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APPENDIX D: GPS 18x PC/ LVC/18x-5HZ & WINDOWS SERIAL MOUSE ISSUE 

Problem:

 It is possible for Windows to incorrectly interpret the NMEA 0183 output of the GPS 18x PC as the 

output of a Microsoft Serial BallPoint Mouse. When that happens, Windows loads drivers for the Serial BallPoint 
Mouse. This causes the cursor to move erratically about the display, clicking, right clicking, double clicking, 
dragging and dropping displayed items as it goes. On Windows 2000 and Windows XP, you may not experience the 
problem if you wait until after the computer is booted before connecting the GPS 18x PC to the serial 
communications port. This problem is not specific to the GPS 18x PC. Any NMEA 0183 device connected to a 
Windows computer’s serial port is likely to cause this problem. Below are several possible solutions to this problem.  

Note:

 If your GPS 18x PC came with Garmin nRoute™ Navigation Software, you will not have this problem; the 

unit is programmed to produce data according to the binary format that is described in

 Appendix B: Garmin Binary 

Output Format. 

 

If you wish to use a different navigation software application with your GPS 18x PC, you will need to de-select the 
“Binary Output Data” option that is discussed in Solution 3 below. 

Solution 1:

 The easiest solution is to disable the Serial BallPoint mouse in the Device Manager. This solution 

assumes that you do not need to use a Serial BallPoint mouse with your computer. When erratic mouse movements 
occur, follow the steps below.  

1.

 

Unplug the DB9 connector. 

2.

 

Right-click the 

My Computer

 icon on your desktop and select 

Properties

 to open Device Manager. 

3.

 

Go to the hardware tab of the resulting pop-up window and click on the 

Device Manager

 button.  

4.

 

Right-click on 

Serial BallPoint Mouse 

and choose the option to 

Disable

 (NOT uninstall) this device. 

Solution 2:

 Do not plug the DB9 connector into the computer until the computer is turned on and the operating 

system is completely booted up and running. Every time you use the GPS 18x PC/LVC, you will need to start the 
computer and operating system before making the connection between the GPS 18x PC and the computer. This 
solution usually works on Windows 2000 and Windows XP computers.  

Solution 3: 

Change the default output of the GPS 18x PC/LVC so that it does not automatically send NMEA 0183 

data to the computer (change the default configuration to enable “Binary Output Data”). Use the Garmin Sensor 
Configuration Software, named SNSRCFG.EXE, provided on the Web site to enable “Binary Output Data.” To 
download the software, start at 

www.garmin.com/oem

, select the GPS 18x, and then select

 Updates and 

Downloads

Please note that by enabling “Binary Output Data,” the device will no longer appear as a NMEA 0183 device to your 
computer. As a result, mapping applications that expect to hear NMEA 0183 data will not recognize your GPS 18x 
P/LVC until you re-enable the NMEA 0183 output, disabling the “Binary Output Data” in the process. 

Refer to 

Appendix E: Sensor Configuration Software

 for complete information about downloading the Sensor 

Configuration Software application. 

After the Sensor Configuration Software is installed and running on your computer, follow the steps below to 
change the default data output of the GPS 18x PC, LVC, or GPS 18x-5Hz.  

1.

 

Select the 

GPS 18x PC / LVC 

or the

 GPS 18x-5Hz 

from the list 

of sensors and click 

OK. 

The Sensor Configuration Software 

opens with the default configuration file for the GPS 18x, as 
shown on the next page.  

2.

 

Select 

Config

 > 

Switch to NMEA Mode 

(or press the F10 key). 

3.

 

Select 

Comm

 > 

Setup

 to open the Comm Setup Window. 

190-00879-08 

GPS 18x Technical Specifications  

Rev. B 

Page 29 

Summary of Contents for GPS 18x LVC

Page 1: ...GPS 18x TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Garmin International Inc 1200 E 151st Street Olathe KS 66062 USA 190 00879 08 Revision B January 2008 ...

Page 2: ... this manual or of any revision hereto provided that such electronic or printed copy of this manual must contain the complete text of this copyright notice and provided further that any unauthorized commercial distribution of this manual or any revision hereto is strictly prohibited Information in this document is subject to change without notice Garmin reserves the right to change or improve its ...

Page 3: ... 4 2 Garmin Interface and Garmin USB Protocol 6 1 6 4 3 GPS 18x PC GPS 18x LVC GPS 18x 5Hz Protocols 7 1 6 4 4 Measurement Pulse Output GPS 18x LVC GPS 18x 5Hz only 7 2 GPSx 18x LVC GPS 18x 5Hz Wiring and Pinouts 8 2 1 GPS 18x LVC GPS 18x 5Hz Pinout 8 2 2 GPS 18x LVC GPS 18x 5Hz Wiring Diagrams 8 3 Mechanical Characteristics Mounting 10 4 GPS 18x PC GPS 18x LVC GPS 18x 5Hz Software Interface 12 4 ...

