interfacing a portable-gps to a computer

Your Personal GPS Tracker is pretty darned useful even if you can’t connect it to your computer. With your receiver, you can find your way around as well as your way back, even if you don’t know what a computer is. The ability to connect your GPS receiver to your computer, however, can make your GPS receiver even more useful . . . heck, a lot more useful. Essentially, a connection between your GPS receiver and your computer allows them to talk and share information, such as uploaded maps and waypoints to your receiver as well as downloaded receiver information that you store while on your adventures. In this Blog, I show you why this interconnectivity is a fantastic addition to your receiver. You’ll discover the ins and outs of the physical connections, how to get your computer and receiver to speak the same language, the lowdown on great receiver utility programs, and how to upgrade your receiver firmware.

About (Inter)Face: Connectivity Rules

If you choose to use a mapping GPS receiver (one that you can upload maps to from a PC), you’re in the right chapter. And kudos to you to getting a model that really lets you maximize using your GPS receiver. You’ll be outdoor navigating and geocaching in no time. Here are the very cool things you can do with a PC-compatible receiver:  

1. Back up and store GPS receiver waypoints, routes, and tracks on your computer. 

2. Download waypoints, routes, and tracks from your GPS receiver to your computer to use with computer mapping programs.

3. Upload waypoints, routes, and tracks to your GPS receiver from other sources such as Internet sites, other GPS users, or mapping programs.

4. Upload maps from your computer to your GPS receiver (if your receiver supports mapping).

5. Provide GPS data to a moving map program on a laptop for real-time travel tracking.

6. Update your GPS receiver’s firmware.

Anatomy of a Link: Understanding the Interface Process.

Before I talk about how to interface a GPS receiver to a PC, you need to understand the types of data that can be passed between the two devices:

GPS receiver to PC: Saved waypoints, routes, tracks, and current location coordinates.

PC to GPS receiver: Maps (if the GPS receiver supports them), way points, routes, and tracks.

You can interface a GPS receiver to a computer and transfer data in two ways:

Cable: Most GPS receivers use a special cable, with one end that plugs into the receiver and the other that plugs into the serial or Universal Serial Bus (USB) port of your computer.

Memory card: Some Small GPS Tracking Device models use Secure Digital (SD) or MultiMediaCard (MMC) memory cards to store data. You transfer data between the GPS receiver and your computer with a card reader con nected to the computer. ( If you use a Bluetooth wireless GPS receiver, you don’t need a cable or memory card reader to transfer data. These are designed to be used exclusively with laptops and PDAs.

More information at http://www.jimilab.com/blog/ .