Setting up a GPS in Odyssey Navigator

Setting up a GPS.
Click the main screen to go to the menu. Select Settings and then GPS Port. With your GPS connected, click the Auto button. The program will search the COM ports (1 to 10 only) at various data rates to find your GPS.

Once it finds it, it will give a verbal message and revert to the original screen. Select Apply and take a look at the Map screen (you can get there directly with the wiggly line icon top second from right). If there is satellite lock, the location arrow will be green and the clouds will be animated (in 3D mode).

Terry

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There is also a screen providing GPS information at the current location. From the main menu, select Info and GPS.

Terry

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Hi Terry,
We can expand the COM ports up to any arbitrary limit. If any clients have problems (for instance where a Bluetooth stack has occupied all ports below 10) we can supply the customer with a fix.

I will configure up to 20 ports in future releases by default which will ease any issues.

That is a good idea Mal. I even had problems with COM 10 for my USB GPS and had to reassign it in Device Manager. Also the Windows Bluetooth stack often assigns COM ports in the 11 to 20 range. The Toshiba stack is even worse, defaulting to COM 40.

Terry

Mal, that would be excellent. While it only takes a few seconds to change a com port of a GPS receiver by a few mouse-clicks in the Device Manager, most people are unlikely familiar with the procedure, so anything that can simplify connecting a GPS receiver with Odyssey Navigator will improve the user experience.

I personally experienced completely problem free installation and a USB GPS receiver set up. It literally took less then 5 minutes from inserting my installation DVD into my laptop while parked on the side of the road, and driving away with Odyssey Navigator running. My USB BU-353 GPS receiver was automatically discovered on com port 6. Well, I shouldn't say "automatically", since the procedure does require the few simple steps described above by Terry .

Marvin, You should try that with a slow device like the UMPC and a Bluetooth GPS on an unknown port. ON takes forever on this device to scan the various speeds on the 10 ports it monitors. I'm not sure of the state of car PCs these days, but if they are not faster than the R2h, I would recommend knowing the GPS COM port and entering it manually!

Terry

Because most people only have one GPS and only have to set it up in ON once, this is probably not a speed issue. However, adding more COM ports to scan will slow down the experience even more. As the majority of GPS devices are 4800 (maybe 9600 for PDAs) why not scan all ports at 1 or 2 rates and start again with the higher ones only if it doesn't find the GPS.

Does ON support higher refresh rates?

Terry

Yes, but luckily this is something most users may only need to do once, when they first connect their USB (or Bluetooth) GPS receivers to their laptop (or UMPC, tablet, whatever) after installing the program. But I wish the whole process could be fully automated, not requiring any user input. Upon starting the application it should check if the receiver is on the same com port it was the last time. If the receiver is not found there, then it should start searching other com ports.

If ON does not find the GPS receiver on start up (eg. you forgot to turn the BT GPS on). it will not check again until you restart it (or manually reassign the GPS).

Terry

Most people probably haven't been messing with their computers as much as we have and, therefore, probably don't have all the lower COM ports messed up.

I have been pretty careful with my netbook so it doesn't have the lower ports already gobbled up. When I plugged in the BU-353, ON found it in seconds (it was on COM3). My netbook isn't exactly high horsepower.

...ken...

I will admit the ASUS R2h is not at the level of netbooks. the Intel Celeron M 900 probably has 1/2 the horsepower of an Atom and the 4200 rpm 1.8" drive doesn't help. Also the lack of a keyboard means several background programs are needed for the dedicated controls. That was why I was interested in what current users of the program had. A reasonable carPC could cost twice what the ASUS did before the advent of the Atom and I don't know how widespread its use is in Australia.

I might be running somewhat more than the average user but Odyssey Navigator takes 25 seconds to scan one COM port on this device. If you are not sure that the COM port you are using is below 10, that is about 5 minutes before you discover it doesn't work.

*EDIT* ON only scans the COM ports that are assigned at the slow speed. I tried it on my Atom 330 and it took 25 seconds each for COM 1 and 2 and breezed through the others. Checking in Device Manager, I saw only COM 1 and 2 were used (all the Microsoft Bluetooth ports were between COM 11 and 17 except the one I had reassigned on COM2).

Also, this device uses a Toshiba Bluetooth stack. If I didn't know how to ensure I got the COM port I wanted, no amount of free low COM ports would have helped as it defaults to COM 40.

Not everybody uses USB and regardless, on the HP, ON could not find my BU-353 on COM 10. I had to move it.

Terry

What netbook COM port is your 10x on?

Terry

Hi Guys,
The idea is that for a newbie, even 25sec a port is ok, it beats them playing in a world they don't know or understand, that being the Virtual MS COM port jungle.. hahaha Those who do have knowledge will always tend to do it manually anyway, IMHO

Hi Mal,

I'm an IT professional with over thirty years experience; twenty of that doing and managing desktop computer support. I can do that sort of thing with my eyes closed. However, I don't if I can avoid it. I'm as lazy as anyone so I like the automated stuff as well as the next person.

So, I like that you allow manual setting (to echo other requests, more port selections please) but I have used the Auto button both times I needed to connect a (different) GPS receiver.

...ken...