Page 4: ... in Garmin Mode 28 Appendix D GPS 18x PC LVC 18x 5Hz Windows Serial Mouse Issue 29 Appendix E Sensor Configuration Software 31 Downloading the Sensor Configuration Software 31 Selecting a Model 31 Connecting to the Sensor 31 File Menu 32 Comm Menu 32 Config Menu 32 View Menu 33 Help Menu 33 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1 GPS 18x LVC GPS 18x 5Hz Wire Pinout 8 Figure 1 Computer Serial Port Inter...

Page 5: ...ration of this device is subject to the following conditions 1 this device may not cause harmful interference and 2 this device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and may cause harmful interference to radio communications if not installed and used in accordance with the...

Page 6: ...IABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL SPECIAL INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHETHER RESULTING FROM THE USE MISUSE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT OR FROM DEFECTS IN THE PRODUCT Some states do not allow the exclusion of incidental or consequential damages so the above limitations may not apply to you Garmin retains the exclusive right to repair or replace the unit or software or offer a full refund of the ...

Page 7: ...etain critical data such as satellite orbital parameters last known position date and time End user interfaces such as keyboards and displays are the responsibility of the application designer 1 4 FEATURES GPS receiver tracks and uses multiple satellites for fast accurate positioning and velocity estimates Differential DGPS capability using real time WAAS corrections yielding position errors of le...

Page 8: ...e refer to Appendix D GPS 18x PC LVC 18x 5Hz Window Serial Mouse Issue for complete details 1 5 3 GPS 18x LVC GPS 18x LVC 5m and GPS 18x 5Hz These products interface to a serial port The units accept TIA 232 F RS 232 level inputs and transmit voltage levels that swing from ground to the positive supply voltage TIA 232 F RS 232 polarity They also have reverse polarity protection The cable contains ...

Page 9: ...minutes 1 6 1 5 Cable Length GPS 18x USB 2 meter GPS 18x PC 2 meter GPS 18x LVC 5 meter Garmin Part Number 010 00321 36 GPS 18x 5Hz 5 meter 1 6 2 Electrical Characteristics 1 6 2 1 Input Voltage GPS 18x USB 4 4 5 5 Vdc GPS 18x PC 8 30 Vdc Automotive supply from cigarette lighter jack GPS 18x LVC 4 0 5 5 Vdc GPS 18x 5Hz 4 0 5 5 Vdc 1 6 2 2 Input Current GPS 18x USB 110 mA 5 0 Vdc GPS 18x PC 65 mA 1...

Page 10: ...Velocity 0 1 knot RMS steady state Measurement Pulse Output Time 1 microsecond at rising edge of the pulse Dynamics 999 knots velocity only limited at altitude greater than 60 000 feet 2g dynamics 1 6 4 Interfaces 1 6 4 1 GPS 18x Electrical Characteristics GPS 18x USB USB 2 0 full speed protocol compatible as well as USB 1 1 full speed protocol GPS 18x PC and LVC TIA 232 F RS 232 compatible asynch...

Page 11: ...de See section 4 1 Received NMEA 0183 Sentences for format descriptions Configurable for binary data output 1 6 4 4 Measurement Pulse Output GPS 18x LVC GPS 18x 5Hz only GPS 18x LVC 1 Hz pulse with programmable width configurable in 20 ms increments form 20 ms to 980 ms See section 4 1 3 Sensor Configuration Information PGRMC for details about configuring the Measurement Pulse Output or PPS featur...

Page 12: ...armin for testing purposes You can remove this connector without voiding your warranty see section 1 2 Limited Warranty 2 1 GPS 18x LVC GPS 18x 5Hz PINOUT GPS 18x Pin Color Signal Name Wire Gauge 1 Yellow Measurement Pulse Output 28 2 Red Vin 26 3 Black Ground 28 4 White Transmit Data 28 5 Black Ground 26 6 Green Receive Data 28 Table 1 GPS 18x LVC GPS 18x 5Hz Wire Pinout 2 2 GPS 18x LVC GPS 18x 5...

Page 13: ...Figure 2 PDA Serial Port Interconnection Figure 3 Basic NMEA Device Interconnection 190 00879 08 GPS 18x Technical Specifications Rev B Page 9 ...

Page 14: ... similar mounting geometry for mount formed from aluminum sheet metal that is 1 25 mm thick Use caution when tightening the mounting bolt Tightening the mounting bolt can cause the mount to pull tight directly against the metal insert not against the plastic housing which would tend to pull the insert out of the plastic Figure 6 shows the dimensions of our GPS 18x Flush Mount part number 010 10453...

