How to make a GPS navigator from a laptop. Connecting a GPS receiver to a laptop Can a laptop be used as a navigator?
Unlike many “gadgets,” a laptop has a significant advantage - versatility. The same device can serve its owner as a work tool, an entertainment center, a music player, a cinema... The scope of laptops is very wide. With the help of simple steps you can even do it from your laptop GPS navigator. To do this, you need to solve only three problems: equip your laptop with a GPS receiver, install the appropriate software and conveniently place it all in the car.
Welcome, welcome!
The GPS receiver can be connected via USB or BlueTooth. The USB GPS receiver is more convenient in terms of power supply. It doesn't need a battery or additional cable to connect to the cigarette lighter, there is no need to charge such a module at home. USB receiver may be in the form of an antenna and wire or look like a regular flash drive.
The second option is more compact, but problems may arise with the quality of signal reception; such an antenna cannot be placed on dashboard and not take it out. However, modern GPS receivers are sufficiently sensitive, so in most cases you can choose either option. The BlueTooth receiver is convenient because it can be used not only with a laptop. This receiver is suitable as an external GPS for pocket computer or smartphone.
It's all about the cards
There are quite a lot of navigation programs that can be installed on a laptop. They differ functionality and available maps. Listing them all is quite tedious, but a few words need to be said about the main programs. For off-road travel, the OziExplorer program is suitable. It allows you to use regular scanned maps of the area. Paper maps are still superior to electronic ones in terms of quality and topographic detail. But for driving on roads and in the city, it is better to use programs that work with electronic GPS maps.
CityGuide is famous for its quality and detailed map Petersburg, as well as the ability to receive information about traffic jams. For GIS Russa there are many free cards, drawn by enthusiasts. Garmin MobilePC is a car navigation program from the world leader in the field of navigation. The Garmin MobilePC interface is the closest to a regular car navigator and is simple and understandable even for a novice user.
Now let's try to take off with all this!
The most difficult thing is to install a laptop in a car so that it does not fall or slide while driving, on sharp turns and during emergency braking. The simplest mounting option is for a passenger in the next seat, holding the laptop tightly in his hands. At the same time, you can appoint him as a navigator, then the driver will not be distracted by the screen at all. You can try to secure the laptop to the dashboard using a backing with a non-slip base. Not the most reliable option and only suitable for small laptops. You can securely install a laptop of any size using a special car bracket. Such a mount is not cheap, but the design inspires confidence and allows the driver to use the laptop independently without worrying about its safety.
Using a laptop as a navigator is completely justified. Large display, versatility, ability to use different navigation programs. Considering that standard navigators with big screen, which are installed in place of a double-din radio, are quite comparable in price to a new medium-sized laptop and even high class, then a laptop +GPS turns out to be not only a convenient, but also an economically viable solution. Therefore, we recommend that all those who value functionality and do not want to carry around a bunch of different equipment with them simply get a small GPS navigator for their laptop, solving the navigation problem once and for all.
The article was prepared by Susanin specialists
Unlike many “gadgets,” a laptop has a significant advantage - versatility. The same device can serve its owner as a work tool, an entertainment center, a music player, a cinema... The scope of laptops is very wide. With the help of simple steps you can even make a GPS navigator from your laptop. To do this, you need to solve only three problems: equip your laptop with a GPS receiver, install the appropriate software and conveniently place all this in the car.
Welcome, welcome!
The GPS receiver can be connected via USB or BlueTooth. The USB GPS receiver is more convenient in terms of power supply. It does not need a battery or an additional cable to connect to the cigarette lighter; there is no need to charge such a module at home. A USB receiver can be in the form of an antenna and wire or look like a regular flash drive.
The second option is more compact, but problems may arise with the quality of signal reception; such an antenna cannot be placed on the dashboard or brought outside. However, modern GPS receivers are sufficiently sensitive, so in most cases you can choose any option. The BlueTooth receiver is convenient because it can be used not only with a laptop. This receiver is suitable as an external GPS for a pocket computer or smartphone.
