Windows 8 & BU-353S4 help

[Chris Koetters]

Just purchased the Globalsat BU-353S4 as I saw on a chasers page that they work with Windows 8. I was able to connect the puck through GPSgate 2.6 and receive a signal however, when my Virtual Com Ports gives me an error "Failed to Create Virtual serial port." All the ports that were made have the same error. The puck is on COM3, the virtual ports are on 1,2,4,5, all with the same error.

Can someone give me a heads up as to what is going wrong? I read that GPSgate doesn't support Win8. If that is true, what are you guys doing to make this puck work on Win8. My main goal is to connect to GRlevel3 and to Spotter network. If the puck doesnt work what are my alternatives (if any), I just bought this so if a change needs to be made I will return it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Skip Talbot]

Did you download the latest version of GPSGate? I had that issue after reusing an old install file from when I bought GPSGate to install it on my new Windows 8 machine. Even though the version numbers are the same, I had to download a new copy off the Franson site in order to create Virtual COM Ports on Windows 8.

 

[Chris Koetters]

Did you download the latest version of GPSGate? I had that issue after reusing an old install file from when I bought GPSGate to install it on my new Windows 8 machine. Even though the version numbers are the same, I had to download a new copy off the Franson site in order to create Virtual COM Ports on Windows 8.

Thanks for the help Skip, I am running 2.6. Can you look to see what version you are running? I go to franson.com and it goes the gpsgate.com so I believe I have the latest version. I did come across a problem that I had to put gpsgate in Windows 7 compatibility to even get the program to start up. Not sure if that might be causing a problem.

 

[Skip Talbot]

Download it again even if the version numbers are the same. That's the issue I had. I thought I had the latest version, but indeed I didn't. The author probably added some sort of Windows 8 compatibility without an increment to the version number.

 

[Todd Rector]

I use the BU-353S4 with a Microsoft Surface Pro tablet running Windows 8 and GPSgate and have had no issues at all - it worked like a charm the minute i plugged it in. I agree with Skip, the most logical place to start is to make certain you are using the most current driver software.

I have read elsewhere that Windows 8 has a virtual COM emulation feature that makes GPSgate unnecessary, so that might be worth exploring if you continue to have trouble.

 

[Skip Talbot]

I have read elsewhere that Windows 8 has a virtual COM emulation feature that makes GPSgate unnecessary

I looked into this briefly, but couldn't find much on applying it in the current context. Let me know if you or anyone else reading this knows more. I'm under the impression that you have to develop new software to take advantage of this feature. In other words, the software we're already using like GR, Streets and Trips, and Street Atlas would not be able to use this feature without a new version and update (highly unlikely given the archaic state each of these software packages is becoming).

 

[Matt Tottle]

Right click on GPSGate and click Troubleshoot Compatibility. Try running it in Windows 7 mode, and also check the box to allow it to run with administrator privileges.

 

[Mark Blue]

I've heard that turning off secure boot in the BIOS can alleviate this problem as well. Apparently it won't allow for the creation of virtual COM ports if it's enabled. I would guess that turning it off comes with some unwanted baggage of its own, but it's worth a try if all else fails.

 

[Chris Koetters]

I uninstalled and then reinstalled and it fired right up! For once in 15 years connecting the gps to the laptop was easy! Guess there is a first for everything.

 

[Matt Tottle]

I've heard that turning off secure boot in the BIOS can alleviate this problem as well. Apparently it won't allow for the creation of virtual COM ports if it's enabled. I would guess that turning it off comes with some unwanted baggage of its own, but it's worth a try if all else fails.

Interesting, I'd not have thought secure boot would cause an issue like that..

But don't worry about turning it off. It doesn't have any 'baggage' at all. It was just a Microsoft attempt to keep people from installing alternative OS' on machines that came with Windows 8 (under the guise that it was to prevent malware from affecting the boot process, which is bulls**t). They caught flak for it and now it's pretty much a doorstop in the x86/x64 computer.

 

[JeremyS]

This really isn't a similar problem, but instead of starting a new thread and since it involves windows 8 and GPSGate, I figured I would use this thread. I have had my windows 8 HP laptop since last winter and earlier this chase season was using Franson GPSGate 2.6 along with my puck and had no problems. I only use the puck for GPS on GRLevel3 radar and for mapping on Street Atlas 2014. Yesterday, when I attempted to use the same set up that had worked before, I could never get it to work. I uninstalled and reinstalled GPSGate 3x with no success. What seemed to be going wrong is when I would double click on GPSGate, no program box would open up on my screen. Before when I would open the program, I would get a screen that allowed me to change settings, etc. In fact in the trouble shooting guide off of the Franson website, it shows something should open up when I start the program for the first time after installing so I can create my settings. However, after double clicking on the desktop shortcut, I open my task manager and it shows GPSGate is running in the background. I also tried opening GPSGate directly through the start menu with the same results. So I'm sure that was the cause of my problems yesterday. I would start my puck and it would show which port it is using and then when I would go to GRLevel 3 that port wouldn't show up as an option for me to pick so I never did get the GPS function to work on GRLevel 3.
Any ideas what could be going wrong?

 

[Mark Blue]

GPSGate runs in the system tray versus directly launching a GUI to the desktop. Go to the system tray and right click on the icon, then select settings. The setup wizard is available from the settings screen, which you may need to run again to get things back to a working state like you had before.

 

[Todd Rector]

^ Agree with Mark ^
There should also be a checkbox somewhere in the setup screen giving you the option to run GPSGate as a Windows service. Check this box and GPSGate will start automatically on boot with no intervention required by the user - I think that's the best option for most people who chase.

I have the same GPS puck you do, and I have noticed on my Windows 8 tablet that when launching any application that uses the GPS puck (Microsoft Streets and Trips, Delorme Street Atlas, etc.) I tend to have fewer problems if I wait 20-30 seconds after logging into Windows before I launch the application. This gives sufficient time to make sure Windows services have started and stabilized, USB drivers have found the hardware, CPU has settled down from running through the boot sequence, anti-virus and other programs have done their startup checks, etc., plus it gives your GPS puck a chance to initialize and acquire satellites so you have data to feed your application immediately. Also, in case you haven't noticed (it's dim and not easy to see in sunlight) there is tiny red LED on your puck that will change from steady to blinking once it has found satellites and is ready for use.

I have had several experiences this season that when switching rapidly between programs (GR3 / Delorme / MS Streets), sometimes one of the apps won't let go of the COM port quickly enough (<- guessing) and the new app I started either won't see the GPS puck or won't read data from it, even though the previously-used program appears to have shut down cleanly. I haven't been able to identify which program is doing this, but I usually notice it in GR3 when I see my GPS dot on the map but it doesn't update my position. Rebooting always fixes this for me.

 

[JeremyS]

GPSGate runs in the system tray versus directly launching a GUI to the desktop. Go to the system tray and right click on the icon, then select settings. The setup wizard is available from the settings screen, which you may need to run again to get things back to a working state like you had before.

Thanks for the tip! That worked!