Note: The free version of Google Globe now supports GPS, merely all this info is nonetheless relevant.
Before I post about the options for doing real-time GPS tracking in Google World Gratuitous, there are potential complications to talk about: getting your GPS to communicate both with your calculator, and with Google Earth. While Google Earth supports both NMEA and the Garmin USB PVT interface, virtually of the gratis and inexpensive options I'll be talking virtually crave an NMEA serial connectedness. Depending on what kind of GPS you take, and what kind of reckoner ports you accept, that may be straightforward, just may non.
If your GPS has a serial connectedness, and your computer has a serial port for it to plug into, you should be prepare. Most GPS units with a serial connexion let yous set information technology for either a proprietary interface or for NMEA. Check your owner'due south transmission to find out how to enable the NMEA interface, and set it to the default speed of 4800 baud. Just don't forget to ready it dorsum to the proprietary protocol for other software; NMEA transmits position and hardware data just, and so you lot can't utilize it to upload and download tracks and waypoints.
Only what if your GPS only has a USB interface? Some GPS units with USB interfaces come with special software that will convert the USB connexion into a virtual series port that programs similar Google Earth tin recognize and use with the NMEA protocol, while others (notably some Garmin units) don't. Nigh (but non all) of the complimentary and cheap real-time trackers I'll be discussing won't work straight with these Garmin units, though Google Earth Plus will. Note: If you ain a Garmin GPS 18, a unit/antenna with no brandish designed to work with laptops, Garmin has a free program called Spanner that will convert the USB connection to a virtual serial port connection that supports NMEA.
You can purchase a programme called Franson GPSGate, which converts a Garmin USB GPS connection into i or more virtual series COM ports, any of which can exist used to found an NMEA connexion with any software that accepts it. There are two version of this program – the Limited Version, which allows you to create and use two virtual series ports simultaneously, while the Standard Version allows the creation of whatever number of virtual serial ports. The Limited Version of GPSGate is $9.95, while the Standard version is $29.95.
You may ask, why non just use the full version of Google World Plus for $20, which supports the Garmin USB connection? You could, and it might brand sense for you. Simply there are three advantages to buying and using the GPSGate instead:
i. The NMEA connection is a standard for many programs that support GPS, not all of which support the USB protocol.
2. Multiple virtual series ports means that you can have more than one program receiving data from your GPS. With USB, or with a single real serial port for that matter, only ane program tin can receive information from the GPS at a time.
3. If you buy any version of GPSGate, you are eligible to download and use Franson's gratis plug-in for existent-time tracking in Google Globe. And information technology's actually a pretty skilful plug-in as well, better than some of the free and cheap options I'll be talking about in futurity posts, and probably better than Google World Plus'south limited existent-fourth dimension tracking adequacy. So if you spend $nine.95 for the Express Version of GPSGate, yous get the capability to connect to all NMEA-enabled programs, you lot connect your GPS to two of those programs simultaneously, and you go a decent real-time Google Earth tracker thrown in equally well.
Another problem that might arise is that your GPS has a serial interface, simply your figurer doesn't. If you're going to be doing real-time tracking on your computer, you lot're probably going to use a laptop computer (lugging a desktop around for real-time tracking is probably a non-starter). If your GPS cable plugs into a serial port, and then you'll need to have a serial port on your reckoner to plug into. But serial ports are a dying breed, quickly being replaced by USB ports,; many computers,peculiarly laptops, don't take a serial port on them anymore. Yous tin buy a USB-to-serial adapter, but you take to be conscientious – cheap ones are available, but they often don't piece of work at all with GPS units. I apply the Keyspan 19HS, and know that it works well; GPS equipment vendors on eBay also comport USB to series adapters that will piece of work with most serial GPS units.
Another complexity: Make sure your unit is set to the WGS84 datum when you lot're doing real-time tracking using NMEA. A datum is a mathematical clarification of the shape of the Globe, which is used in correctly mapping and displaying coordinates. If y'all haven't changed your datum e'er, information technology'south most certainly already set up to WGS84. Using an different datum (like NAD27) when Google Earth expects WGS84 can place you lot at a location hundreds, of anxiety away from your actual ane. If you're using your GPS with a USB connection, or with a proprietary protocol on some other software, this isn't an result – regardless of what datum is attack your GPS, the data sent to the calculator will nearly e'er be in the WGS84 datum.
Don't forget also that there are inaccuracies associated with both GPS measurements and Google Earth locations. Then don't expect to exist able to use whatsoever existent-fourth dimension GE tracking organization as the automotive equivalent of musical instrument-only flight, fifty-fifty on an empty road. And if you're the driver, let your passengers handle the real-time tracking; getting distracted by the real-time tracking is something you don't need when you're driving.
One last matter: As you explore an area for the showtime time in Google Earth, it downloads the information over your Internet connexion and saves it in a cache directory on your hard bulldoze. The adjacent fourth dimension you visit the same area, information technology checks your enshroud to meet if the data is withal there. If yes, it loads it from your hard drive, since that'south faster than downloading it again from the Cyberspace. If you're out in the field, or driving your car, unless you have a high-speed wireless Internet service, yous're not going to exist able to download the information from the Internet in your remote location. But if cached data for that location is on your hard drive, Google Earth will retrieve and use it for its display. To enshroud the data for an expanse yous'll be using the remote tracking, just visit it using Google Earth while you're still hooked upwards to the Internet, and it volition exist cached automatically for remote ues. The default disk cache size for Google Earth is 400 MB; if you lot have enough hard drive space, it's a good idea to increase that to the maximum of 2 GB. From the GE carte du jour, select Tools => Options …, click on the Cache tab, then enter 2000 for the Disk Cache Size in MB.
Oh, one last concluding thing: some of these existent-time trackers may be a chip irksome in going to and following your current position. If that's the case, go to Tools => Options => Touring, and move the slider for "Fly-To Speed" to the correct; that should speed things up.
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