Lowrance GPS

[captaingps]

I just posted a message to rec.aviation.simulators and thought that I might be able to interest you. I have no idea what is involved or if it would be possible to make Lowrance's free emulators work with Flight Simulator, but I thought that I would send it your way.

Thanks,

John Bell

Here is the posting:

I want to throw out an idea for anybody who is interested and has the skill to implement it. Lowrance offers emulators for their aviation handhelds at http://www.lowrance.com in the software section. The emulator does not include any avation data, but you can load the Jeppesen database into the Map0 folder and the emulator will use it -- no purchase necessary.

I was hoping to find a way to use this with Microsoft Flight Simulator or perhaps provide a spark of interest in somebody with the skills and interest to make it happen.

I am not an active simmer. However, I think that simulator programs such as Microsoft Flight Simulator make and excellent training tool.

I have written a book on using GPS at http://www.cockpitgps.com. One of the greatest limitations of GPS is pilot proficiency. I feel that using GPS with Microsoft Flight Simulator is one way to get proficiency. However, the GPS included in Flight Simulator is different enough in my opinion to cause negative learning. Fortunately, there are third party solutions to use a Garmin aviation handheld as well as a Garmin 530.

For the Garmin aviation handhelds, Peter Dowson's excellent program GPSout, http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html, works well.

I have also found http://www.reality-xp.com/ works well for the Garmin 530. I cover more details in my freely downloadable book.

Thanks in advance,

John Bell

http://www.cockpitgps.com

[dfournie]

Thanks for the info.

The cool thing about these demos - - they accept NMEA input through the PC serial port. I've tried on the Aviation 1000 unit, and one of the Marine units using the NMEA output from my Garmin III. I suspect they transmit the simulated NMEA out as well. I have to try that next.

[captaingps]

David,

Thanks for the info!

For anybody following the thread:

You can download the Lowrance 500 and 1000 emulators at http://www.lowrance.com. They are free. You can then download the Jeppesen database from Lowrances website and save it in the Map0 foder of the emulator. The Jeppesen database works in the emulator for free.

You will have to run the emulator on a different computer than the computer that you run Flight Simulator on. Use Peter' Dowson's GPSout and a null modem cable to connect the two.

I found that the following .ini settings worked:

Sentences=RMA, RMC, GGA,GSA

Speed=4800

If you play with the emulator, you can set it up to accept NMEA in. DON"T DO THIS! This will probably work if you have a real Lowrance 500 or 1000, but just start the emulator and it should get a position.

I only found one problem that I will adress in a seperate thread. The value of TRACK displayed on the GPS is the heading rather than the TRACK. Thus if you are flying a heading of 000 with a massive wind from the west, the GPS will show 000 instead of a more easterly heading such as 020. By the way, this works correctly with a Garmin GPS using the AV400 input.

Thanks to David Fornie for getting me up and running with this and of course thanks to Peter Dowson for writing GPSout.

John Bell

[Pete Dowson]

You will have to run the emulator on a different computer than the computer that you run Flight Simulator on. Use Peter' Dowson's GPSout and a null modem cable to connect the two.

Actually, if you have a dual monitor PC and one with enough capacity to drive FS and the GPS emulator, and you either have two COM ports spare, or a USB serial adapter or two, you can simply loop the cable back to the same PC and do all this on the one PC. I expect this would work best on an Intel P4 with hyperthreading, as it seems FS only uses one of the two "virtual processors".

Sentences=RMA, RMC, GGA,GSA

The RMA sentence is really a subset of RMC -- its data is completely duplicated. It is just missing the date and time. You shouldn't need both. Much of the data is also reproduced in GGA (full latitude and longitude), but it does supply the altitude as extra to the others.

The value of TRACK displayed on the GPS is the heading rather than the TRACK. Thus if you are flying a heading of 000 with a massive wind from the west, the GPS will show 000 instead of a more easterly heading such as 020. By the way, this works correctly with a Garmin GPS using the AV400 input.

GPSout provides the TRACK in the GPRMA and GPRMC sentences, and both TRACK and Magnetic HEADING in the GPVTG sentence. The wind details are not supplied in any of the GPSout sentences, so I don't know how the emulator is deriving the heading from the track. That is most odd.

GPSout calculates the track itself using wind values unless you are using FS2004 -- then it gets the track from the built in FS GPS, which is probably a little more accurate. Perhaps you can compare values there?

