SnaxMuppet
New member
I have always had Garmin GPS units... both handhelds and also marine chartplotters. I know that many people don't like them and as it is very much personal taste I really don't want to get into a "Garmin are great!" vs "Garmin are crap!" debate.
However, now that I have the Garmin charts and the Garmin PC software I thought it would be good to use an old HP laptop I had not doing much as a chartplotter on the boat. I have a Lowrance 5inch plotter on the MF625 (Lowrance because it is NMEA2000 for the engine interface - Garmin don't do NMEA2000!) and I am finding it a bit small. So, in my ignorance, I thought that if I get a USB GPS receiver and the Garmin nRoute software I should be able to use the tablet PC as a plotter using all my existing Bluechart maps.
I bought the USB GPS, installed it and plugged it in... nothing. After a bit of research (which I should have done BEFORE I bought the USB GPS I suppose!) I discover that the Garmin nRoute is only compatible with Garmin data from the GPS. Shucks! My USB GPS, like most, only did NMEA0183.
Not one to accept defeat I set about searching the internet for a solution and I found one. There is some software that I could download for free and it would allow Garmin nRoute to be used with any normal NMEA0183 GPS...
... and I must say it works a treat.
So, if you have already splashed out on Bluechart and want to use your laptop as a chartplotter then with this software and a normal (cheap!!!) USB or Bluetooth GPS receiver then you can without having to buy the expensive Garmin GPS or new electronic charts.
I won't describe what to do here as it is already described where I found it at ...
http://www.malsingmaps.com/wiki/index.php/Using_nRoute_with_non-Garmin_bluetooth_GPS_receiver
It talks about Bluetooth but the same will work with a standard USB GPS... just look in your Device Manager at the com port it is using and use that port when it talks about the Bluetooth com port. Everything else is the same.
If you get stuck... PM me and I will help.
Have fun.
However, now that I have the Garmin charts and the Garmin PC software I thought it would be good to use an old HP laptop I had not doing much as a chartplotter on the boat. I have a Lowrance 5inch plotter on the MF625 (Lowrance because it is NMEA2000 for the engine interface - Garmin don't do NMEA2000!) and I am finding it a bit small. So, in my ignorance, I thought that if I get a USB GPS receiver and the Garmin nRoute software I should be able to use the tablet PC as a plotter using all my existing Bluechart maps.
I bought the USB GPS, installed it and plugged it in... nothing. After a bit of research (which I should have done BEFORE I bought the USB GPS I suppose!) I discover that the Garmin nRoute is only compatible with Garmin data from the GPS. Shucks! My USB GPS, like most, only did NMEA0183.
Not one to accept defeat I set about searching the internet for a solution and I found one. There is some software that I could download for free and it would allow Garmin nRoute to be used with any normal NMEA0183 GPS...
... and I must say it works a treat.
So, if you have already splashed out on Bluechart and want to use your laptop as a chartplotter then with this software and a normal (cheap!!!) USB or Bluetooth GPS receiver then you can without having to buy the expensive Garmin GPS or new electronic charts.
I won't describe what to do here as it is already described where I found it at ...
http://www.malsingmaps.com/wiki/index.php/Using_nRoute_with_non-Garmin_bluetooth_GPS_receiver
It talks about Bluetooth but the same will work with a standard USB GPS... just look in your Device Manager at the com port it is using and use that port when it talks about the Bluetooth com port. Everything else is the same.
If you get stuck... PM me and I will help.
Have fun.