Compatible GPSes

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gpsd should work with any GPS or AIS receiver using an RS232C or USB interface that advertises NMEA-0183 compliance. Here are some notes on hardware we have tested. Hyperlinks lead to technical information. The "Works with" column is the last gpsd version with which this receiver is known to have been successfully tested; A in this column means we have a regression test load for the device that is checked before each release. Vendors are listed in alphabetical order.

There is also a table of PPS-capable receivers which may be appropriate for timing use.

Warning: the baudrate-hunting code in gpsd tickles serious firmware bugs on some Bluetooth and USB devices. These bugs may send affected GPSes catatonic. See this bug warning for a description of the problem. Where possible, we indicate this in the device table.

Icons used in the table:

marks devices with Excellent performance: gpsd recognizes the receiver rapidly and reliably, reports are complete and correct.
marks devices with Good performance: gpsd has minor problems or lag recognizing the device, but reports are complete and correct.
marks devices with Fair performance: reports have minor dropouts or problems, including occasional transient nonsense values.
marks devices with Poor performance: reports frequently have values that are wrong or nonsense.
marks devices which are Broken; gpsd frequently fails to recognize the device at all.
marks devices that needed the gpsd -b option when tested. Usually these are Bluetooth devices with defective firmware that does not handle baud-rate changes properly. Some poorly-designed USB devices choke if they are fed too many probe strings; these may work better with recent versions of gpsd, which interleaves probe writes with the first few packet reads.
marks devices for which we have a regression-test load. These are checked on every release.
marks devices that have been discontinued by their manufacturers.
marks devices which will be recognized by the Linux hotplug system when they are plugged in. If you installed gpsd from a binary package,or did "make udev-install" from the source distribution, this should mean you never have to launch gpsd manually; the udev syatem will launch it for you when it sees a device of this kind go active.

Note that in most cases (including the bug), poor ratings reflect problems not in gpsd but rather in device design and firmware so badly botched that gpsd cannot compensate.

This table is generated from a capability database in the gpsd source tree. Please help us enrich the database with new devices by filling out this form.