How do I make my PC Laptop GPS compatible?

I am currently using a Garmin Rino 120 hand held unit with Topo 2008 maps.

I spend a lot of time in my off road vehicle exploring the woods, mountains and deserts in my vehicle.

How do I make my PC Laptop GPS compatible? Can it be done? If so, what hardware and electronics do I need and where do I find them.

I have mapsource downloaded and it would be extremely nice if I could use it when off roading and navigating.

Any ideas for the new guy.

Huey

You need a GPS receiver that can connect to your PC by Bluetooth or USB. It has to send the GPS satellite data to the PC.

You need software that has maps and can use the GPS data to display your position on the maps.

Did you get the DVD version of your Topo USA maps or were they preloaded on the Rhino? If they are the preloaded maps you can't use them in Mapsource.

If you have the DVD version of Topo and installed it on your PC along with Mapsource, you can use the location coordinates from your Rhino to see where you are at using maps on the larger screen. You can also use Mapsource for a better look at what's around you than trying to see it on the tiny screen on the Rhino. This is good for route planning, etc. You can also transfer the tracks from your Rhino to Mapsource on the PC to see where you have been on the maps.

If you have the maps and Mapsource on your PC you could download Garmin's nRoute. It looks a lot like Mapsource and has a lot of the same functions and it does realtime navigation if you can feed it GPS data from a GPS receiver.

I don't know if it's possible to use your Rhino as a GPS receiver for nRoute on the PC. I can do it with my eTrex Legend HCx but I'm not familiar with the Rhino's capabilities. If your Rhino connects to the PC for transfering maps and routes and waypoints and tracks between it and Mapsource, you can download nRoute and see if it will find a signal from the Rhino. Download the one at the bottom of the list (nroute_276.exe).

...ken...

Ken,

Thank you for the information. I do have the DVD version of the Topo and did install the Mapsource on my PC. I hook up the Rino 120 to the PC via USB and download the maps that I am going to use. Then, when I go out with my Rino, it navigates along the road or trail I am on so I can see where I am.

Are you saying that if my Rino is hooked to my Laptop via USB, that the satelite reception I recieve from the Rino will transfer and I will be able to navigate on my laptop PC with mapsource? If so, do I just open the stored maps that I have on the PC?

If this is not the case, then, can you recommend what I need to purchase i.e. reciever, antenna, cables etc. and where to purchase them?

I went to Garmin website after I downloaded the mapsource from the DVD and downloaded Basecamp to my PC. Is the nroute different than the base camp?

I will go ahead and go to the link you gave me for nroute and down load it to my Laptop.

Looking forward for some more info.

Thank you

Huey

MapSource no longer has any GPS functionality but nRoute does. Any map you can view in MapSource will appear in nRoute and it should be able to use your Rino as a GPS. The Rino 120 online manual shows the Interface settings on Page 77. It should be set to GARMIN.

Connect the Rino to your computer, start nRoute and select the 'Utilities' header and 'Select GPS'. Choose the USB radio button and your Rino should be listed. Select 'OK' and see if nRoute will work with it. You may have to go outside with the Rino to get a satellite lock.

BaseCamp is a program for displaying the results of your tracks but is not map aware.

Terry

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Terry,

Thank you. I will give it a try and see what it does.

Huey

Huey,

Mapsource and Basecamp are for viewing maps and tracks, planning trips and creating routes, managing waypoints and for transferring maps and routes and waypoints and tracks between the PC and your GPS device, like the Rhino.

Neither of those programs know anything about doing realtime navigation with a GPS connected.

The biggest difference between Basecamp and Mapsource is that Basecamp has the ability to do different kinds of really neat displays if you have maps with 3D data in them. Otherwise, they both display all kinds of Garmin maps just the same and have pretty much the same functions.

Because of the 3D capability, Basecamp is much better for planning hiking and camping trips and other offroad uses. Mapsource is better for planning longer road trips.

nRoute is a GPS navigation program. It knows how to read the data from a GPS receiver and display your position on the map and save the data into a track file for viewing after a trip. That is, it has pretty similar function as your Rhino, except a bigger screen to display the map. It's an old program and is no longer supported by Garmin, but if it does what you need the price is right.

...ken...

Ken,

So when I plug my Rino USB in to my PC laptop, I open the nroute and select the Rino as my GPS Device, then the Rino will act as both a receiver for the hand held and the PC?

As I travel down the roads, it will navigate on both screens?

Huey

Huey,

I'm not familiar with the Rhino so I can't say for certain. If I connect my eTrex Legend HCx to my laptop and use its GPS signal for the PC I can view the moving map display on both the handheld and in nRoute on the PC screen. So it's possible your Rhino will do the same.

The reason I'm being cautious is that some of Garmin's handhelds will not go into their normal navigation display mode when they are connected to a PC and feeding it the GPS signal. Some older Nuvi models were reported to operate like that.

Please report back when you get it working so we'll know exactly how it works.

...ken...

Ken,

I'll let you know how it goes.

Thank you

Huey

Ken,

I have down loaded nroute to my laptop and it does not display a map. I can move everything from top to bottom, left to right, but no map.

Help

Huey

Does the map you have display in MapSource?

Terry

Did you try a high scale like 1000mi in nRoute to see if there is a map there?

Terry

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Do you suppose Topo USA 2008 is new format like Topo Canada v4? Probably not, since City Navigator North America didn't go new format until 2010.

Or perhaps he didn't install the entire USA? In which case zooming way out should find something to display. This is the most likely problem because nRoute will default to some other location than Huey's until it gets its first fix with the GPS.

Huey, when you run nRoute please click on the VIEW menu then scroll down and select "Product". This should show your Topo 2008 as a map product that can be displayed. Make sure it's selected (tick mark beside it). If it's showing up in the Product list and is checked, then try what Terry said and zoom w-a-y out until you see something.

...ken...

Found it. I had to click on the topo and then zoom out to find it.

Thank you

Huey