GPS dongle - NMEA 2000?

[vyv_cox]

Yesterday I received a copy of Autoroute 2010. I didn't bother with the 'Autoroute with GPS locator' version, i.e. the one with a dongle, as I already own one. However I find now that the software requires a dongle with NMEA 2000 protocol. Microsoft don't sell the dongle alone, only bundled with the software. Despite a long search I have been unable to find a dongle with NMEA 2000 anywhere. Can anyone point me to a supplier please?

 

[elton]

I expect it'll work just as well with any old NMEA version.

 

[vyv_cox]

I expect it'll work just as well with any old NMEA version.

No, it doesn't recognise the GPS. In the course of searching for a dongle I found a number of gps forums where people were reporting the same problem, although not being aware of NMEA nobody seemed to have solved it.

 

[elton]

No, it doesn't recognise the GPS. In the course of searching for a dongle I found a number of gps forums where people were reporting the same problem, although not being aware of NMEA nobody seemed to have solved it.

I'm suprised, and wrong From what I've just read, 2000 is a binary format (rather than ASCII), and there are other differences.

I wonder if anyone has written a device driver to convert to the old format and send it to a virtual port. That's what I'd be looking for.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I've checked the US GlobalSat, which are very popular dongles here in the US, and they're all NEMA 0183. Have you done a Google search on NEMA 2000 USB GPS?

 

[RestlessL]

One of these might do the trick:- it converts a standard NMEA 0183 dongle to NMEA 2000 (and vice-versa).

http://www.actisense.com/HTML/Products/Gateways/NMEA_2000_Gateway_1/index.php

You will probably then need an NMEA2000 to PC interface, by which time you will probably find it cheaper to buy the mocrosoft product.

J

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Yesterday I received a copy of Autoroute 2010. I didn't bother with the 'Autoroute with GPS locator' version, i.e. the one with a dongle, as I already own one. However I find now that the software requires a dongle with NMEA 2000 protocol. Microsoft don't sell the dongle alone, only bundled with the software. Despite a long search I have been unable to find a dongle with NMEA 2000 anywhere. Can anyone point me to a supplier please?

Clearly you are going to struggle with is. May I ask why on earth you are using Autoroute anyway? Surely there are much better alternatives that use cheaper, readily available gps input. I think I paid £8 for my USB gps aerial and there are a lot of non Microsoft navigator packages available.

 

[geoid96]

There is a NMEA2000 version of the Garmin GPS 17x, but at £180 , it's not cheap.

 

[vyv_cox]

Clearly you are going to struggle with is. May I ask why on earth you are using Autoroute anyway? Surely there are much better alternatives that use cheaper, readily available gps input. I think I paid £8 for my USB gps aerial and there are a lot of non Microsoft navigator packages available.

I like Autoroute and have owned older versions for years. 2010 version covers the whole of Europe, which I needed, and it was not expensive. I owned the GPS dongle and didn't know until I received the software that the two were incompatible.

I'd be interested to know what equivalent navigator packages are available at lower cost?

 

[lenseman]

Have you been back to the supplier (Mircosoft) as they do state on the web page below that it requires NMEA 2.0 "to allow you to use certain features"?

http://www.microsoft.com/streets/en-us/products_autoroute.aspx

 

[vyv_cox]

Have you been back to the supplier (Mircosoft) as they do state on the web page below that it requires NMEA 2.0 "to allow you to use certain features"?

http://www.microsoft.com/streets/en-us/products_autoroute.aspx

Yes. They don't supply the dongle separately. I began to download the trial version but it was going to take at least three hours, so I abandoned that idea, assuming that I could buy the dongle somewhere if necessary. This seems not to be the case.

 

[Danny]

On the website MS say it requires NMEA 2.0. I don't see anything about NMEA 2000 (although I've only given the site a quick glance). I would have thought that NMEA 2.0 refers to NMEA 0183 version 2.0 (or later) rather than NMEA 2000.

 

[vyv_cox]

On the website MS say it requires NMEA 2.0. I don't see anything about NMEA 2000 (although I've only given the site a quick glance). I would have thought that NMEA 2.0 refers to NMEA 0183 version 2.0 (or later) rather than NMEA 2000.

The software says NMEA 2000. I found lots of forums, mostly in USA, with posts from people who experienced exactly the same problem that I have.

 

[Danny]

It works with NMEA 0183

The software says NMEA 2000. I found lots of forums, mostly in USA, with posts from people who experienced exactly the same problem that I have.

Well Vyv, I just downloaded the free trial version from MS and tested it out. I have it running in another window on this PC at the moment - on NMEA 0183!!!

Here's an extract from the AR2010 help documentation:
"Some versions of AutoRoute include a Microsoft GPS device that is designed to work with the program. However, you can also use other GPS devices. To work with AutoRoute, your GPS receiver must be compliant with National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) standards, and its input/output format (interface) must be set to support the NMEA 0183 version 2.0 or later format. For more information, check the documentation that came with your receiver, or visit the NMEA Web site."

 

[RestlessL]

Well Vyv, I just downloaded the free trial version from MS and tested it out. I have it running in another window on this PC at the moment - on NMEA 0183!!!

I concur with Danny. I too have downloaded the trail version, and it ran first time with an NMEA 0183 "GPS Mouse" - in my case a RoyalTek RGM-3600.

I think that all reference made by Microsoft to NMEA2000 is a misprint, and they mean NMEA 0183 v2.0. All the help text in the trail version refers to NMEA 0183 v2.0.

Indeed, it would be bizarre for any PC application to require NMEA 2000 - this would require an NMEA 2000 to PC interface. These are available, but not cheap. You would then need an NMEA 2000 GPS receiver - again costing a lot more than a USB GPS mouse.

John

 

[vyv_cox]

Thanks both. The help file on my CD version says the same as Danny's post. No matter what I try I can't get a signal from my dongle into the Autoroute. I'll keep trying.