# Acquiring GPS data via serial port and displaying it.



## GS3 (Dec 25, 2006)

I was given a HAICOM HAI-303III GPS which has no display. It is a unit which sends serial data in NMEA-0183 format to a receiver-display.

I have connected to the serial port of my laptop and with Hyperterminal configured at 4800 baud it receives and displays correctly NMEA-0183 data sentences like $GPRMC, $GPGGA, $GPGSA, GPGSV and others which contain information regarding position, speed, course, etc.

Examples: 


> $GPRMC,093721.239,A,4026.2880,N,00341.7718,W,022.4,084.4,190108,,,A*68
> 
> Where:
> RMC Recommended Minimum sentence C
> ...





> NMEA-0183
> Serial Configuration (data link layer)
> Baud Rate: 4800
> Data Bits: 8
> ...


Rather than display a continuous stream of unreadable gibberish I would like to have a window with a display of the different magnitudes.

There is a program for sale (Hillstone) which does what I want but it is too expensive and has map capability which I don't want or need. I just want the basic capability to display time, speed, course and other variables directly as they are being received. That display is quite close to what I could use.

This requires acquiring the NMEA-0183 text sentences from the serial port, interpreting them and displaying the info on the screen. Probably it can be done quite easily with Visual Basic or even VBS but I have only a very basic idea of VB.

I would be grateful if someone can guide me through this process, especially how to import the serial data into the VB program. 
Thanks.


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## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

Hi GS3,

Searching for GPS display software +open source, I came across The GPS Toolkit - Open Source GPS Software here. The link is to a PDF (9 page) paper download with links in it regarding the kit. It works on Linux, Solaris, and Windows according to the paper. Open source software is free for personal use.

See Open Source GPS Home Page

-- Tom


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## GS3 (Dec 25, 2006)

I had a look at that page but it is not what I am looking for. It seems to be a project for software for a GPS receiver which processes satelite signals and outputs NMEA-0183 data (in other words, what I already have). What I am looking for is a panel to diplay the NMEA-0183 data received by the computer via the serial com port. It would require:

- Importing the data from the serial port
- Parsing and extracting the data
- Displaying tha data on the screen

I believe this can be easily done in VB by someone who knows but I am totally lost.


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