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Two Ways To Use GPS With Linux

Posted by timothy on from the not-the-only-ways dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Whether you're wardriving, vacationing or building a Car PC, a Global Positioning System is a handy tool. Interacting with your GPS via your PC makes for an even better GPS experience. As a Linux user, GPS/PC integration can be somewhat sketchy. Vendors don't write software and drivers for Linux; it's probably safe to assume that the good folks over at Garmin would say something along the lines of "Lih-what?". Have no fear! Using your GPS with Linux isn't impossible! Check out this review over at LinuxForumsDOTorg of two fairly robust GPS navigation programs for Linux."

10 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. GPS Drive by AnuradhaRatnaweera · · Score: 5, Informative

    I use gpsdrive without any driver issues. The real problem is the availability of maps.

  2. Re:Not on my boat by Dancin_Santa · · Score: 5, Informative

    Linux is perhaps the most stable operating system currently on the market. In fact, in several studies that I've seen, Linux as an embedded system outperforms and crashes less often than dedicated software on traditional GPS systems.

  3. Garmin GPS over USB? by Alexey+Nogin · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've recently gotten Garmin GPSMan 60CS as a gift and so far I was unable to get any Linux programs to talk to it (over the USB cable that came with it). Did anybody have any success with getting Linux talk to any Garmin GPS units over USB?

  4. This is news?? by Wapiti-eater · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Us ham types've been doing GPS navigatin not only of our own vehicles, but others as well for over 12 years now! I use a package called 'Xastir' and an on the air protocol called APRS.

    Basicly, take a GPS receiver and a laptop (Not just linux, xastir will run on Windows too), a TNC and a VHF radio - use pretty much any map you'd care to use (local or online), current weather information, satallite imagry, NWS alerts, warnings, etc, etc, etc... See your track - find your way, see forest fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes....
    The only limit is imagination

    Just wanna check on someone? Use your web browser and visit Findu - plug in their callsign and see where they're at.

    And no, you don't need a ham license to play along. Just to feed data into the world wide Information System.

    Kinda neat to zoom in on 'the old country' and watch my firends in the UK on thier way to work as I'm get'n ready to call it a day, then keyboard to keyboard messaging with 'em along the way.....
    And no air time fees

    --
    Senior NCO in the fight against entropy. I've seen things, man. Things no one should have to see.....
  5. Pharos GPS-360 by KidHash · · Score: 5, Informative

    Slightly related, someone recently posted to the Full Disclosure mailing list, with a guide for how to get the Pharos GPS-360 (as sold in the "Microsoft Streets & Trips 2005 with GPS locator" package) working under linux. Might be useful to some people

  6. Re:Not on my boat by aaza · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Uhh, this review is not about hacking your GPS unit to run linux, but to talk to your GPS unit using a linux based program (two, actually: Roadmap and GPS Drive), most likely from a laptop (since a desktop will pretty much limit where your GPS can go).

    I would agree with not putting Linux on a GPS device, even if it was capable. Embedded systems are fairly hard to hack for a good reason: If you mess it up, it will be a serious problem.

    --
    In theory there is no difference between theory and practice.
    In practice, however, there is.
  7. Re:GPS, Linux, and battery power in portables by reddish · · Score: 5, Funny

    I believe the success of GPS has always been the fact that it can reliably give you your position at any point in time.

    Somebody mod this guy +1 Insightful!

  8. Any cheap bare-bone GPS chips available? by intelligent+poster · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I am a starving student and all these GPS receivers seem out of reach (even the cheapest seems to be over 150$). Is it tough to build one on your own? Anyone with relevant experience? Any pointers would be appreciated.

  9. Other Linux GPS software to check out by nadaou · · Score: 5, Informative

    gpsd: serve up realtime GPS data
    http://gpsd.berlios.de

    gpstrans: download/upload Garmin data
    http://gpstrans.sourceforge.net

    gpsbabel: up/download & convert GPS data
    http://gpsbabel.sourceforge.net

    v.in.garmin + GRASS GIS 5.7: download GPS directly into serious mapping & analysis software
    http://grass.ibiblio.org/grass57/manuals /html57_us er/v.in.garmin.html
    http://grass.ibiblio.org

    have fun, don't get lost.

    --
    ~.~
    I'm a peripheral visionary.
  10. NMEA by The_Pey · · Score: 5, Informative

    I don't want to torpedo the purpose of this whole article, but Linux isn't as far out in the cold as you might think. Most GPS programs out there use the NMEA protocol which is handled over a common serial port. The article poster seems to imply that Linux is left out in terms of drivers, but the fact is that most GPS units support the NMEA protocol. That includes Garmin, Magellan and others. If you have a common DB9 serial connector and the right cable, you can get any number of GPS units to work with any number of programs.

    That being said, what is troubling is the "any number of programs" that I mentioned above. There really is not a large community of developers working on consumer mapping applications. If you look hard enough, you may stumble across some gems here and there, but for the most part the Linux scene is noticably lacking.

    Tuxmobil's Page is a good place to start looking at different apps.

    --
    Hmmm...