USB-GPS Problems

[CarCode]

Originally Posted by MAS3

Windows (XP) will assign an unused comport whenever a device is connected to an USB port.
If you remove the device form USB and then reconnect it to another port, the comport will also be different.
This is also a driver issue.
Only FTDI devices and their drivers will assign the same port once the device is installed, as far as i have seen yet.
FTDI uses an unique code (like a serialnumber) so the device can be recognised.

Nope.
Even the smart FTDI driver programers have not been able to beat the buggy Windows. We have to test USB devices with FTDI chips in our company and each time the maximum amount of 256 ports is reached, we have to kill the assigned ports before working further on.

Gerhard

[MAS3]

I hope you will agree that this is another problem, which is very unlikely to appear on board.
256 ports represents 256 tested devices minus other serial ports already present, right ?
In that case even if some user on board will be using 10 FTDI devices on a single system, this means he has to replace each and every device for a new one 25 times before he might get into trouble.

Up until now i've only been working with 2 dual ports devices at max and always witnessed the behaviour i described earlier.

[HappySeagull]

Originally Posted by janp391

Thanks.....will try next time I visit my boat

..a bit more- checking the baud rate helped me with my funky AIS (via a scanner per AISmon). I just want to add that the baud rate should probably match in the Device Manager (or driver) and the application listening...this has tripped me up a couple of times.

[bdbcat]

Folks...

Just to be absolutely clear on one item:

If you see NMEA sentences on the toolbox->GPS->Show NMEA data stream window, then OpenCPN has opened the port OK, and NMEA data is coming. If you have no "red" boat, then the only reasons are: a)no fix, or b)wrong sentence configuration from the GPS. As Barnakiel says, you must look at the NMEA sentences to ensure that the correct sentences are coming, and that a valid fix is available.

The problem that Jeannius is having is different. In the log is
"NMEA input device open failed: COM3...GetLastError(): 2".

We are researching this issue now. Not seen before, and somewhat mysterious if hyperterm can open COM3 independently.

Jeannius, as a test, please check your system Device Manager to verify that COM3 is indeed available in the COM ports list before starting OpenCPN. You may find the USB GPS com port number by plugging and unplugging the GPS while the Device Manager is open. The port will come and go clearly.


Thanks
Dave

[janp391]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

Folks...

Just to be absolutely clear on one item:

If you see NMEA sentences on the toolbox->GPS->Show NMEA data stream window, then OpenCPN has opened the port OK, and NMEA data is coming. If you have no "red" boat, then the only reasons are: a)no fix, or b)wrong sentence configuration from the GPS. As Barnakiel says, you must look at the NMEA sentences to ensure that the correct sentences are coming, and that a valid fix is available.

The problem that Jeannius is having is different. In the log is
"NMEA input device open failed: COM3...GetLastError(): 2".

We are researching this issue now. Not seen before, and somewhat mysterious if hyperterm can open COM3 independently.

Jeannius, as a test, please check your system Device Manager to verify that COM3 is indeed available in the COM ports list before starting OpenCPN. You may find the USB GPS com port number by plugging and unplugging the GPS while the Device Manager is open. The port will come and go clearly.


Thanks
Dave

Sorry....
I have no more info since post #1
One moment the signal from the USB-GPS is accepted and give me a red boat.
If I shut down O and start again then it can be a black boat. By switching between the different com ports and restarting will finally give me a red boat from USB-GPS
There is no com port change, the baud rate is 4800. Nothing is changed between the different situations and NMEA sentences is coming in to O
//Jan