Page 15: ...re 5 GPS 18x Suction Cup Mount Center Hole Dimensions UNITS MILLIMETERS Figure 6 GPS 18x Flush Mount Dimensions Figure 7 GPS 18x Flush Mount Center Hole Dimensions 190 00879 08 GPS 18x Technical Specifications Rev B Page 11 ...

Page 16: ...tence transmitted and received by the GPS 18x PC LVC and GPS 18x 5Hz products 4 1 RECEIVED NMEA 0183 SENTENCES The following paragraphs define the sentences that can be received on the GPS sensors port Null fields in the configuration sentence indicate no change in the particular configuration parameter All sentences received by the GPS sensor must be terminated with CR LF the ASCII characters for...

Page 17: ...by sending PGRMCE to the GPS sensor PGRMC 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 hh CR LF 1 Fix mode A Automatic 3 3D exclusively 2 Altitude above below mean sea level 1500 0 to 18000 0 meters 3 Earth datum index If the user datum index 96 is specified fields 4 through 8 must contain valid values Otherwise fields 4 through 8 must be null Refer to Appendix A Earth Datum List for a list of earth datum and...

Page 18: ... section 4 1 2 Sensor Initialization Information PGRMI If the GPS sensor is in the Binary data mode it is necessary to send the following eight byte data stream to temporarily change the data format to NMEA 0183 Then follow by sending a PGRMC1 sentence that turns off the Binary Output Data format 10 0A 02 26 00 CE 10 03 Hexadecimal 4 1 5 Output Sentence Enable Disable PGRMO The PGRMO sentence prov...

Page 19: ...for Available Baud Rates The maximum number of fields allowed in a single sentence is 82 characters including delimiters Values in the table include the sentence start delimiter character and the termination delimiter CR LF For the GPS 18x PC and LVC the factory set defaults result in a once per second transmission at the NMEA 0183 specification transmission rate of 4800 baud For the GPS 18x 5Hz t...

Page 20: ...transmitted this information for the leap second added December 31 1998 as follows GPRMC 235959 A 3851 3651 N 09447 9382 W 000 0 221 9 071103 003 3 E 69 GPRMC 000000 A 3851 3651 N 09447 9382 W 000 0 221 9 081103 003 3 E 67 GPRMC 000000 A 3851 3651 N 09447 9382 W 000 0 221 9 081103 003 3 E 67 GPRMC 000001 A 3851 3651 N 09447 9382 W 000 0 221 9 081103 003 3 E 66 If a negative leap second should be r...

Page 21: ... 2 5 GPS DOP and Active Satellites GSA GPGSA 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 6 hh CR LF 1 Mode M Manual A Automatic 2 Fix type 1 not available 2 2D 3 3D 3 PRN number 01 to 32 of satellite used in solution up to 12 transmitted leading zeros will be transmitted 4 Position dilution of precision 0 5 to 99 9 5 Horizontal dilution of precision 0 5 to 99 9 6 Vertical dilution of precision 0 5 to 99 9 4 2...

Page 22: ...to 359 degrees GPS 18x 5Hz 000 0 to 359 9 degrees leading zeros will be transmitted 2 Magnetic course over ground 000 to 359 degrees GPS 18x 5Hz 000 0 to 359 9 degrees leading zeros will be transmitted 3 Speed over ground GPS 18x PC and LVC 000 0 to 999 9 knots GPS 18x 5Hz 000 00 to 999 99 knots leading zeros will be transmitted 4 Speed over ground GPS 18x PC and LVC 0000 0 to 1851 8 kilometers pe...

Page 23: ...or Status Information PGRMT The Garmin Proprietary sentence PGRMT gives information concerning the status of the GPS sensor This sentence is transmitted once per minute regardless of the selected baud rate PGRMT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 hh CR LF 1 Product model and software version variable length field for example GPS 18x VER 2 05 2 No Effect This field is not used on this model and is included only for...

Page 24: ...aud rate the information transmitted by the GPS 18x series products is referenced to the pulse immediately preceding the NMEA 0183 RMC sentence The accuracy of the one pulse per second output is maintained only while the GPS receiver is computing a valid position fix To obtain the most accurate results the one pulse per second output should be calibrated against a local time reference to compensat...

Page 25: ...22 CHUA ASTRO Paraguay 23 CORREGO ALEGRE Brazil 24 DJAKARTA BATAVIA Sumatra Island Indonesia 25 DOS 1968 Gizo Island New Georgia Islands 26 EASTER ISLAND 1967 Easter Island 27 EUROPEAN 1950 Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Gibraltar Greece Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland 28 EUROPEAN 1979 Austria Finland Netherlands Norway Spain Sweden Switzerland...

