Live GPS data on your laptop screen - Possible? (Mapsource)

alt

alt

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 Oct 2006
Messages
4,137
Location
Éire
Visit site
Hello electronic techies.

OK so I have the Garmin Bluechart now installed on the laptop - great! And i'm going to put it on the GPS when my datacard arrives - great!

However the screen on the Garmin 276c is quite small, and I love viewing the data on my laptop.

Is there any way (or possible with Mapsource's Bluechart / my own waypoints) that can show your position on the laptop screen? I would love to have my laptop plunked up on helm, connected to the GPS showing me where I am on the Bluechart

Basicly I want to replicate what's on my GPS screen to the laptop screen

thanks for any help
 
Not sure if Bluechart is the same as Mapsource (the road mapping) but on Mapsource there's a GPS tab on the panel that forms the left side of the screen display. You can set up a GPS from there.
 
Interesting - there isnt on my copy of Mapsource. Which version is yours?

Anyway, you dont need to buy a program to do what you want. There is a GPS reader built into XP and you can also get lots of freeware / shareware gps programs like GPSU.

I have only used Mapsource for road gps sets and plugging in my marine ones at home. I have never tried to use it with blue charts and a live gps as a sort of plotter so I dont know whether its capable of this. Would be interested in knowing though
 
[ QUOTE ]
I would love to have my laptop plunked up on helm, connected to the GPS showing me where I am on the Bluechart

[/ QUOTE ]

I trust you are depending on typical dull UK summer weather otherwise you will be concentrating so hard on trying to see the screen, you will be far from keeping a proper lookout... i.e. standard laptop monitors are not bright enough for day-time outdoor use.
 
[ QUOTE ]
you will be far from keeping a proper lookout...

[/ QUOTE ]

Jesus!... I despair sometimes....
The contortions that get performed on this forum just to line up for a "Ooohh - you don't want to do that!"
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I would love to have my laptop plunked up on helm, connected to the GPS showing me where I am on the Bluechart

[/ QUOTE ]

I trust you are depending on typical dull UK summer weather otherwise you will be concentrating so hard on trying to see the screen, you will be far from keeping a proper lookout... i.e. standard laptop monitors are not bright enough for day-time outdoor use.

[/ QUOTE ]

You have just hit the nail on the head! I forgotten about the possibility of a bright day ( /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif) - I'm going to stick to the screen of the Garmin 276c - it'll do fine!

Thanks for all the tips
 
[ QUOTE ]
Interesting - there isnt on my copy of Mapsource. Which version is yours?

I have only used Mapsource for road gps sets and plugging in my marine ones at home. I have never tried to use it with blue charts and a live gps as a sort of plotter so I dont know whether its capable of this. Would be interested in knowing though

[/ QUOTE ]

Me too - I have been using Mapsource for several years now, and have only been able to use it to down/upload maps and data to and from GPS units. I have Garmin's Metroguide Europe, and City Navigators (Europe and America) as well as BlueChart Atlantic, and they all share the same MapSource interface, which does not have a GPS position function. Also, when used with my ETrex unit I need to set the protocol to "Garmin" and not NMEA.

My main gripe with the software is the inability to read protected charts (e.g. G2 charts) to allow me to do some planning on the PC.

John
 
Iv'e got Mapsource V6.4. Screenshot below.

Mapsourcescreenshot.jpg
 
The GPS Tab isn't present in my V6.11.

However I have just installed a fresh copy of an earlier version (v4.10) of Mapsource, and the GPS Tab was there. I then installed BlueChart Atlantic (v7.5), which upgraded Mapsource to v6.5 - GPS Tab is still there.

However, upgrading the BlueChart Atlantic to v8.5, MapSource v6.11.1 was loaded, and the GPS Tab has gone.

There was an option to only update the charts - I will try this later and report back.

John
 
I have a Garmin plotter in the pilothouse and a Dell Inspiron on the chart table below. The PC runs OziExplorer with raster charts with separate AIS/GPS signals (from an AIS engine) input on USB.

A GPS USB mouse, very cheap, would do it, and OziExplorer is a very modest cost.

The prime navigation is made with waypoints on the Garmin but I pop down occasionally to check for AIS targets below on the Dell, which is much more comfortable with the larger screen.
 
I seem to remember the GPS tab on Mapsource but looking on my current version (6.12.3) it is not visible, let us know how you get on.
 
I've got the Digital Yachts AIS 250 transponder. That is hooked up to my Garming 525S and so sends and receives to that device. It also has a serial cable that I hookup to my laptop via a USB interconnect. I can then see the data on my laptop with the software that comes with the AIS unit.

Do you know if that would be enough to act as the NMEA stream for the Ozi software? If so, I might give it a try! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

T
 
[ QUOTE ]
I seem to remember the GPS tab on Mapsource but looking on my current version (6.12.3) it is not visible, let us know how you get on.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess it was removed to stop you using mapsource as a sort of plotter and to force you to buy a Garmin one instead.
 
Just updated to the latest version of Mapsource, no GPS tab /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Might try downgrading, and then upgrading. Anyone know a version that definately has the GPS tab?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Just updated to the latest version of Mapsource, no GPS tab /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Might try downgrading, and then upgrading. Anyone know a version that definately has the GPS tab?

[/ QUOTE ]

Just had a look at the Mapsource Update page. It looks as if v6.5 was the last version of Mapsource with GPS enabled.

The statement made is "Removed real-time tracking from MapSource. Use nRoute for PC real-time tracking applications".

I am just downloading nRoute from the Garmin site to see what it does.

John
 
nRoute is available here. Beware - it is a big download.

My first impressions are good. It seems to do all that the GPS tab on Mapsource did, and more.

John
 
the simple answer is yes, not sure about datacards but the bluechart cd has nroute and you can view your position live. you will need a lead from your gps to laptop.
 
nRoute from Garmin

You can have live GPS in Garmins nRoute software. It does not support all features of Bluechart they say but as I have not tried it with charts, only with City Navigator, I can't tell you how useful it would be. You can also use GPSProxy and another (non-Garmin) GPS and your Garmin unit id in nRoute.
 
Re: nRoute from Garmin

Hi,
Thanks very much for pointing me to your post, I hadn't spotted it. I'll give it a try this evening when I get home and i'll update the thread to see fi it works with Bluechart or not

Niall
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top