What is a GPS receiver for a laptop. Navigator for a laptop: creating a system What needs to be done for a laptop to see the autonavigator

Owners of small but powerful laptops, unlike "tabletophiles", with additional features not so lucky. No one will add an accelerometer or GPS navigation to a laptop at the factory. But does this mean that it is impossible to turn a laptop into a full-fledged device for determining coordinates? So I recently asked myself a similar question, I was interested in whether such gadgets as a navigator for a laptop were produced. It turned out that indeed, GPS flash drives appeared on sale, which, when connected to mobile devices, equipped with a USB connector, can significantly expand the functionality of the latter. Now, having a simple but functional laptop, and having purchased a GPS navigator for your laptop, you get a hardware system that determines your location with very high accuracy. And since the base device is equipped with a decent-sized battery, your complex will have good autonomy.

You will say why such problems, why should I buy a navigator for a laptop if I can immediately buy a navigator. I agree, this question makes sense, but what to do if you don’t have this device? Is it worth shelling out for quite expensive and not always convenient devices that are not capable of anything more than directly monitoring the route?

Let's try to understand the pros and cons of both solutions and find out whether such a device as a flash drive GPS navigator for a laptop has the right to life.

So, we have USB GPS - a nice gadget that uses the famous SiRF III chipset. The main convenience is that the device itself takes up very little space, and thanks to the USB interface it can connect to any mobile or desktop PC. The accuracy of determining coordinates does not exceed 2-5 meters. If the device detects 20 satellites in line of sight (which is extremely rare in practice), then it can reduce the error to 1 meter. Every second, the receiver receives information from the satellites and makes changes to the coordinates of the current position, determines the speed of movement, and also controls the accuracy of the time running in the system.

Now all we need to do is connect the device to the laptop. Then, in order, we have a navigator program for the laptop; it needs to be installed (as a rule, it comes bundled with every similar device). With the help of this software, it becomes possible to determine coordinates and draw maps. We launch it and get it working and very convenient solution. Thus, the multifunctional laptop becomes even more functional.

But if, after reading everything said above, you decided that this design has solid advantages, then I will disappoint you. Of course, there are downsides here too. You will not be able to attach a laptop to the car window, as we usually do with simple GPS receivers. So get ready to either keep the laptop on the passenger seat, or get a navigator, this design will look very harmonious on his lap.

But this is if you are traveling by car, but in cases where there is no car at hand (for example, when traveling on a bus), there will be nowhere for a regular GPS receiver to be “powered”, since it is completely dependent on the battery and the mains. And the laptop does not require constant power; moreover, a USB navigator for a laptop, like all other USB devices, consumes very little electricity and does not burden the batteries at all. So with its help you can get a few more hours of sometimes-needed autonomy.

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 laptop gps receiver, put 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 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 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 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 you consider that standard navigators with a large screen, which are installed in place of a double-din radio, the price is quite comparable to a new laptop of a medium-sized or 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

If you need to connect a GPS receiver to your laptop to track your location, but don’t want to buy one, then in this article you will learn how you can just as successfully use an Android phone as such a GPS receiver. Of course, the phone must have GPS and both devices must also have Bluetooth, which will be used as a wireless connection.

Phone setup

IN Google Play Market you can find many applications designed to transmit GPS coordinates via Bluetooth, for example: GPS over BT, GPS2Bluetooth, Share GPS, Bluetooth GPS Output (paid). I liked GPS over BT the best, but if you are unable to transfer GPS data using this application, try the applications listed above.

Before launching the application, complete the following preliminary settings:

Pair by Bluetooth phone with a laptop.
Turn on the GPS option on your phone.

Launch the GPS over BT application, the application will automatically search for satellites, determine the location and begin transmitting data to the laptop connected via Bluetooth.

To see a map of satellites, press the "Menu" button on your phone and select the appropriate item.

Laptop setup

Set up a virtual serial port for a Bluetooth device on your laptop. To do this in Windows, follow these steps: open the “Devices and Printers” window (Start > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers), find a phone paired via Bluetooth among the devices connected to the laptop, click on it right click mouse and select the command context menu"Properties".

Then in the properties window, switch to the "Services" tab and check the box next to "Serial port (SPP)..." and click on the "Apply" button. After a short wait, you will see the COM port number, which you will later need to connect the GPS receiver in the navigation program for Windows.

Download and install the desired navigation application on your laptop, for example: SAS.Planet, Google Earth, 2Gis, etc. I prefer SAS.Planet (it does not need to be installed), so below is the GPS receiver setting for this program. In general terms, the settings in other programs are similar.

Download, unpack and run the SAS.Planet program. Select the "GPS > Settings" command in the program window.

