Viliv S5 + Garmin Mobile PC Software-only

There are lots of messages like this one floating around, but I believe mine might be a little simpler than most, so I thought some reiteration was justified.

To make Garmin Mobile PC (I have v5.60g, but I believe this should work with any version) work with the SiRFstar III GPS in the Viliv S5, follow these steps.

1: Install Garmin Mobile PC. Use the default installation settings. Do NOT run the software yet.

2: Download Franson GPSGate from - there is a 14-day free trial, and the express version (which is all you need) costs only US$12.95. The version I installed was v2.6, which was current at the time of writing.

3: Install GPSGate then run it. It will fail to find your GPS - this is normal. Click the "Advanced" button and tell it to look on COM1: at 9600bps. It will tell you that there is a valid GPS present, and if you're outside or the GPS has acquired a lock, it will tell you that it has a valid location as well.

4: Switch to the "Output" tab in GPSGate. Where it says "Select from list and click Add button", select "Virtual COM port". However tempted you might be, do NOT select "Virtual COM port / Garmin emulation". When you click "Add", it will ask you for a COM port - select COM2: and set it to 4800bps. You should now see "Virtual COM2:" in the "Active output" list, just beneath "GPSGate Direct". Close the GPSGate window, and it will minimize to your task bar.

5: That's it. Run Garmin Mobile PC and it should find your GPS on COM2. If it doesn't (and it may take a while to tell you), click the "Settings" button, click the "System" icon, then click on "Remote GPS". Select "Serial GPS", then "COM2:".

[Rant]
This silly dance is necessary because of a combination of poor design decisions by Viliv and idiotic programming by Garmin. It beggars my imagination to believe it, but Garmin Mobile PC is *hard-wired* to use 4800bps serial connections, and there appears to be *no way* to get it to use any other speed. I'm a programmer by trade, and spent some time browsing through the Garmin binaries for registry keys or commandline options that might allow you to specify other speeds, but there simply doesn't appear to be any. For reasons known only to themselves, Viliv decided to implement their GPS unit at 9600bps, a speed that apparently cannot be altered (you can use the options in the Windows device manager and it will *look* as though the speed has changed, but using a program like SiRFDemo will show that the port is still running at 9600bps, no matter what you select).

All GPSGate is doing is taking the 9600bps data from COM1 and playing it back at 4800bps on COM2: now, while I mean the Franson people no ill-will (it's a good little application and a Godsend in this instance), it simply shouldn't be necessary to use it to do this. Supporting different COM port speeds is so fundamental that I personally think Garmin have been professionally negligent by not providing the facility. Alternatively, Viliv should support port speed alteration on the device - in Garmin's very slight defense, 4800bps is the more normal convention for GPS speed.
[/Rant]

Once you've done all this, the resulting combination is *very nice*. The GPS in the Viliv acquires satellites very quickly from warm starts (less than 30 seconds usually), holds onto them well, and will even work acceptably indoors. The Garmin Mobile PC Software itself is a pleasure to use and quite pretty to look at.

It just amazes me that when the package is so good, they should allow such a basic programming bungle to ruin the out-of-box experience in this way.

I am sorry, I can't agree with you. Mobile PC is certainly not hard wired to 4800 bps and will happily work with connections up to and including 38,400 bps. I have tested it with a Holux GPS which is fixed at 38,400 bps on its USB feed.

The problem in my estimation, goes deeper than that. When Mobile PC went to v5.00.20 some time ago, something changed in the way it saw true serial (built-in) GPS ports. It would no longer recognize them as a GPS even though it listed them as COM ports. This has not been resolved if any of the newer versions including the latest one.

My ASUS R2h UMPC has a built-in GPS on COM 2 and it runs at 4800 bps. With Mobile PC 5.00.00 and 5.00.10, it worked fine (the GPS was a piece of crap but this was a design error by ASUS, not SirfStar and doesn't enter into the equation). Once I upgraded GMPC to 5.00.20, it no longer could find the internal GPS although every other navigation program could. At the time Mobile PC also did not work with GPS Gate but that was resolved in future versions.

Your comments regarding GPS Gate surprise me too. I have never had a GPS of any connection it could not find. And you don't have to go through all that rigamarole setting output ports. Just use the one or one of the ones the wizard assigns.

Terry

I just double checked. Mobile PC 5.00.60 will find and operate from a virtual COM port created by GPS Gate. Getting it to quit searching Bluetooth and start searching Attached is another story. A restart of Mobile PC often helps.

Terry

Attached Thumbnails

 

You may be interested in a shortcut for this procedure. Clicking on the satellite in the top right of the main page will take you directly to the GPS page.

Terry

As I said, GMPC 5.60g will find a GPSGate "Virtual COM" port, but (here at least), nothing I can do will make it recognize a "Virtual COM Port with Garmin Emulation".

Not sure what the difference is, but here one works and the other definitely doesn't.

That's a handy tip - thanks!

I don't think you should be using the "Garmin Emulation" setting. Garmin Mobile PC, the software-only version, works with NMEA receivers.

I don't want to duplicate anything that's already been said but I can confirm everything that Terry has said.

As for the Garmin protocol, I'm not even sure the software-only version will use it. It refuses to connect to any Garmin receiver I've tried. In order to get it to use a Garmin receiver I have to run GPSGate and make Mobile PC use one of the virtual COM ports so it can't discover the Garmin receiver and thinks it's using a generic NMEA receiver. Of course that doesn't mean it can't read Garmin protocol but it sure proves it doesn't need it.

...ken...

It seems the only navigation program these days that requires Garmin protocol is Garmin nRoute.

Terry

*Sigh*. This was exactly my point, really. I only mentioned the issue at all because a novice at this game is going to see "Garmin" in the list of supported ports offered by GPSGate and will probably think that's the one to choose, so I made a point of saying that the "Garmin emulation" port is NOT the one to use.

Point taken! However, I think it confuses the issue. Using GPS Gate should be dead simple if the wizard works. You don't set up any output port as GPS Gate will do it for you. Then Mobile PC will find a COM port it likes. Although you think you can specify which COM port Mobile PC will use, you can't. It will just scan until it finds one it likes.

Keep it simple! All the rest just adds to the confusion.

Now. Tell us for sure that GPS Gate truly can't find the internal GPS using the wizard with all choices checked. That is important!

Terry

Unfortunately, I've had to package up my Viliv to send it back to the USA for warranty repairs... *sigh*. Nothing to do with the GPS - the headphone jack doesn't work: plug in earbuds, speakers, whatever, nothing comes out of the connected device and the built-in speakers keep playing.

I guess it will be interesting for me to see how well Dynamism back the product (so far I've had no communication from them over this problem): I knew I was taking a real risk buying something with no local representation - but with the price of return freight to the USA, this is going to end up costing me a lot of money - in the end, a huge amount more than the Garmin 1390T I would probably have got instead. I guess sometimes you're lucky, and sometimes you're not.

That is very unfortunate. Annoying when a simple problem can force an expensive decision. Even in Canada, I am reticent about ordering products from the US due to exchange, customs, shipping and warranty. Too bad you couldn't deal with Korea; Its closer.

Terry

Hi there, nice to see u all. Any suggestion to help me how can I get file Garmin Mobile PC for first installation (not newest/update file)? I appreciate that and thx u so much.