Page 26: ...d 60 NORTH AMERICAN 1927 Caribbean Barbados Caicos Islands Cuba Dominican Republic Grand Cayman Jamaica Leeward Islands Turks Islands 61 NORTH AMERICAN 1927 Mean Value CONUS 62 NORTH AMERICAN 1927 Cuba 63 NORTH AMERICAN 1927 Greenland Hayes Peninsula 64 NORTH AMERICAN 1927 Mexico 65 NORTH AMERICAN 1927 San Salvador Island 66 NORTH AMERICAN 1983 Alaska Canada Central America CONUS Mexico 67 NAPARIM...

Page 27: ... Falkland Island 90 SCHWARZECK Namibia 91 SOUTHEAST BASE Porto Santo and Madeira Islands 92 SOUTHWEST BASE Faial Graciosa Pico Sao Jorge and Terceira Islands Azores 93 TIMBALAI 1948 Brunei and East Malaysia Sarawak and Sabah 94 TOKYO Japan Korea Okinawa 95 TRISTAN ASTRO 1968 Tristan da Cunha 96 User defined earth datum 97 VITI LEVU 1916 Viti Levu Island Fiji Islands 98 WAKE ENIWETOK 1960 Marshall ...

Page 28: ...e 10 decimal to signify that the record is a command The data portion of the packet should be one of the following Function Command base 10 Position Record On 49 Position Record Off 50 Note that the satellite data information is also enabled when the position record is enabled Records sent over RS232 begin with a delimiter byte 10 hex The second byte identifies the record type 33 hex for a positio...

Page 29: ...ata for the specified satellite 1 The unit has a differential correction for the specified satellite 2 The unit is using this satellite in the solution This pattern is repeated for 12 satellites for a total of 12 X 7 bytes 84 0x54 bytes The RS 232 Packet for the Satellite Record looks like 0x10 DLE is first byte 0x72 Record ID single byte 0x54 Number of data bytes single byte 12 cpo_sat_data recor...

Page 30: ...psoid altitude meters epe Estimated position error meters eph Position error horizontal meters epv Position error vertical meters fix 0 no fix 1 no fix 2 2D 3 3D 4 2D differential 5 3D differential 6 and greater not defined gps_tow GPS time of week sec lat Latitude radians lon Longitude radians lon_vel Longitude velocity meters second lat_vel Latitude velocity meters second alt_vel Altitude veloci...

Page 31: ...nitialize static variables static char in_que 256 static int in_que_ptr 0 static rx_state_type rx_state DAT void add_to_que char data define DLE_BYTE 0x10 define ETX_BYTE 0x03 if rx_state DAT if data DLE_BYTE rx_state DLE else in_que in_que_ptr data else if rx_state DLE if data ETX_BYTE rx_state ETX else rx_state DAT in_que in_que_ptr data else if rx_state ETX if data DLE_BYTE rx_state DLE if in_q...

Page 32: ... integer for example 38361 decimal 5 Determine the actual baud rate value from the data sent in step 4 This value will be within 5 of the actual baud rate For example the GPS unit might send a baud rate of 38361 which correlates to a baud rate of 38400 6 If the baud rate in step 5 is acceptable transmit packet id IOP_ACK_BYTE 0x06 data IOP_BAUD_ACPT_DATA 0x31 7 Sleep for a small amount of time abo...

Page 33: ... click on Serial BallPoint Mouse and choose the option to Disable NOT uninstall this device Solution 2 Do not plug the DB9 connector into the computer until the computer is turned on and the operating system is completely booted up and running Every time you use the GPS 18x PC LVC you will need to start the computer and operating system before making the connection between the GPS 18x PC and the c...

Page 34: ...Data to change the GPS 18x to Garmin Mode The unit will keep this change in the programming until you change it again in the software Note Selecting Config Switch to Garmin Mode or pressing the F11 key only changes the unit to work in Garmin Mode until power is cycled through the unit again For a more permanent change refer to step 8 above 9 Click OK 10 When you are ready to upload the changes int...

Page 35: ...nload Selecting a Model After opening the program snsrcfg exe the Set Base Model to Window appears Select the radio button next to the type of Garmin sensor you are configuring Connecting to the Sensor After selecting the type of sensor the following window opens This is the Main Interface Screen for the program To configure your sensor you must first connect to the xsensor 1 Select Config Switch ...

Page 36: ...e sensor as it is connected Sensor Configuration F6 Opens the Sensor Configuration Window shown to the right Many of the fields in this window should be left alone Please refer to the beginning of this manual for clarification about some of these fields For the most part this window is used to enter a new latitude longitude and altitude for the sensor This is especially helpful when you are progra...

Page 37: ...locate both the rgn file and the updater exe file View Menu The View Menu allows you to view the NMEA sentences transmitted by the sensor You can also customize how the program looks by showing and hiding the Toolbar and Status Bar Help Menu The Help Menu displays the software version and copyright information For the latest free software updates excluding map data throughout the life of your Garm...

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