Troubleshooting GPS Receiver Connection Problems

If you follow the instructions that come with the your software to connect your GPS receiver to a computer, usually getting the two devices talking is painless.
If you do run into problems, follow this set of steps, in this order, to help you identify a possible culprit for your connection troubles:

1. Always make sure the cable is securely plugged in to both the GPS receiver and the computer. While you’re at it, check that the GPS receiver is turned on.
2. Make sure that the baud rate and the protocol are the same in both the GPS receiver and the interface program. Double-check this again if you can’t establish a connection. Even if the baud rates match, they may be set too high — thus causing communication errors. When in doubt, lower the baud rate. You can either step-down a rate at a time or go directly to 4,800 or 9,600 baud. Although this is slow, this rate shouldn’t generate errors.
3. In the interface program, make sure that the correct COM port is specified. If you can’t get a connection, try different COM port numbers until you find one that works.
4. Always check the program’s user manual, online help, or support section of the vendor’s Web site for specific information on interfacing with a GPS receiver.

If you can’t get your GPS receiver to talk to your computer and you happen to have a PDA, turn off the PDA synchronization program first. PDA synchronization software that’s running in the background is a frequent culprit in causing GPS receiver interface problems.

G7ToWin and other utilities

G7ToWin is the Swiss Army knife of the GPS world. This free utility program works with most all brands of popular GPS receivers. With this Windows program, you can

• Upload waypoints, routes, and tracks to your GPS receiver.
• Download waypoints, routes, and tracks to your computer.
• Edit waypoint, route, and track data in a spreadsheet-style window.
• Create waypoints, routes, and tracks.
• Save waypoints, routes, and tracks in different file types. (Remember that GPS receiver and software manufacturers all use a number of different file formats for waypoints, routes, and tracks.)
• Save the image that appears onscreen of many Garmin GPS receivers.

G7ToWin is a must for the serious GPS receiver user. Its author, Ron Henderson, continues to add new features to the program. DOS and Pocket PC versions of the utility are also available. You can download G7ToWin at www.gpsinformation.org/ronh.
Other GPS utilities worth consideration include

• EasyGPS: A popular, free utility for creating, editing, and transferring waypoints and routes, available at www.easygps.com.
• GPS Utility: A popular freeware/shareware program that lets you manipulate and map waypoints, routes, and tracks and works with Geographic Information System (GIS) data. It’s available at: www.gpsu.co.uk.
• GPS TrackMaker: A free utility that creates, edits, and deletes waypoints, routes, and tracks. It supports mapping features. You can download the program at www. gpstm.com.
• GPSy: For users who want to interface their receiver with a Mac. For more information, see www.gpsy.com.

How to Transfer Data from GPS Receiver?

GPS receiver interface programs tend to work the same way, although they have different menus, dialog boxes, commands, and appearances. When you transfer data between your GPS receiver and PC, you’ll either be

• Capturing current location coordinates to use with a real-time mapping program you have running on your laptop (or PDA). As you move, your location appears on the map.
• Downloading or uploading waypoints, routes, tracks, or map data.

The process to complete both of these tasks is the same. (If you have a GPS receiver with a memory card, you don’t need a cable to download or upload waypoints, routes, tracks, or map data because you’ll be using the memory card and a card reader to do this. However, you’ll still need a cable to capture your current location to use with a real-time mapping program.) Take a look at the general steps involved in transferring data with a cable:

1. Connect the PC interface cable to your computer and to your GPS receiver.
2. Turn on your GPS receiver. The GPS receiver doesn’t need to have a satellite fix to transfer data unless you’re using the receiver with a mapping program that’s plotting your current location.
3. Run the interface program.
4. Ensure that the protocols and settings on both the GPS receiver and the computer are the same.

At this point you can

• Select the type of data (waypoints, routes, or tracks) and upload it to the GPS receiver from your computer or download it from the GPS receiver to your computer.
• Upload a map to the GPS receiver that was created with a GPS manufacturer’s mapping program.
• Have the GPS receiver start providing location data to the interface program for real-time mapping.

Check the program’s user manual or online help for specific instructions on transferring data between your GPS receiver and a PC. If you’re transferring data to and from a memory card, refer to the GPS receiver’s user manual or support Web site. With some receivers, you can simply drag data between the memory card and the hard drive via Windows Explorer. In other cases, you might need to use a utility program, such as G7ToWin or EasyGPS.