T&T: inexpensive hockey puck GPS

[Jim Ague]

> Based on a discussion here early last year I purchased an inexpensive 
> hockey
> puck GPS receiver that connects to my laptop via USB. I just recently 
> tried it
> for the first time and failed to get it going properly.

Typically the hard part here is to determine which COM port the GPS is 
talking to, and then directing your S/W listening program (EG Coastal 
Explorer, Visual Navigation Suite, etc.) to listen to the GPS input from 
that COM port.

To do the former first plug in the GPS device. Then click Start (typically 
lower left corner), select Control Panel, select System from it. In the 
System program, select the Hardware tab, and click the Device Manager button 
on it. Look down the list to the plus sign next to Ports and click it. When 
that line expands you should see your GPS device listed with the notation 
(COMx), EG COM4.

Now start your S/W application and tell it what you just learned.

-- Jim Ague