One thing to note: in the RMA, RMC and VTG sentences, the Track is degrees TRUE *not* magnetic, as per NMEA specification. The magnetic variation is also given. The difference in the AV400 format is that the Track is degrees Magnetic. Perhaps your observations are only a mix-up between degrees magnetic and true? If you were testing with the default FS2004 startup, i.e. at Seattle, the variation there is about 20 degrees.

WARNING! In putting this together, I have just noticed that in the current version of GPSout the RMA sentence is, in fact, wrong -- it is undoubtedly being ignored in any case. I will fix this and release an update this weekend. (And, no, it isn't wrong in that it gives heading instead of track, it is simply formatted wrongly altogether). Meanwhile, take RMA out of the equation please.

Regards,

Pete

[Pete Dowson]

Further to the above, please now see the message I have added to your "NMEA Track" thread.

[compilot]

Just read the posts.... That's excellent info!

I would like to know I can have MSFS on one PC, and the emulator work on another PC. Will the COM emulator included in GPSOUT work? If so, how do I set it up?

Does the Lowrance emulator expect data from a COM port? Is so which one and can it be changed?

[Pete Dowson]

I would like to know I can have MSFS on one PC, and the emulator work on another PC.

That's what someone said, check back a few messages.

Will the COM emulator included in GPSOUT work? If so, how do I set it up?

You need WideFS as well. Follow the instructions.

Does the Lowrance emulator expect data from a COM port?

It must do otherwise it wouldn't have worked with GPSout. Please review the messages.

Is so which one and can it be changed?

If it can't I can't see how you can use it. Look at the program, I don't have it.

Pete

[compilot]

Thanks for quick reply Pete.

I have read several posts. Maybe not all. I have already managed to run my Real Garmin GPS from one PC via WideClient. The Real GPS accepts the data from the PC's COM port. In this case I set WideClient to COM1.

However, I've just been experimenting with the Lowrance Emulator on the same non-MSFS PC with WideClient. The emulator is not receiving data. I set WideClient's INI to COM1 which failed. I then installed the COM emulator and setup COM11 & COM12. I then changed WideCLient INI to send the data to COM11, which also failed to get a response from the emulator.

Now I'm asking for suggestions.

[Pete Dowson]

The emulator is not receiving data. I set WideClient's INI to COM1 which failed.

What did you have on COM1 though? Sending the data OUT of COM1 will accomplish nothing at all unless there's a wire from it leading to something which can receive it. You can't just set up one half of any communications -- it takes a Receiver as well as a Transmitter, and of course a piece of wire for "real" serial ports!!

I then installed the COM emulator and setup COM11 & COM12. I then changed WideCLient INI to send the data to COM11, which also failed to get a response from the emulator.

I would seriously doubt that the emulator would be pre-programmed to look for input on COM12! I suspect that, if it has a default setting at all, it would be COM1.

Now I'm asking for suggestions.

I suggest you look to set the COM port on the emulator. There's no alternative. As I said already, unless you can tell it which COM port to look at you cannot possibly use it.

Why not see if it has any menus or options, or even documentation?

Pete

[compilot]

As I mentioned in my post, I had connected my Real GPS (a G196) to COM1. I used the cable that comes with the GPS. That works perfectly!

The Lowrance emulator has no docs other than the actual manual.

I guess that I'll have to search some more.

Thanks just the same.

[Pete Dowson]

As I mentioned in my post, I had connected my Real GPS (a G196) to COM1. I used the cable that comes with the GPS. That works perfectly!

Yes, that's fine. but then you said:

I've just been experimenting with the Lowrance Emulator on the same non-MSFS PC with WideClient. The emulator is not receiving data. I set WideClient's INI to COM1 which failed.

A software emulator won't have a wire connecting it to your COM1 like your real GPS, which is why expecting it to see data pouring out of COM1 was a little, how should I say? Optimistic? ;-)

The Lowrance emulator has no docs other than the actual manual.

No documents? no support either? Seems odd providing an emulator that cannot be used to emulate the real thing excpt by guesswork?

Sorry, I guess you need help from Lowrance. Or do as the original successful poster did and use a real wire and try sending the GPS stuff to each of your real ports in turn. As I said, the most likely default it uses is COM1 -- though that often used to be taken up by a Mouse, so COM2 is another possibility.

You cannot make the virtual port use real ports. I suppose you could try to remove the real ports in the BIOS of your PC and then see if you can make the virtual port program use the COM1 and COM2 addresses.

Regards,

Pete

[compilot]

Sorry for the mixup in description. I'll try to be clearer in the future.

I agree that diasabling COM1 might do it. I'll have to try that a little later.

Thanks