If my settings in the reciever are ok can someone walk me through making them work and play together.

Hi dr dean,

Mobile PC is pretty good at finding a GPS receiver with its automatic scan when it is launched. When I connect my Bluetooth or USB receivers I've never had to do anything. Mobile PC just finds them. The only time I've had to mess with it is when I've been trying to get it to work with a virtual COM port. Sometimes it even finds one connected on a serial port without help, as long as the receiver is set up correctly.

Will that receiver work with USB or are you stuck with a serial connection?

If you have problems with Mobile PC not automatically finding your receiver when it starts up, you can go back to my answer to the original poster and follow the directions in the final paragraph, except select "USB receiver" or the appropriate COM port settings instead of "Bluetooth receiver". That's also the same page where you monkey with COM port selection if Mobile PC doesn't find it with it's automatic scan at startup.

I'm pretty sure that Mobile PC will only make a serial connection at 4800. Perhaps Terry can confirm this. I have not spent much time messing with serial connections.

...ken...

The only way I could get to a USB connection is to use a USB to serial converter. I used one with my last laptop that didn't have a serial port for updating recievers. I'll have to try it in the morning and see if it works. I would prefer to not have to use the extra cable but if it's nessicary I will. Thanks.

Sorry if I confused the issue. My experience is with PCs that don't have a serial port and/or receivers that have USB connections but aren't really USB and need a USB-to-serial driver that generates a virtual COM port. These things vary in how good a job they do.

If your PC has a real serial port and the receiver is a real serial connection, Mobile PC should find it right off.

If you have a real serial port, I would start out with the native serial cable only and make sure the receiver is set to 4800 for the first attempt.

...ken...

I have been unable to use the internal GPS receiver on my UMPC since v5.00.10. However, I just tested a serial connected Garmin eMap on this computer. I am running Mobile PC v5.00.60 and the GPS is NMEA at 4800bps on COM 1 (a real serial port). Mobile PC was able to identify and receive a signal from this device with no issues. The port is set at 9600 but I don't think that enters into the discussion.

So, I think you should not have a problem with an external GPS connected to a real serial port and Mobile PC. However, another poster on this site was having difficulty with a Trimble GPS (not this model) and GMPC. He said the Trimble was missing a sentence in its output data that GMPC needed.

Terry

Has anyone gotten an Oregon to work? I tried using nRoute and it would not detect the unit.

You may need a USB to serial driver available from Garmin.

http://www8.garmin.com/support/agree.jsp?id=591

Terry

My computer has a real serial port and the reciever power data cable is for serial connection (DE9 connector). I tried setting the baud rate to 4800 and connected to serial, nothing. I also tried using the serial to USB adapter, nothing agian, I couldn't even find it with trimble's ag remote. So right now I have two spoiled kids not wanting to share! I'm downloading the latest update from Garmin right now so we'll see what will happen then.

Download a trial copy of GPS Gate http://franson.com/gpsgate/ and see if it can find your GPS.

Terry

Maximus,

My eTrex Legend HCx connects via USB and nRoute finds it just fine. nRoute knows how to use a USB receiver directly as long as it will send Garmin protocol.

Run nRoute, click on the "Utilities" menu item, click "Select GPS..." and click "USB Device". It should display your Oregon in the list beside the "USB Device" entry.

...ken...

Well I'm gaining! I just installed v5.00.60g, it saw my reciever right away as long as the baud rate was set to 4800. Now all I need to do is to figure out what data strings Garmin needs to see. I may have to email Garmin to see what thier guru's have to say. So far I'm thinking closing mobile pc to open Ag Remote is tedious, the serial port can't be shared by 2 porgrams.

dr dean, you've got me confused. If Mobile PC sees your receiver, why do you need to know what sentences Mobile PC is looking for? Are you getting errors of some kind from Mobile PC?

...ken...

Me too! Is GMPC working or not?

GPS Gate will allow you to run 2 programs at the same time with one GPS. So you could use Ag Remote and GMPC. Or are you saying AG needs other than 4800 and GMPC won't support a different rate?

Terry

Quite honestly it's kind of goofy. Ag remote resets the baud rate to 38400 each time I log onto the reciever. Not a problem for the machines that it's normally used for, I'm not doing something normal. With the reciever set at 4800 baud I can see the reciever.I had part of the sentences turned on but not all of what GMPC needed. When it was set GGA & VTG GMPC would see that there was a reciever there but wouldn't see the data strings that it needed to actually read satellite data. Yesterday I spoke with tech support, and they told me what I needed to turn on. With that done I can see the reciever, it will get a position fix for about 10 seconds and then lose satellites. Still working on solution. When I get it all going I will start a new thread with all the settings that it took to make it work.

Thanks for the update. The last time I tested Mobile PC (5.00.30), it would support 38,400 bps using a consumer grade GPS (Holux GPSlim 236 on USB). Possibly Ag Remote turns off unneeded strings on the Trimble.

It sounds like it might be easier for you to buy another GPS and reserve the Trimble for what it does best.

Terry