Trouble connecting Bluetooth GPS to laptop

Hi All

I am having some issues connecting my Bluetooth GPS to my laptop. I bought a GPS for my trip to Europe in two weeks and intend on using the trial version of MapPoint.

Before we leave I thought that I would try it out using Google Earth.

I am able to connect the GPS via Bluetooth and pair the device with the computer. What I am not able to do is get a location on the computer for where i am.

I have installed Earth Bridge to get the signal from the GPS and send it to GE, but this is where I think the problem might be.

In Earth Bridge it tells me that my position is the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and not in Australia. It appears to me that either the GPS is not getting a signal to broadcast to Earth Bridge, or Earth Bridge is not able to get the signal from the GPS, even though it is connected.

I am currently using Vista Ultimate and the GPS is a Haicom HI-408BT. It is NMEA-0183. The manual is crap, didn't even have the pairing code in it.

Any help would be much appreciated.

The pairing code is almost always 0000 except for Garmin. Once the GPS is paired, the Bluetooth stack will give you a message telling you which COM port to use for your navigation program. You also can find the COM port later by right clicking on the BT icon in the notification bar and choose 'Show Bluetooth Devices'. Click on your GPS device and choose the Properties button. If your device is turned on, it will list the COM port on the Services tab.

I don't know what Earth Bridge is but it probably wants a COM port to get its GPS information. Point it to the listed COM port and it should be ok. This assumes you have let your Haicom go through its cold start with a good view of the sky (outside is good). This can take a while if you have never used it at your location.

Terry

Hi Terry

Strangely, the paring code was 1234. I worked that part out two days ago. I also know which com ports that the BT is connected to (10 & 11) and have set Earth Bridge to connect with com port 10.

Maybe the problem is that i am trying it from inside the house. Cold Start time is 38 secs, so this shouldn't be an issue

If you have not heard of Earth Bridge, is there some free software that you could recommend that would allow me to connect the GPS to Google Earth?

Very unusual--the only time I have seen that pairing code used is with the Garmin 10 and 10x.

I took a look at Earth Bridge and it appears to give you plenty of information including the number of satellites and positional accuracy. I can't see why it wouldn't work. However, you will have to test it outside at first as the cold start time means nothing if the GPS can't find satellites. It needs at least one just to download the information of where to look for the others. Then it can start to figure out where it is.

I don't use Google maps so can't comment on that aspect.

Terry