Vista GPS Puck For Franson, Delorme

[Tony Laubach]

Hey all,

Need suggestions on a GPS puck, preferrably both Bluetooth and USB, that will work with Franson GPSGate (the Delorme puck will not) and Delorme 2009. The OS is Vista 64bit.

Thanks all!

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

Had a bluetooth DeLorme puck and sent it back. They don't hold battery power very well - it appears. Better off keeping plugged into the laptop and save the few bucks difference - avoid the nuisance. Stays running w/no need to recharge!

If you are strapped for available USB ports, I'd seen a USB port expander at WalMart for about $10. Pug it in, and it gives you four more ports.
Just two cents...

 

[Steve Miller TX]

For what it is worth, I'm running Franson GPSGate with a Delorme USB puck with no problems on an XP laptop. I can split the GPS out to Street Atlas 2008, GRLevel3, Spotter Network, and sending GPS update to GPSGate servers for online tracking purposes. When I first set all of this up, I had a couple of issues, but got all of the wrinkles ironed out.

Tony, what problems or errors are you getting when trying to use the Delorme puck? I'm curious if Vista might be the issue with the puck not working?

 

[Tony Laubach]

Tony, what problems or errors are you getting when trying to use the Delorme puck? I'm curious if Vista might be the issue with the puck not working?

Hey Steve, I think it is a Vista issue as I was not having problems on XP thanks to the Delorme serial driver. Franson seemed pretty good with that, however Vista will not work with Delorme's serial, thus Franson will not see the Delorme puck. If that makes sense, that's where the issue lies.

 

[Steve Miller TX]

I just browsed the DeLorme forums and apparently, Vista 64 bit is not compatable with the serial emulator....but you already knew that. People seem to be running it successfully with the 32bit version. I couldn't dig up anything about DeLorme updating the serial emulator to Vista 64 bit.

However, a little googling came up with an alternate GPS receiver that at least on the surface, might be a solution for you:

http://www.pharosgps.com/products/proddetail.asp?prod=006%5FPB010%5F1%2E00&cat=141

I read in one of the Pharos forums that this works with the 64bit OS.

Hope that helps.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

I am using the Streets & Trips Microsoft branded Pharos without any problems at all. It's been a great GPS receiver, and gets me a fix in less than 30 seconds typically.

 

[Mike Cox]

I'll throw another gps puck into the mix. The Holux series seems to be worth while also. I've been using the Holux GPS Slim 236 via bluetooth for the last 2 seasons with GPS Gate and have had no issues at all. It's small, has great rechargable battery life, and has the latest Sirf III chip set.

I haven't played with it on Vista as of yet, but from what I've read, it works well with it also. It does have 3 little flashing lights, which at times is a reflection issue, but you can always cover them up.

 

[Mark Blue]

Tony,

I'm running the Delorme BT-20 on Vista Ultimate 32 bit with nary a problem, and without the Delorme Serial Emulator (it's a POS). The Bluetooth stack/software picks up the Delorme signal on COM Port 40, then GPSGate finds it from there. I can then use GPSGate to split the signal for use with Delorme SA2009 and GRL3. I really didn't have any problems like others have reported, but I think that's limited to the Delorme USB puck, because you have to use the Delorme Serial Emulator and it isn't 64 bit compatible. I would really like to hear from someone who uses the above configuration on 64 bit to know for sure.

As far as the battery not holding power, you can connect the BT-20 with the USB cable to charge it up during the day. I also pulled the battery out of the Delorme BT-20 and searched the part number on Google. I found this exact same battery on Mouser Electronics for about 1/2 the price of what Delorme wants to sell you one for ($15 vs $30). I bought two extra batteries and keep them charged up during chase season for extra security. Here's the link for reference on the battery:

http://www.mouser.com/search/Produc...virtualkey67200000virtualkey672-66352-711-099

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Tony Laubach]

Thanks for all the replies... per Tyler C's off-thread suggestion, I ordered one of these pucks from Ebay for about half the price as its being sold in that link.

Once that arrived, I'll load it on the 64-bit Vista machine and see if it works.

 

[Jay Cazel]

Thanks for all the replies... per Tyler C's off-thread suggestion, I ordered one of these pucks from Ebay for about half the price as its being sold in that link.

Once that arrived, I'll load it on the 64-bit Vista machine and see if it works.

Tony FWIW, I am using the GPS puck that came with WXWorks with vista 64bit and Franson, I have no problems at all.