Serial to USB converters - NMEA issues

[robavery]

I have a serial to usb converter but it does not see NMEA data from my GPS( the settings on the GPS are correct). Is this commonly found issue ? Does anyone use a converter that works well with NMEA. Would be grateful to know.

 

[Talbot]

yes, some seem to be a real pain to work with, but there are others that work well. My personal favourite is the US232R-10 : Premium from www.easysync.co.uk which seems to work every time, has gold contacts, and has leds showing data flow. They also do a budget version without the leds.

 

[ParaHandy]

Agree with Talbot's recommendation ...
go into control panel, system, click on usb and make sure the usb has been assigned a port. load the port number into your programme. if you don't see an assignment of a port number remove the software that came with the usb and start again ...

 

[webcraft]

It may not be the converter - it may be the serial lead.

Some applications - and NMEA data transmission may be one of them - require what is known as 'hardware handshaking' which means you need another two wires connected in the serial lead.

This was a problem with our Iridium data kit, and I thought it was the converter for a while but now both converters work with a lead that has all 9 pins connected.

-Nick

 

[robavery]

My usb converter works with my Iridium its only NMEA it seems to dislike. If however I connect the GPS via a serial cable to a serial port (on another PC) then the data gets through.

 

[jb2006]

I have used one from Maplin (about £15 - 20) if I remember - connected my old Garmin to my laptop no problem - based on the posts here they do seem to vary though

 

[Guest]

[ QUOTE ]
It may not be the converter - it may be the serial lead.

Some applications - and NMEA data transmission may be one of them - require what is known as 'hardware handshaking' which means you need another two wires connected in the serial lead.

This was a problem with our Iridium data kit, and I thought it was the converter for a while but now both converters work with a lead that has all 9 pins connected.

-Nick

[/ QUOTE ]

As long as you are talking to a program that is looking for NMEA - handshaking is not required. Not as far as I've found anyway. Handshaking goes back to old days of serial printers and such ...

The most common fault is the not setting correct Virtual Port in the software as another has said. Device Manager ... Ports & LPT ..... look for the com port number .. if unsure which one .. unplug usb ... wait a bit for devices to refresh .. plug back in again .... and you should see a com port entry appear.
Now set that in your program config ....

Note that many cables especially cheap ones have old drivers and many are based on Prolific driver. It's worth Google'ing for latest Prolific Driver and updating to that ... we have various cables in my office that have given all sorts of hassle and then we updated even so-called non-prolific driver cables and bingo ... no problem.

Tip : ALWAYS plug cable into same port each time ... otherwise PC will start installation again and you are liable to have different Com Port # as well. Plugging into same should 99% of time keep same install and Com Port .....