Usb Serial Port Emulator
Free Virtual Serial Ports is a Windows user-mode application, which allows you to create software virtual serial ports and emulate physical serial ports behavior. It operates exclusively in user-mode, therefore it is more stable and uses less memory, processor and operating system resources than any competitive products. Download ONE of the following files based on the architecture of your Windows computer from USB CDC Driver for Windows page: - 64 Bit COM Emulation. How to get the scanner to communicate via virtual COM port / USB serial driver. The scanner's interface must be set to USB Serial Emulation (TRMUSB130.) after the driver is installed and the scanner is connected to the host.
My GPS Receiver Recommendations GPS Receiver Recommendations I've had hands-on experience using Tru-Traffic with a few different types of GPS receivers, and they're not equal. The short advice is to get one that uses both of the following.
either the NMEA 0183 protocol or the Garmin (proprietary) protocol, and. a serial interface, PS/2 interface, or a Bluetooth interface, or a 'virtual' serial port.
Mcp2200 Usb Serial Port Emulator Driver Download
By 'virtual' serial port, I'm referring to units that have a USB connection but include a software driver for serial port emulation. Examples include the DeLorme Earthmate® GPS LT-20 and the USGlobalsat units, mentioned below. If your GPS receiver has a serial (RS-232) cable but your computer has only a USB port, you can still use a USB-to-serial adaptor to plug it into a USB port.
These adaptors come with software drivers for serial port emulation. Garmin has some GPS receivers (e.g., the eTrex Legend C, Legend Cx, Vista C, Vista Cx, etc.) with USB cable and a purely USB interface — no serial emulation available. These require additional software to work with Tru-Traffic.
One software product, allows GPS-enabled applications that accept NMEA input over a serial port (for example, Tru-Traffic) to work with Garmin USB-based GPS receivers (using the Garmin USB protocol) by emulating a virtual serial port. It looks like it costs about US$10/computer. A Tru-Traffic user has confirmed that it works fine with the software in NMEA mode. Unfortunately, as far as he can tell, it does not emulate the serial port with the Garmin (proprietary) protocol. This means you can connect the GPS to the laptop out in the field and run just fine, but you cannot, as far as we can tell, take the GPS solo out in the field, use it to record intersection coordinates ('waypoints') and trip logs ('tracks'), then download to the computer when you return to the office. Two chips sets seem especially promising for use in urban canyons and under tree canopies: the SiRFstarIII and SiRFstarIIe/LP, which uses SiRFXTrac. A number of manufacturers offer GPS receivers based on these chip sets, including Garmin, HAiCOM, Magellan, TomTom, and USGlobalsat.
If you search for SiRFstarIII, you should get a number of hits. I have personal experience with the HAiCOM, and some USGlobalsats (see below), but not with the rest of these. GPS Receiver vs. GPS Navigation System We must distinguish a humble GPS Receiver from full fledged GPS Navigation System, the sort of device you'd put in your car to find addresses and give you driving directions.
Most simple GPS Receivers will provide 'raw' geographic position & time information, either to a file or, better, over a live connection (a serial port, a Bluetooth connection, a USB port, etc.), which Tru-Traffic needs for its trip analysis. Most of the full fledged GPS Navigation System do not provide 'raw' geographic position & time information, providing instead travel routes and driving directions, as they're intended for strictly navigational purposes. As such, most GPS Navigation System are not suitable for use with Tru-Traffic for travel time & delay studies. If the specifications for your device mention NMEA 0183 somewhere, then it will almost certainly work with Tru-Traffic for travel time & delay studies. If it does not mention NMEA 0183, then it may or may not work with Tru-Traffic, and you'll need to investigate further to decide which is the case.
Despite my limited experience, I get the impression that anymore, it's hard to go wrong as long as the GPS receiver specifies NMEA 0183 somewhere. If you have experience with any of these units and can offer feedback that may benefit others, please, and I'll post it here. Recording a Trip Log using the GPS Receiver solo vs.
Tru-Traffic Some GPS receivers double as GPS data loggers; they can record their own trip logs ('tracks'), which gives you options:. You can take the GPS receiver in the field solo, let it record the trip logs, then import the trip logs into Tru-Traffic when you return to the office. For Garmin GPS receivers connected with a serial cable, you can download directly into Tru-Traffic; otherwise, you can use software that comes with the GPS receiver or that's freely available to save the trip logs to a file for importing into Tru-Traffic. Advantages of this include. convenience (fewer cables and equipment to deal with) and.
expense (no need to buy another laptop or license to Tru-Traffic). You can connect the GPS receiver to a laptop running Tru-Traffic, and let the software record the trip logs for you. With the basic GPS receivers that don't have a recording feature, this is your only option.