| Author | Message | ||
| captain ron (Captain_ron)
Rating: N/A |
My buddy just gave me a Rand McNally GPS for a lap top. it has 2 connections 1 is a wire that goes to your mouse port the other is a female 9 pin conection, my computer has the proper mouse conection but has the exact same female conection as the GPS. is there an adapter to conect it to an USB port? and also is it worth getting the updated software I'll need to operate on my computer? What all is it capable of doing? also can you do an internet conection on the same satalite antana as your tv antana / system? | ||
| Jerry W Campbell Rating: N/A |
Yes, There is a 9 pin Serial to USB adapter. Most places that sell GPS have the adapter but it is MUCH more expensive from them. I would do a google search and look for one cheaper. Jerry | ||
| John that newguy Rating: N/A |
Ron- Get a cellphone with a usb adapter for data, to access the internet. Another "must have" is a decent WiFi adapter. I have the Linksys "Wireless G", model WUSB54g. It sells for under $40 and will get you into the web for free at almost anyplace you travel. The security is nearly non-existent, however... So I don't access bank accounts or transmit sensitive data. | ||
| captain ron (Captain_ron)
Rating: N/A |
I have a office conectivity kit for my cell phone that hooks me up to the internet on my lap top. I also have a D-Link air plus G wireless adapter but most places around here with wi-fi are charging air time. | ||
| Vin (Billybonz)
Rating: N/A |
Ron, I could be wrong, but I believe the connector you are thinking goes to the mouse is prolly meant to plug into the keyboard connection on the laptop, it's for power. As far as the 9 pin D connector, you could get whats called a gender bender....looks like this  except it has 9 pins. Bones | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Rating: N/A |
Ron, This is a particularly cheap GPS receiver. It uses the Rockwell chipset and outputs straight NMEA data at 4800bps on an RS232 serial link. They blew these out at $60 apiece, software included, a couple years ago. I suspect you will no longer find support for it, but you may be able to fiddle around with the parms on, say, Street Atlas, to get it to read this receiver. The round connector is for an external keyboard port, and, as already noted, this simply supplies power to the unit. If your notebook does not have this type of port, you will need to find another way to power the receiver (5 volts). A mouse-only port may or may not work, depending on how it was implemented. You wrote: "... the other is a female 9 pin conection, my computer has ... the exact same female conection as the GPS" This statement is somewhat problematic. The cable on the unit should have a female DB9 connector, which is wired to connect to a "standard" RS232/DB9 IBM-style serial port on a computer. That means that the unit is wired "DCE" and the computer is expected to be wired "DTE". Almost universally, IBM-style, RS232 serial ports wired DTE are male, even the bulkhead style on the back of a laptop. If you have a female connector on your laptop, it may not be a serial port. Look at it closely -- is it really only 9 pins? If you do, indeed, have a 9-pin connector on your machine and it is female, then it is *possible* that merely using a gender-changer such as that suggested by Bones may work. However, there is a possibility that such a serial port may be wired DCE, in which case, you will need an adapter type known as a "Null Modem" to mate the ports. The null modem may or may not include the gender changer. Your PC documentation may tell you what kind of port you have. The only other way to know for sure is to use a device known as a "breakout box" which has LED's that indicate what the various RS232 signals are doing. All in all, for a device that's worth maybe $25 today, I would suggest it is not worth it. The EarthMate receiver from DeLorme is a much more modern unit, has direct USB connectivity, and sells for less than $100. For that matter, NMEA Garmin units can be had for that much, which work independently as handhelds, and can be mated to your PC with a $30 cable. You also wrote: "What all is it capable of doing?" The simple answer to this is, by itself, nothing. It just outputs GPS position information in NMEA format. You need a software program such as StreetFinder (the program they sold with the unit), Microsoft Streets, or DeLorme's Street Atlas to accept the data stream and plot your position on a map. Each of those programs has different features and capabilities, such as trip routing, moving map display, and so forth. Lastly you wrote: "also can you do an internet conection on the same satalite antana as your tv antana / system?" Not sure what you are asking here. Neither of these things has anything to do with the GPS, if that's part of the question. A GPS receiver only receives information from GPS satellites and interpolates your position on the globe from that information. If you are asking about satellite internet systems, these use different "birds" than are used for direct-broadcast TV, and also different frequencies and hardware. That being said, it is possible to get a system that uses the same "dish" reflector, which need be aimed only once, with multiple feedhorns to access both systems. This is the type of dish that we use, for example. Two-way internet systems require a stationary dish, so can not be used in-motion. However, there is a system that uses cellular signals or marine satellite telephone signals for the return channel, and this system works in motion (but is very expensive to use, per-minute). HTH, -Sean | ||
| captain ron (Captain_ron)
Rating: N/A |
thanks sean for your in depth reply. I do have the software deluxe street finder 2000 but it's probably not new enough for windows xp. as for the satelite question it had nothing to do with gps. I'm still depating puting a satelite system in my bus for tv and internet but want to find most economical system. I was concidering that system on the flea market board. but only if it is capable of doing both tv and intenet. I don't need an in motion system as I travel by myself and can't (safely) drive and use it at same time. | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Rating: N/A |
"I do have the software deluxe street finder 2000 but it's probably not new enough for windows xp." Actually, this software will most likely work fine on XP. XP will complain about it not being "certified" or some such nonsense, but that can probably be safely ignored. The bigger problem is that map software from 2000 is hopelessly out-of-date. Map databases are much more accurate today. "I'm still depating puting a satelite system in my bus for tv and internet but want to find most economical system. I was concidering that system on the flea market board. but only if it is capable of doing both tv and intenet." The Datron system I see down there is TV only. For TV+internet you have three choices: KVH makes a system that works in-motion, but very expensive to buy ($6,000+) and runs a buck a minute to use. The MotoSat Datastorm is an automatically aimed dish that runs around $4,500 and costs $99 per month flat rate. Or you can get a "tripod" setup -- illegal per FCC rules, but widespread nonetheless. These run around $300 or so, with monthly fees in the range of $69. They take about half an hour to aim and set up each time. I recommend Scott Whitney at DustyFoot.com who can sell you either of these last options. -Sean | ||
| Ian Giffin (Admin)
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Hi Sean, Is there anything you can tell me about the Tom Tom Go all-in-one navigation system (www.tomtom.nl)? Ian www.busnut.com | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
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Ian, Sorry, I am not familiar with this one at all. I did poke around on their site -- it looks interesting. One concern I would have would be what their North American database looks like. I could not find on the site who is providing their geocode data. I would guess NavTech or one of the other big ones. The other concern I would have would be what kind of support they provide in this market. Let me know if you get one -- would love to hear how it works out. -Sean | ||
| Sean Welsh (Sean)
Rating: N/A |
Found it -- it's TeleAtlas. | ||
| Ian Giffin (Admin)
Rating: N/A |
Hi Sean, Thanks for those replies. I'll let you know. Ian www.busnut.com | ||
| Bob Shafer (Michigander_bob)
Rating: N/A |
I bought Microsoft streets and trips 2005 with the usb gps unit for less than $100 at Best Buy. Probably not the best setup going but for the price it's hard to beat. I've found it accurate and easy to use. Bob 4104-2346 Flint,mi | ||
| Ian Giffin (Admin)
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I found this link whilst surfing, for anyone looking at navigation systems - I think all of these are all-in-ones - I haven't reviewed all of them but thought I might add this to the thread. http://www.lordpercy.com/gps_navigation_system_reviews.htm Ian www.busnut.com |