It's all about the cards
There are quite a lot of navigation programs that can be installed on a laptop. They differ in functionality and available cards. Listing them all is a rather tedious task, but a few words need to be said about the main programs. For off-road travel, the OziExplorer program is suitable. It allows you to use regular scanned maps of the area. Paper maps are still superior to electronic ones in terms of quality and topographic detail. But for driving on roads and in the city, it is better to use programs that work with electronic GPS maps.
CityGuide is famous for its high-quality and detailed map of St. Petersburg, as well as the ability to receive information about traffic jams. There are many free maps available for GIS Russa, drawn by enthusiasts. Garmin MobilePC is a car navigation program from the world leader in the field of navigation. The Garmin MobilePC interface is the closest to a regular car navigator and is simple and understandable even for a novice user.
Now let's try to take off with all this!
The most difficult thing is to install a laptop in a car so that it does not fall or slide while driving, on sharp turns and during emergency braking. The simplest mounting option is for a passenger in the next seat, holding the laptop tightly in his hands. At the same time, you can appoint him as a navigator, then the driver will not be distracted by the screen at all. You can try to secure the laptop to the dashboard using a backing with a non-slip base. Not the most reliable option and only suitable for small laptops. You can securely install a laptop of any size using a special car bracket. Such a mount is not cheap, but the design inspires confidence and allows the driver to use the laptop independently without worrying about its safety.
Using a laptop as a navigator is completely justified. Large display, versatility, ability to use different navigation programs. If we take into account that standard navigators with a large screen, which are installed in place of a double-din radio, are quite comparable in price to a new mid- and even high-class laptop, then a +GPS laptop turns out to be not only a convenient, but also an economically viable solution. Therefore, we recommend that all those who value functionality and do not want to carry around a bunch of different equipment with them simply get a small GPS navigator for their laptop, solving the navigation problem once and for all.
The article was prepared by Susanin specialists
- Laptop running under Windows control XP or Windows Vista
- External GPS receiver connecting via Bluetooth
Step 1: Connect the receiver
External GPS receivers connect to a laptop via Bluetooth. Details on how to connect bluetooth laptop and an external GPS receiver, read our article.
Step 2. Configure the COM port
In order for the navigation program to “see” the GPS receiver, that is, to be able to receive location data from it, you must specify the settings of the virtual COM port through which the program connects to the GPS receiver. Thus, through a “virtual” port that does not physically exist in the form of a connection of wires, data will be sent from the receiver to the navigation program. But first you need to find out these COM port settings: that is, its number in the system. You can read the instructions for the device or determine the COM port connecting the GPS receiver to the navigation program using an additional utility, for example GPSinfo - it is usually present on the disk included with the GPS receiver. You should install this program on your computer, run it and select the Scan COM-ports option. The program will check the virtual COM ports of the system, and you will see which COM port is used by the GPS receiver. At this stage, it would be a good idea to check the functionality of the GPS receiver. To do this, select the COM port that works with the receiver and click the Start GPS button. If everything works, then in the lower part of the program window the lines for receiving data from the satellites of the global positioning system should “run”. After finishing working with the GPSinfo program, you must stop it by closing the program window (or clicking Stop GPS), otherwise it will not allow the navigation program to connect to the GPS receiver.
How to make a GPS navigator from a laptop
Unlike many “gadgets,” a laptop has a significant advantage – versatility. The same device can serve its owner as a work tool, entertainment center, music player, cinema... The scope of laptops is very wide. With the help of simple steps you can even make a GPS navigator from your laptop. To do this, you need to solve only three problems: equip your laptop with a GPS receiver, install the appropriate software and conveniently place all this in the car.
Welcome, welcome!
The GPS receiver can be connected via USB or BlueTooth. The USB GPS receiver is more convenient in terms of power supply. It does not need a battery or an additional cable to connect to the cigarette lighter; there is no need to charge such a module at home. A USB receiver can be in the form of an antenna and wire or look like a regular flash drive.
