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Benefits From GPS |
What is NMEA?
What Is NMEA 0183?
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National Marine Electronics
Association (NMEA)
| The National Marine Electronics Association
(NMEA) is the unifying force behind the entire
marine electronics industry, bringing together all
aspects of the industry for the betterment of the
business.
National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) |
NMEA 0183 Interface Standard
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The 'NMEA 0183 Interface
Standard' defines electrical signal
requirements; data transmission protocol and
time; and specific data-sentence formats for a
4800-baud serial data bus. Each bus may
have only one sender but many receivers.
The Latest Version Of The
Standard Is Version 3.01 (released Jan. 2002).
There is also a high-speed
addendum, NMEA 0183-HS Version 1.0, to Version
3.01 of NMEA 0183. This standard operates at a
38.4K-baud rate. Specific sentence formats are
common to both NMEA 0183 and NMEA 0183-HS and
are defined in the NMEA 0183. |
GPS Devices And The NMEA 0183
Interface Standard
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The Two Original GPS Consumer
Product Developers In The United States First
Chose To Add The NMEA 0183 Interface Standard
Data Format To Their GPS Models, So The Systems
Could Provide Position Information To Marine
Autopilot Systems. Since Then, Garmin
International And Various Other GPS System
Manufactures, Now Provide The NMEA 0183
Interface As A Standard Option On Various GPS
Models.
Because The NMEA 0183
Interface Standard Has Been Adopted And
Available On GPS Systems, Most Program
Developers Now Use This Interface Standard As
The Universal GPS-Enabling Standard For Their
Application Programs. This Means, A GPS
System With The NMEA 0183 Interface Standard
Will Be Supported By The Widest Range Of
GPS-Enabled Software.
For A GPS To Use The NMEA
0183 Interface Standard, The GPS System Must
Have A Serial Port. The NMEA 0183
Interface Standard Is Serial With A Baud Data
Rate Of 4,800bps. Note A USB Interface
Port Cannot Support This Standard! If
GPS-Enabled Mapping Programs Are To Be Used, The
Best Choice Is To Obtain A Serial Interfaced GPS
System. A GPS System With A Serial Port
And NMEA Support Will Provide The Most
Universally Acceptable System. Out Of All
The Manufactures And Brand Marketed Products,
Garmin International's 'GARMIN' data interface
format is the next best supported format in the
field of GPS technology. |
GPS User Benefits
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Since The NMEA 0183 Interface
Standard Is Now Made Available On Many GPS
Models, Software Developers Have Now Adopted The
'NMEA 0183 Interface Standard' As The Universal
Standard For Enabling Their Software To Work
With Most Any GPS System. A Well Written
GPS-Enabled Program Will Support The NMEA 0183
Interface Standard.
With A NMEA 0183 Or Newer
Interface, A GPS Systems Can Send Detailed Data
To Other Devices And Software Applications.
A User Can Purchase A GPS-Enabled Mapping
Program Or Navigation Program And Reap The Added
Benefits Of Live Real-Time Moving Map Position
Viewing, Navigation And Other Various Position
Awareness Data; If Made Available In The
Specific Application. There Are Many
Applications Being Developed Today, With
GPS-Enabled Features And Capabilities. For
Example, The Exciting New Google Earth Online
Earth Viewing Application. We Can Provide
You With An Excellent Garmin GPS System Along
With A Tool That Makes It Free To View
Waypoints, Routes And Your Traveled Path On The
Free Version Of Google Earth! |
GPS Data Available
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The NMEA 0183 Interface
Standard Offers Several Different
Data-Sentence Structure Options. Each
Sentence Structure Offers Data Is A
Different Order Or Types Of Data Sent.
Some GPS-Enabled Mapping Programs Offers The
User The Ability To Choose What NMEA
Sentences To Use. One Of The Best
Implementations Of This Technology Is In The
'ALL TOPO
MAPS: GPS' Tool; Part Of A U.S.G.S.
Mapping Application Suite With U.S. State
Map Sets; Available Here.
With The 'All Topo Maps: GPS' Tool,
NMEA
Message Tracking May Be Turned 'On' And 'Off' For Each Individual
NMEA Data Sentence.
