Brian sent this one in - might be good for projects "Never heard of it, but at $35, it sounds like a good buy for any wacky projects that need a cheap GPS. There's probably a USB/Serial converter in the cable, which you could rip out and then hook the GPS device itself up to a regular serial port, if you are messing with an embedded system that doesn't have USB." Link.
UG-200 USB GPS receiver for $35...
Brian sent this one in - might be good for projects "Never heard of it, but at $35, it sounds like a good buy for any wacky projects that need a cheap GPS. There's probably a USB/Serial converter in the cable, which you could rip out and then hook the GPS device itself up to a regular serial port, if you are messing with an embedded system that doesn't have USB." Link.
Recent Entries
- BlueSMiRF found in credit card sniffer
- Mystery iPhone musical instrument
- Stained glass d20s
- CRAFT Thanksgiving roundup
- 3D renderings of the Mandelbrot set
- New in the Maker Shed: Microbe Motel kit
- Science through graphic novels
- Tiny solar-powered brass engine in a wineglass
- Maker Shed kiosks at Fry's
- New hackerspace in Chicagoland: Workshop 88
Comments
Oldest comments listed first.
Leave a comment
Subscribe to MAKE Magazine!
Subscribe today, save 42% and get web access to MAKE free. MAKE Digital Edition is available only to subscribers.
$34.95 / 1 year
(4 Quarterly Issues)




































I bought the compact flash version from Geeks.com, along with a few select gifts for other people in early December. The box was almost identical, google had nothing on the model number, and the manual was non-existant. It was only when I manually chose Windows' built-in drivers for serial port (not CF serial port adapter) did it work on my laptop. It seems to be quite finicky with its aquisition, reminding me of many cell-phone GPS navigation systes.
Reply to this comment
Google still has nothing on this item and I cant make it work on my laptop or desktop. The install cd does nothing for you either. The manual is on the cd but it has no useful information. It simply says install proper driver, then connect usb cable... Does anyone have information on how to make it work or any great programs that would make this usefull? I have Delorme street atlas usa 2006 and it didnt "see" the usb device. This has potential for great MAKE toys if its workable...
Reply to this comment
I bought one of these, and it worked great. It installed under XP first try, and was able to track GPS inside my house in San Francisco. The manual was a pdf on the CD, but I didn't need it. I fired up netstumbler, and set it to COMM 7, and it was working. Now I've gotta find some software to go with it.
Reply to this comment
just received the one I ordered, got it working under XP and Linux. The filename on the driver CD says something about PL-2303, a usb-to-serial chip made by Prolific. There's a Linux driver for this and it works fine -- plugged it in and it shows up as /dev/ttyUSB0 (uses the module pl2303.ko). Google turned up a few PL 2303 drivers for Mac OS X, but I haven't tried any yet ..
Reply to this comment
Just got mine working today, and I was a little worried about it since there were pretty much no manuals. Here's what you need to do to get it working under Windows XP:
1. Install the program from the CD (this installs the drivers). This must be done before you plug in the GPS.
2. Plug in the GPS into the USB port and let Windows find the device.
3. Go to your Device Manager and look under your "Ports (COM & LPT)" section to find out what COM port the GPS got installed under (mine was COM6). It should show up as a Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port. You can change the port and other settings under this driver.
4. Test to make sure you are getting data from the unit. Start HyperTerminal (or your terminal program of choice), set the settings to 4800 baud, N, 8, 1 and you should start seeing data come out from the unit. If you did it correctly, data should look something like this and keep scrolling up the screen:
$GPGSV,3,1,11,10,77,253,,07,69,212,,02,58,071,,06,29,310,*71
$GPGSV,3,2,11,04,27,089,,30,22,261,,29,21,172,,05,15,234,*76
$GPGSV,3,3,11,13,13,036,,26,10,180,,27,00,079,*4B
5. Close Hyperterminal and setup your program of choice, or you can try the GPS Diag program to see what's going on with the GPS (which satellites it is talking to, what the signal strength is, what the latitude and longitude is, etc.).
Reply to this comment
Can anyone send send the CD files in an attachment to junction131@hotmail.com. I had it installed on a laptop of a friend it worked great under XP with streets and trips. Unfortunately I can not find my driver CD or the drivers online anywhere. If anybody could send me those files or point to a location where I could download them that would be great.
Thanks
Reply to this comment
Can anyone send send the CD files in an attachment to junction131@hotmail.com. I had it installed on a laptop of a friend it worked great under XP with streets and trips. Unfortunately I can not find my driver CD or the drivers online anywhere. If anybody could send me those files or point to a location where I could download them that would be great.
Thanks
Reply to this comment
I found this site:
http://www.bytefusion.com/products/op/usb-gps/usb-gps.htm
The drivers here worked fine for my GPS unit.
Reply to this comment