The second option is more compact, but problems may arise with the quality of signal reception; such an antenna cannot be placed on the dashboard or brought outside. However, modern GPS receivers are sufficiently sensitive, so in most cases you can choose any option. The BlueTooth receiver is convenient because it can be used not only with a laptop. This receiver is suitable as an external GPS for a pocket computer or smartphone.
It's all about the cards
There are quite a lot of navigation programs that can be installed on a laptop. They differ in functionality and available cards. Listing them all is quite tedious, but a few words need to be said about the main programs. For off-road travel, the OziExplorer program is suitable. It allows you to use regular scanned maps of the area. Paper maps are still superior to electronic ones in terms of quality and topographic detail. But for driving on roads and in the city, it is better to use programs that work with electronic GPS maps.
CityGuide is famous for its high-quality and detailed map of St. Petersburg, as well as the ability to receive information about traffic jams. There are many free maps available for GIS Russa, drawn by enthusiasts. Garmin MobilePC is a car navigation program from the world leader in navigation. The Garmin MobilePC interface is the closest to a regular car navigator and is simple and understandable even for a novice user.
Now let's try to take off with all this!
The most difficult thing is to install the laptop in the car in such a way that it does not fall or slide while driving, on sharp turns and during emergency braking. The simplest mounting option is for the passenger in the next seat to hold the laptop tightly in his hands. At the same time, you can appoint him as a navigator, then the driver will not be distracted by the screen at all. You can try to secure the laptop to the dashboard using a backing with a non-slip base. Not the most reliable option and only suitable for small laptops. You can securely install a laptop of any size using a special car bracket. Such a mount is not cheap, but the design inspires confidence and allows the driver to use the laptop independently. without worrying about its safety.
Using a laptop as a navigator is quite justified. Large display, versatility, ability to use different navigation programs. If we take into account that standard navigators with a large screen, which are installed in place of a double-din radio, are quite comparable in price to a new mid- and even high-class laptop, then a +GPS laptop turns out to be not only a convenient, but also an economically viable solution. Therefore, we recommend that all those who value functionality and do not want to carry around a bunch of different equipment with them simply get a small GPS navigator for their laptop. solving the navigation problem once and for all.
The article was prepared by Susanin specialists
It is a very useful and sometimes simply irreplaceable device. Using it, you can easily determine your current position and navigate your way to your destination and back. That is this equipment allows you to turn regular laptop into a fully functional navigator.
What is a GPS receiver
This name refers to the system. Its operation is based on receiving signals from several satellites. Their number on average is 6. Based on the received data, the current location of the GPS receiver is calculated. This is the principle on which such a system works.
You can also find a GLONASS GPS receiver on the market. Its main difference from the previously discussed one is its nationality. That is, GPS is an American development, and GLONASS is domestic. In the technical aspect, these systems differ in that the movement of the satellites used in Russian technology is not synchronized with the rotation of the Earth. This ensures more high level stability of readings. But, unfortunately, the service life of GLONASS satellites is much shorter.
Classification by connection method
This type of device is connected to the laptop using a cable. For this purpose it is used USB interface, which is available on almost all models of laptop computers. The receiver does not require additional power to operate.
Bluetooth
The external GPS module is connected to the laptop wirelessly. The distance between devices should not exceed 10 meters. The navigation equipment itself operates either from an electrical network, or from a battery, or from batteries.
for laptop
You shouldn't buy the first gadget you come across. Correct functioning depends on several important parameters.
Firstly, you should pay attention to such an indicator as cold start time. It displays how long the equipment has been turned on after a long period of inactivity. U expensive models this indicator can be only a couple of seconds, while for budget options its value can reach several minutes.
Secondly, the sensitivity of the receiver is of great importance. At low value this parameter The device may stop receiving a signal even due to changing weather conditions or when landing in vehicle. The optimal figure is 150 dbm.
How to use
The first step is to install software for working with navigation equipment. Usually it comes complete with the device itself. If it is not there, then you can download third-party software.
Once the drivers are installed, you can launch the navigation software. Applications that come with the device usually recognize GPS equipment themselves. But sometimes this doesn't happen. This can also happen when using third-party software. In this case, you must manually specify your laptop GPS receiver in the application settings.