You can now download Coordinate Calculator 2.4. This version contains over 4000 map grid, map datum and ellipsoid definitions.
Today we released version 2.4 of the GPS Toolkit. Because these days Garmin GPS devices are shipped with an USB cable only, we decided to add support for the Garmin USB PVT protocol.
Today, Eye4Software B.V. Released version 2.2 of the Coordinate Calculator, this new version, with an improved user interface, is now shipped with over 1200 grid definitions.
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Download Eye4Software GPS Toolkit |
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Browse through the Eye4Software GPS Toolkit manual |
The Eye4Software GPS Toolkit is a tool that developers can use to add GPS functionality, like retrieving position information from a GPS, or converting coordinates from one coordinate system to another, to their scripts and / or programs. This page contains a list of the most frequently asked questions about this product.
Please check the following:
If non of the above help, please send the logfile with nmea data to our support desk.
The GPS Toolkit will decode the most used NMEA-0183 sentences available like:
The following Garmin specific sentences will also be decoded:
We do not have such a list, about 99% of the GPS devices available today support the NMEA-0183 protocol which is fully supported by all our GPS software products. In addition to the NMEA-0183 protocol, we also support the Garmin PVT protocol. The software is tested with various GPS devices, from old 5 channel receivers to modern 12 channel receivers with an USB connection.
The purpose off this toolkit, is to make it easy for software developers to add GPS functionality to their products. Without any knowledge of GPS and serial protocols, and just some basic programming knowledge, it is possible to add GPS functionality to applications, websites or scripts within minutes.
The toolkit can be used to retrieve GPS data from a connected GPS device using the NMEA standard and / or perform geodetic datum and map grid transformations.
Yes, from version 2.4 of the GPS Toolkit, you can decode PVT directly from your Garmin GPS by connecting it to the USB port. Decoding of PVT data over the serial port is not yet supported.
Some GPS vendors ship their datacables without a serial connector. Depending on the connector type, you have to make the following connections:
DB25 serial connector
Ground - Pin 7 NMEA Output ( GPS => PC ) - Pin 3 NMEA Input ( PC => GPS ) - Pin 2 (optional)
DB9 serial connector
Ground - Pin 5 NMEA Output ( GPS => PC ) - Pin 2 NMEA Input ( PC => GPS ) - Pin 3 (optional)
Sure, some USB devices come with an USB to serial driver which emulates a serial port. To find out what serial port has to be used, just start the demo applications, and have a look which serial ports are detected. If there are multiple ports, you can have a look at the device manager from the control panel, to find out which COM port number is used.
This also applies to Bluetooth, Compact Flash and PCMCIA GPS devices, as long as they support the NMEA protocol.
Some Garmin devices do not have such a driver, but come with there own driver supporting the Garmin PVT protocol. Such devices will be supported from GPS Toolkit version 2.4.
We are aware of this error, however it is not a problem with the GPS component itself. Please try the following:
When starting the command prompt, start it from the start menu by locating the "Command Prompt" in the start menu, now right click on this item and select "Run as Administrator". When you try to register the component from the command prompt it should work okay.
Sure, you have to connect the devices to separate serial ports, and then create two instances of the object. You can use the Latitude / Longitude positions retrieved to calculate heading.
Yes it is possible to use this GPS control on these Windows platforms, please email us with the platform and processor type needed and we will be happy to provide you with the correct version.
No, our software can only be used to receive and decode NMEA 0183 data sent by GPS receivers. To generate and send NMEA 0183 data you need a NMEA 0183 generator or simulator.
You can always use the CRC function of the toolkit, even if your GPS device does not send CRC values. The toolkit will autodetect this and ignore this function.
When using CRC it should not be possible to get invalid data from the GPS device, because when there is an error in the received data (for instance due to interference on your serial cable), the data will be ignored by the GPS toolkit.
Example of NMEA data with CRC:
$GPGGA,024439.123,4951.7453,N,07534.4909,W,0,00,50.0,7.8,M,,,,0000*22
without:
$GPGGA,024439.123,4951.7453,N,07534.4909,W,0,00,50.0,7.8,M,,,,0000
Yes you can, but it is not as precise as when using a time server, there is always a delay in the time between the GPS receiver sends the time over the serial port, and when it is fully retrieved and decoded by the PC, so there may be an error which can be as high as one second.
Yes this is possible, please check the 'LatLonFormat' property of the 'Gps' object.
The software supports all NMEA-0183 versions at this moment.
Sure, DGPS hardware also uses the NMEA-0183 standard, the only difference is that their output is more precise. It is recommended to use the $GPGGA sentence to decode position data. Using the $GPGGA sentence, also allows you to retrieve information on DGPS status, differential data age and when using a MSK receiver, the beacon id and bitrate.
This depends on the GPS used. Some GPS devices, use USB, some bluetooth and other are using a serial connection:
To connect a bluetooth device, you need a bluetooth dongle connected to your PC in order to read data from the device. From your bluetooth manager software, connect to the GPS, and use the COMxx number assigned to read the data into the GPS toolkit.
To connect to an USB device, just install the drivers supplied by the manufacturer and plug in the GPS device. You can have a look at the ports section of your computers device manager to see which COMxx port has been assigned.
When using a serial GPS device, just connect this to yor serial port and use this COMxx port in the software. If no serial plug is attached to your GPS's datacable, connect the common to the RS232 plug at pin 5, the data at pin 2 ( When using a 9 pin serial connector ).
The toolkit processes up to 5 digits, like the example below when parsing NMEA data, which is a precision of 6 centimeters. If your device outputs less digits, of course it will be less precise, 3 digits should suffice when using GPS, for RTK/DGPS 5 digits are recommended.
$GPRMC,213402,A,2633.33445,N,08201.52561,W,0.0,105.7,180301,4.5,W,A