In the "Settings" dialog box that opens, on the "GPS" tab, make sure that "COM" is checked in the "GPS type" group. In the "Port" field, select the desired port number, the one mentioned above (in my case, COM8). The speed can be left unchanged; according to the documentation, when connected via the NMEA 0183 protocol at a speed of 4800 baud/s, GPS data is transmitted once per second. Click on the "GPS On/Off" button, then on the "Apply" and "OK" buttons.

In the main window of the program, your location should be displayed on the map, and other details (speed, distance traveled, altitude above sea level, azimuth, etc.) in the panel on the right.

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, 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!

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 just get a small GPS navigator for laptop. solving the navigation problem once and for all.

The article was prepared by Susanin specialists

Today, GPS navigation has become commonplace. So you won’t surprise anyone with it. Naturally, there are a lot of devices on sale in the form mobile GPS navigators installed in the car. But some users are not satisfied with them. Drivers decide to use their own laptop as a navigator. Well, that's a good idea. But there are a few important points to pay attention to.

GPS Navigation Basics

Before talking about what a laptop navigator is, you should take a short excursion into the history of the creation of the global positioning system (GPS). The corresponding idea appeared back in the 60s. last century. It was implemented 20 years later. Now, speaking about GPS and without going into technical details, it can be noted that the entire system is built on three main components. These are space satellites, ground-based receiving and transmitting stations and the navigators themselves.

The satellites revolve around the Earth in circular orbits (20,200 km) with a periodicity of 11 hours 58 minutes, completing a full circle per sidereal day (23 hours 56 minutes). GPS navigation, roughly speaking, is based on measuring the difference in the time of signal transmission and reception. In this way, the distance between several points is determined. The satellites rotate in six planes (four satellites in each). There are 32 modules in one segment. This allows you to accurately determine the location of any moving transceiver device.

Using maps

With the development of computer technology, electronic cards appeared in the world. Of course, a laptop navigator can use them, but there is one small problem. The fact is that without a GPS connection, it will be simply impossible to track your current location either on the navigator itself or on the laptop. Such maps are only suitable for estimating the desired route of movement, nothing more.

It goes without saying that modern electronic maps are very accurate. There are even 3D models. Naturally, they are all updated periodically. There is probably no need to explain that there can be many reasons for this, say, the construction of new residential areas, the construction of new roads, etc.

Selecting a GPS receiver

All idealists should be immediately upset. Not a single laptop navigator program will work without a means to establish a connection. In this case, there may be two main solutions. Probably, any user will object, they say, why connect a standard navigator to a laptop if you can use it standalone? Note that connecting a laptop to a global positioning system has its advantages. Agree, the laptop has a bigger screen.

The first way is to use an antenna. Its advantage is that the antenna can be moved freely. In the second case, a special device is used, similar to a regular flash drive. But both devices connect to the laptop either via Bluetooth or using a universal USB port. What exactly to choose, everyone decides for themselves. A device in the form of a flash drive for a laptop fits better in total, although in some cases there may be signal loss.

Software

Although a GPS navigator for a laptop has accompanying software in terms of installing the same drivers or maps, many experts recommend using third-party software, which is universal for all types of devices connected to laptops from different manufacturers. When combined into one system, a laptop navigator can use two types of software: offline programs and applications that require the Internet or GPS.

For example, the Microsoft Auto Route app is best for exploring local attractions. There is detailed description, say, architectural monuments or museums, as well as detailed instructions for the driver. The only negative is that you will have to constantly monitor updates, because construction does not stand still. When using programs with an Internet or GPS connection, the chances of finding the shortest route and avoiding any unforeseen situations increase significantly. This is understandable, because you can control your location on the map at any given moment. Moreover, the latest information about the state of roads in terms of traffic jams, etc. is always transmitted from satellites.

Device Compatibility

In order to connect a laptop GPS navigator directly to the system, you first need to install drivers. This is done in a standard way. Either the operating system itself will detect the device and install the appropriate driver, or you will have to install it manually using the original distribution. Next, you will need to synchronize the laptop navigator with computer system. When using cable and port USB problems should not arise. When connecting via Bluetooth, you will need to activate the connection on the laptop (it is always active on the receiver), and then proceed to search for devices. When the receiver or navigator is identified, communication is established. You can start working.

Advantages and disadvantages

There is much disagreement about the pros and cons of such integrated systems. But the most important theses are not difficult to formulate. The main advantage is that the considered system has a higher accuracy in determining the current location. But the main disadvantage is the size of the laptop. After all, it’s clear that you can’t put a laptop on the panel under the windshield - there’s not enough space. And leaving it on the seat next to you is also not an option. Well, you won’t turn your head to the right every couple of minutes!? Now it’s worth thinking about the feasibility of using such systems. At least in passenger cars this is very inconvenient. Another thing is trucks. Truckers who drive along European routes certainly have somewhere to place such a unique GPS system.