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The "Not Quite Amiga but still computer related category" => Alternative Operating Systems => Topic started by: AmigaEd on September 11, 2007, 01:35:03 AM

Title: Bluetooth GPS units - Amiga and other Evil systems...
Post by: AmigaEd on September 11, 2007, 01:35:03 AM
Hi,
Once again I find myself coming back to the most trusted Amiga community in the universe for answers!

So fellow Amigans I ask thee, what be thy experience with bluetooth GPS devices?

Do those tiny bluetooth GPS "mice" (such as those seen all over eBay) actually work?

Are some better than others?

While I want something I can go mobile with along with my PDA, would it also be possible to use a serial bluetooth adapter connected to an Amiga serial port and receive position data from the device in that manner?

If anyone has any experience with any of the above, I'd really like to hear your story.

Thank you in Advance,
AmigaEd
Title: Re: Bluetooth GPS units - Amiga and other Evil systems...
Post by: AmigaEd on September 12, 2007, 02:28:46 AM
Hmmm... Has no one had experience with these devices?

How about bluetooth on Amiga?

Regards,
AmigaEd
Title: Re: Bluetooth GPS units - Amiga and other Evil systems...
Post by: Piru on September 12, 2007, 05:01:43 AM
Considering bluetooth requires a bluetooth stack, no, it won't work.
Title: Re: Bluetooth GPS units - Amiga and other Evil systems...
Post by: AmigaEd on September 12, 2007, 05:44:35 AM
Piru,
That is dissapointing. Is this true for bluetooth adapter on the serial port?

It seems like something like this (http://www.blueconsole.com/?gclid=CNPd4NyKvY4CFQJwUAodfBmJzA) might appear as a serial port and data could be sent over it as if the gps device was connected via rs-232 cable. Am I totally wrong in my thinking?

I also found this Free2Move (http://www.free2move.se/index.php?type=view&pk=8) adapter.

Oh! I just stumbled upon this information about bluetooth and Amiga on Amigaforever (http://www.amigaforever.com/kb/3-193.html)

Best Regards,
AmigaEd
Title: Re: Bluetooth GPS units - Amiga and other Evil systems...
Post by: Piru on September 12, 2007, 06:08:17 AM
If the device can talk with the serial adapter directly, then it would work.

The position data itself still needs to be interpreted, however (and there are couple of different standards for that, see GPS wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System#User_segment) for details. I've mostly seen NMEA 0183 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NMEA_0183)).
Title: Re: Bluetooth GPS units - Amiga and other Evil systems...
Post by: Zac67 on September 12, 2007, 07:34:19 AM
I don't think a simple Bluetooth serial adapter can work. It's the same problem as with an ethernet/serial adapter: the connection has to be initiated from the Bluetooth/ethernet side; the serial side is not able to talk through to the other side on its own - for the obvious reason that the far side is way more sophisticated.

There are serial GPS devices, but definitely not as common.
Title: Re: Bluetooth GPS units - Amiga and other Evil systems...
Post by: Hans_ on September 12, 2007, 03:57:28 PM
The Holux GR-213 (http://www.gpscity.ca/item-holux-gr-213-gps-with-usb-end/gr213usb.htm) is USB, but appears as a USB-to-serial adaptor. I haven't tried it on my Amiga (no point if it's not a laptop really), but, if the USB stack supports USB-to-serial devices, it should work.

Hans