'ALL TOPO MAPS: GPS' Features
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NMEA Sentence Selection For Real Time Tracking
The Commonly Supported NMEA Sentence Messages Are: |
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GGA ($GPGGA) GPS Position, Time And Fix |
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GLL ($GPGLL) Geographic Position -
Latitude / Longitude |
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RMB ($GPRMB) Recommended Minimum Generic
Navigation Information |
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RMC ($GPRMC) Transit Specific Output |
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Typically Selecting 'RMC' Or 'RMB' Will Be Sufficient
For
Real-Time Position Tracking. |
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'Require Checksum on NMEA Sentences' - Use to
perform a error-test on the incoming NMEA messages. |
NMEA GPS Data Support
Samples
Commonly Used NMEA Data-Sentences
In Various GPS Brands/Models
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$GPGGA |
Global positioning system fixed
data |
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$GPGLL |
Geographic position - latitude /
longitude |
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$GPGSA |
GNSS DOP and active satellites |
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$GPGSV |
GNSS satellites in view |
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$GPRMC |
Recommended minimum specific
GNSS data |
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$GPVTG |
Course over ground and ground
speed |
Other NMEA
Data-Sentences Used By Some Less Popular GPS
Brands/Models
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$GPALM |
GPS almanac data |
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$GPGRS |
GPS range residuals |
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$GPGST |
GPS pseudorange noise
statistics |
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$GPMSS |
Beacon receiver status |
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$GPZDA |
UTC and local date/time data |
GPS-Brand/Model-Specific
Data-Sentences
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Eagle AccuNav |
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Garmin 12XL,
NMEA-0183 V 1.5 |
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Garmin 12XL,
NMEA-0183 V 2.0 |
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Garmin
GPS-38, NMEA-0183 V. 1.5
mode |
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Garmin
GPS-38, NMEA-0183 V. 2.0
mode |
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Garmin GPS-45
(and probably GPS-40 and
GPS-90) |
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Lowrance
Global Map 100 |
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Magellan
Trailblazer |
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Trimble
Ensign XL |
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Trimble
Flightmate Pro and
Scoutmaster |
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Autohelm
Seatalk |
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GARMIN |
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'NMEA Interface
Standards And GPS, In Depth Look'
A Compiled
Collection Of NMEA Specifications
And GPS Related Information
Presented In An Easy To Use Format
By Gene Casanova.
Online
$89.99 Buy
|
NMEA 1083 Standard And USB
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The NMEA 1083
Interface Standards Do Not Support USB.
However, There Is A Solution To The
Problem, If And Only If, The GPS Device
Has The NMEA Serial Port! The
Solution Can Be As Simple As Ordering
One Of Our Three Tested
GPS-SERIAL-To-USB Microcomputer
Interfaces. A Special Interface In
Required To Not Only Translate The Data
Format But Also The Voltage Format!
This Is Not A Simple Software Fix, And
Cannot be Done With Just Software.
The NMEA1083 Interface Standards Define
The Use Of A Computer Industry Standard
For A Serial Interface. This
Standard Defines Voltage Levels, Cable
Construction And Data Format; All OF
Which Must Be Translated By Any Solution
Offered. We Not Only Have The
Simple Solution, But Three! Our
Three Solutions Work Seamlessly With
Microsoft Windows Desktop Based
Application Software. The NMEA
1083 Was Defined Well Before The USB
Standard Was Established And Today There
Are Millions Of Devices In Use Using The
NMEA 1083 Standards. A USB Port On
The GPS Or On The Connecting Device Are
Not Compatible With The NMEA 1083 Serial
Interface Standard.
If A Modern Consumer
Laptop/Notebook Computer Is Used, Most
Models Today Will Require The Use Of One
Of Our GPS-Serial-To-USB-Interface
Microcomputer Interfaces. Our
Microcomputer Based Interfaces Have Been
Extensively Tested In Our Computer
Technology Laboratory Over The Past 5
Years With Various GPS Systems, And Are
Certified To Work With GPS Systems In
The Field Or At The Desktop. These
Microcomputer Interfaces Have A Tiny
Microcomputer Along With An Automatic
Loading Program, Which Translates The
Incoming NMEA 0183 Interface Standard
Sentences From The GPS-Serial Port, Into
A Standard USB Protocol Format.
Additionally, A Special Program (Called
A Driver) Is Included. This Driver
Program Constructs A Standard Windows
Desktop Serial Port, So That All
Programs Loaded In The PC System Can
Access This Serial Port As If It Was A
Real Physical Serial Port. Now
With A GPS Connected Through Our
Interface, The Windows Running
Application Software Works As Normal,
Connecting To The New Available 'Com'
Port And Using The Incoming NMEA Data
Sentences As Normal. Sweet! |
Bottom Line:
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For The Quick Answer To This
Question, (Often The Focus Of Most GPS Buyers
Today) Is Buy A A GPS System With A Serial Port
For The Most Versatility And Capability.
Even More True Is The Simple Fact That The
Serial 'Garmin' GPS Data Format Is The Most
Widely Supported In The World. The Newer
Garmin USB Format Is Not Well Supported To Date,
And Is Not The Same As The Serial 'GARMIN'
Format. The USB Interface Is Not Part OF
The NMEA 1038 Interface Standard.
If A Software Application Is
More Important Than The GPS System Used, First
Research And Select The Software Application,
Then Select The Computer, Then Select A GPS
System That Supports The Interface Required By
The Software Application.
If Software Applications Are
Not A Concern, Select The GPS With The Features
You Need Or Anticipate In The Future. For
The Most User Convenience, In Saving GPS Data
And Transferring To And From A PC Computer, The
Best Choice Is A GPS System With One Type Of
Computer Compatible Data Port; Be It Serial,
USB, IrDa, Or Bluetooth And A Software
Application To Transfer GPS Data. We Offer
A Program That Can Be Used To Translate One GPS
Brand's Data Format To Another Data Format Type.
Understanding The Technology
At Hand, Is The Best Practice! Enjoy
The Technology |
Reference:
http://www.nmea.org/
Gene Casanova | FEB 2006
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