NMEA0183 into eeePC Netbook

[lockie]

It would be handy to be able to repeat lat/long, course, speed, etc on my Asus Win 7 eeePC netbook, so I could view it in the comfort of the cabin.

Has anyone done this?

lockie

[Paul Elliott]

Absolutely. I use a Win7-compatible Serial/USB adaptor, or sometimes a ShipModul NMEA multiplexer with serial, or USB, or WiFi output, and the appropriate adaptor to get it into the netbook. There are many programs you can use to display the NMEA data. I use NavMonPc (which I wrote, and provide for free: see my signature below). Many others use OpenCPN, SeaClear, Expedition, and a host of other free or expensive programs.

Make sure your serial adaptor is capable of working with your OS. I sometimes use Win7-64 bit, and many USB/Serial adaptors don't have compatible drivers. Check the specifications. You can usually hook up NMEA-0183 signals to a RS232 port (I do), but the signal levels aren't exactly designed for it. NMEA uses RS422. You can find descriptions here that show how to connect the different interfaces.

[bauer965]

Yes, I second that, as I did the same thing with my eeePC.
First I had an old Dell, that I simply used as serial RS232, DB9 connection (you only use 3 of the 9 pins...google an image of "rs232 pinout" to see which ones...I think it is pins 2, 3, and 5.)
I was actually surprised that it worked within like 10 seconds of hooking it up (was using SeaClear at the time) without any issues at all (I think the only thing I had to do is activate the appropriate Com port, and the SeaClear instructions told me how do that.)
Then I switched to a eeePC. I simply bought a $10 Serial to USB pigtail, pluged it in and it worked. Again, crazy...I am usually never this lucky with computers.
You could simply use the Receive from your GPS, but I used both Receive and Transmit, in case I want to send routes to the GPS. I read that it's not best to combine the grounds from both the Recieve and Transmit (into pin 5), but I think I did, and it works fine.
-ejb

[SoonerSailor]

Same good results here. A usb to serial adapter with either the FTDI or PL2303 chipset will be recognized by Win7. Paul's NavmonPC is a great tool for monitoring NMEA data and distributing it to multiple programs. My 1000HE works great here and uses little power.

Chip