Garmin GPS: Querky Laptop with GPS Attached

Ahoy,
I frequently would get a similar reaction with my Gateway 450 laptop and my
Garmin 12 GPS if I booted up with the GPS already attached to the serial
port. If I first boot the OS and then open any program that looks for and
recognizes a GPS, such as Fugawi Marine ENC or MS Streets & Trips or
Garmin's Mapsource, and then connect the serial connector there is not a
problem from the laptop. I think my problem came from the OS, Microsoft XP,
not knowing what to do with a GPS on the other end of the serial port and
trying to load a driver for some sort of other input device, like a mouse or
scanner or something. With a program that recognizes a GPS there is a driver
within the program that interprets the input signals properly. Hope this
helps.
--
Capt. Brigg Franklin, s/v Wand'rin Star
USCG Licensed Marine Officer
US Power Squadron Instructor
ASA Certified Sailing Instructor
Vessel Delivery & Training
www.northstarsailing.org
N 45° 40.933' W° 122 34.948'

"tallen" <rr.com> wrote in message
news:11Feg.731$nyroc.rr.com... 

tallen wrote: 
<snip>

That sounds like a variation on the classic issue of the operating
system seeing a GPS on a COM port as a mouse. This link details the
simplest solution:

http://www.beaglesoft.com/stsytroublemouse.htm

You basically need to disable the serial mouse on the port the GPS is
connected to (usually on COM1 or COM2) and do a restart.

I'm not sure if all the problem you mentioned are associated with the
above, but I'd try to clear up the above issue and then see if the other
issues still exist.

Anything that sends a NMEA data string to your laptop via a USB port has
to be using a serial to USB bridge. When the drivers for a serial to
USB bridge are installed, a virtual COM port is created. There will be
one COM port for each serial to USB bridge and sometimes, if you have
several of those, there can be some confusion or issues in getting all
the applications reading or using the correct COM port.

If you start you laptop with nothing connected to USB ports, open the
Device Manager, and look at the Ports COM & LPT category, you can see
what ports are in use. Then start plugging in your USB devices one at a
time and noting the resulting COM port and configure the application to
use that COM port. Only one application at a time can use a COM port,
they cannot be shared.

Also, you may need to look at what mode the NMEA port is in on your
eTrex. SeaClear II needs a NMEA protocol data stream (as far as I know
anyway) and your eTrex might be in the mode where it is putting out the
Garmin protocol NMEA.

If you're trying to track in a MapSource application on the laptop and
that wants the NMEA data to be in the Garmin protocol, then you may
have to change NMEA modes on the eTrex when you change applications.

If you try to change the application that is using a given COM port
(like to change from SeaClear to MapSource), you need to make sure that
port has been released by the old application. If you close an
application using, as an example, COM2 and the next application reports
COM2 as in use or not available, you may need to do a restart on the
laptop to set the port free.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at adelphia dot net)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)

Thanks Guys! I will try out each of the suggestions later today and let
you know the outcome.

T

Check in the Device Manager if there is a Serial Mouse listed and delete
it.

For some reason Windows sees GPS data on a serial port (RS232 or via a
USB adapter) as a mouse and installs a serial mouse. Delete that and the
funkiness should go away until Windows reinstalls the serial mouse.
Windows should ask you first if you want to install it when it "finds"
it, so just pull a Nancy and just say no.

This has happened to me on several different laptops, don't feel
slighted.


In article <11Feg.731$nyroc.rr.com>,
tallen <rr.com> wrote:
 

Richard Carlson, N9JIG wrote:
 
<snip>

Usually you want to disable it, not delete it. If you disable it it
keeps the OS from making the same mistake on subsequent startups.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

I have a new (April 2006) DELL XPS and had the same problem with the
cursor showing it had a mind of it's own. I finally just went into the
configuration program and disabled the touch to execute function on the
mousepad and made it so I could only execute a command by <L>eft
clicking on the proper button. The mousepad still functions normally
and you can move the cursor with your finger... you just can't tap to
execute.

I think the whole problem is, the mousepad is just too sensitive
because the XPS is so blazingly fast.

Mike

tallen wrote: