Compatible GPSes

Search for hardware information here:

gpsd should work with any GPS 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 GPS is known to have been successfully tested. Vendors are listed in alphabetical order.

Name	Compatibility	Chipset	Interface	Works with	NMEA version	Notes
Adapt Mobile
AD-500	Good	Nemerix	Bluetooth and USB (PL2303)	2.32	3.01?	Reported by Dennis van Zuijlekom <tmib@xs4all.nl>.
Axiom Navigation
Sandpiper II	Good	SiRFstar 1	RS232	2.34	2.2	The vendor is out of business, but there are lots of these still around in 2006. Complete documentation for this OEM module has been archived here. Reported by "Eric S. Raymond" <esr@thyrsus.com>
Billionton
CompactFlash GPS	Good	SiRFstarII	CF	2.16	2.2	Uses SiRF firmware version 220.006.000ES. Accepts WAAS Mode Disable (`$PSRF108,0002`) and WAAS Mode Enable (`$PSRF108,0103`) controls. Reported by Oleg Gusev <oleg@crista.uni-wuppertal.de>.
BONA Computech
iGPS-M	Good	uNav	USB (PL2303)	2.28	3.0	Reported by Romain Goyet <r.goyet@gmail.com>. The chipset manufacturer's webpage is here.
Central Pacific
GP-27	Good	Nemerix	Bluetooth	pre-2.29	3.01	Reported by Tobias Minich <belgabor@gmx.de> There are proprietary PNMRX{30[0124],603} sentences that are only sent on change or by request Several sentences can be sent to the device to change settings or request information. DO NOT USE THE PNMRX100 SENTENCE TO CHANGE THE BAUD RATE! This is not supported by the bluetooth chip on the device. Settings are saved in flash powered by a backup battery and persistent over connections and when you turn it off. The syntax of the PNMRX303 message and part 4 of the PNMRX603 message may differ from the syntax found in several documents on the net.
DeLorme
EarthMate USB	Good	SiRFstarII	USB (Cypress M8 CY7C64013)	2.5	2.2	This is the replacement for the old Zodiac version that spoke Rockwell binary protocol. Some other sentences can be enabled. Requires a 2.6.10 or better kernel for the Cypress USB-HID support.
EarthMate	Good	Zodiac	RS-232	2.0	2.2?	The old Zodiac version spoke Rockwell binary protocol. These models have been discontinued but are still common.
TripMate	Good	Zodiac	RS-232	1.97	?	Discontinued sometime before November 1998. Takes optional latitude and longitude initialization.
Garmin
Garmin GPS-16	Good	Garmin	RS-232	2.7	2.0	DGPS information in GPGGA sentence is not returned. Magnetic variation information is not available in binary mode. Garmin uses a nonstandard 16-bit SNR scale for signal quality in GSA. Can be switched to NMEA 3.0 with PGRMC1. Reported by Ron Marosko, Jr. <rmarosko@wirelessfrontier.net> and Amaury Jacquot <sxpert@esitcom.org>.
Garmin GPS-18 USB	Good	Garmin	USB	2.5	N/A	The USB version requires the Linux kernel garmin_usb driver; DOP (Dilution of Precision) information is not available (Garmin protocol includes EPE only); gpsd uses EPE to approximate DOP. Magnetic variation information is not available. Garmin uses a nonstandard 16-bit SNR scale. WAAS is supported.
Garmin GPS-18 (all but USB)	Good	Garmin	RS-232	2.5	2.0 and 2.3	The RS232 versions emit NMEA and are found by normal autoconfiguration. GPS-18 LVC and GPS-18 LVC/5m have PPS outputs. WAAS is supported.
Garmin 48	Excellent	Garmin	RS-232	2.3	2.0	Garmin 12XL and 45 are nearly identical and should work as well. Details on Garmin's proprietary protocol can be found here.
Garmin GPS 60	Good	?	USB	2.33	3.0	Reported by Diego Berge (contact)
Garmin GPS 76	Good	Garmin	USB (PL2303)	2.13	?	Reported by Sebastian Niehaus <killedbythoughts@mindcrime.net> He says it's "Software Version 3.70".
Garmin Geko 201	Good	Garmin	RS-232	2.13	3.0	Reported by Jose Luis Domingo Lopez <jdomingo@24x7linux.com>
Garmin eTrex ("Vista" model)	Good	?	RS232	2.32	?	Reported by Reed Hedges <reed@interreality.org>
GlobalSat
BT-318	Good	SiRFstarII	Bluetooth	2.20	2.2	Reported by Frank Nicholas <frank@nicholasfamilycentral.com>.
BT-338	Good	SiRFStarIII	Bluetooth	2.13	2.3?	Reported by Michal Panczyk <mpanczyk@gmail.com>
BU-303	Excellent	SiRFstarII	USB (PL2303)	2.24	2.2	GlobalSat provided three test units, SiRF firmware level 231ES. Older versions of the BU-303 had a design defect that made it likely to fail if subjected to vibration or mechanical shock, but this was fixed in September 2004. There is a CF version of this called the BU-307; we have a report that it works but no test hardware.
BU-353	Good	SiRFstarIII	USB (PL2303)	pre-2.29	2.3	This receiver, or at least the firmware it ships with does not support PPS timing output, nor does it support WAAS - something born out by the claimed 10m positioning accuracy. These will hopefully be fixed in future firmware revisions. The increased sensitivity is nice, but the lack of WAAS and PPS could be show-stoppers for various applications. Reported by Chris Kuethe <chris.kuethe@gmail.com>.
TripNav TN-200	Excellent	SiRFstarII	USB (FTDI FT232)	2.16	2.2	We tested a version with SiRF Firmware level 231ES. The FTDI USB-to-serial chip is supported only as alpha software not yet incorporated into the Linux kernel, though it seems to be well supported by OS X and various BSDs. It seems like the only difference between this and the BU-303 is the different USB-to-serial chip.
Haicom
HI-204S	Excellent	SiRFstarII	USB (PL2303)	2.24	2.2	SiRF firmware level 231ES (XTrac). Haicom provided a test unit. Manual states incorrectly that VTG is off by default.
HI-204E	Excellent	Evermore BBP1202	USB	2.6	2.2	Probably uses PL2303 but we have not verified this.
HI-303S	Good	SiRFstarII	RS232	2.25	2.2	From Denis Perchine <dyp@perchine.com> NMEA works, but SiRF binary does not. This device seems to ignore the $PSRF100 mode switch command. (SiRF binary may be available on the auxiliary serial port, but this is unconfirmed.) This device ships with XTrac Firmware.
Holux
GM-210	Good	SiRFstarII	RS232	2.24	2.2	Reported by Patrick L. McGillan <pmcgillan@pateri.com>.
GR-230	Poor	SiRFstarII	Bluetooth	2.19	2.2	4 color LED showing: Bluetooth, Navigation Update and Battery and Charger Status Indication. FLASH based program memory. Firmware upgradeable through serial interface. Water resistant.
GPSlim 236	Poor	SiRFstarIII	Bluetooth	2.30	2.2	Doesn't report altitude reliably. Optional interfaces: mini-USB -> USB, needing a special cable : GR230-A2 (USB data cable), otherwise it will not work/ mini-USB -> RS232, need cable GR230-A1(RS232 data cable), I didn't try it with a normal cable. mini-USB -> PS2, need cable GR230-A3 (Mini USB port to PS2 port ), I didn't try it with a normal cable. Reported by "Kévin Redon" <kevredon@gmail.com>
i.Trek
M3	Good	SiRFstarIII	Bluetooth	2.28	2.20	The product page points at a retail site carrying these because the vendor site is in Japanese only. This GPS emits a weirdly broken GSA sentence that crashed gpsd versions prior to 2.28. Serial parameters default to 38400; 8, N, 1. May come bundled with Microsoft Streets and Trips. Reported by Lance Fetters <ashikase@users.sourceforge.net>
Magellan
EC-10X	Good	Old Rockwell (Jupiter?)	RS232	2.24	?	It was cool in its day, now it's a dinosaur mainly good for regression testing. NMEA time is accurate to about 500mS. Reported by Gary E. Miller <gem@rellim.com>.
Meridian Platinum	Excellent	Motorola	RS232	2.21	v1.5 APA, v1.5 XTE, v2.1 GSA	Reported by Chris S. Newell <chris@newellfamily.net>
eXplorist 210	Good	Unknown	USB	2.32	2.1	USB has 3 modes — NMEA data comm (3 submodes): outputs GPS data (creates /dev/ttyACM0), USB file transfer: transfer files (creates /dev/sdX and /dev/sdX1), or Power Only: use USB only for electrical power. The APA and XTE extensions choke gpsd, so select V2.1 GSA under <NMEA Data Comm>. Reported by paul van den berg <paulberg@wanadoo.nl>
Motorola
Oncore GT+	Good	Motorola	RS232 or TTL	2.20	2.2	The Motorola Oncore product family has been discontinued. RTCM input, no WAAS. In binary mode can deliver differential correction for another Oncore GT+. Similar Motorola Oncore UT timing receiver has less functions but better timing accuracy. Reported by Wojciech Kazubski <wk@ire.pw.edu.pl>.
NaviSky
NSA U3	Excellent	SiRFstarII	USB (PL2303)	2.24	2.x	Included with Rand McNally's horrible Windows navigation software. Reported by Jeff Francis <jeff@gritch.org>
Navman
Jupiter 20	Good	Jupiter 20 (SiRFstarII), Jupiter 21DR Firmware	RS232	2.32	2.2	Not a complete GPS, but a chipset. It's running with an external gyro on a our self-developed board. Reported by Andreas Stricker <andreas.stricker@fela.ch>
Pharos
GPS-360	Good	SiRFstarII	USB (PL2303)	2.23	2.3	Reported by Robert Pouliot <krynos@saturnus.com> The Pharos comes with adaptors for SDIO, CF, USB and plain RS232. Usually ships with XTrac firmware. It is strongly recommended that this device not be flashed with a different firmware as all reflashed receivers tested thus far fail to work afterward. May come bundled with Microsoft Streets and Trips.
Rikaline
GPS-6010 USB	Good	SiRFstarII	USB (PL2303)	2.20	2.2	Uses SiRF firmware version 2.3.2-GSW2-2.05.024-C1Prod1.1. Manufacturer claims it is waterproof (1 meter), WAAS and EGNOS are supported. Reported by Olli Salonen <olli@cabbala.net>.
GPS-6010-X5	Good	SiRFstarII	USB (PL2303)	2.20	2.2	The usb cable is a separate item to order. you can also order an rs232 cable or a pda cable. Reported by Koos van den Hout, <koos@kzdoos.xs4all.nl>
RoyalTek
Sapphire USB	Good	SiRFstarII	USB	1.97	2.2	There's an RS232 variant as well, not yet tested.
San Jose Navigation
FV-18	Good	FV-18	UART	2.0	2.3	Special gpsd support uses 8N2 and requests sentences that gpsd requires. OEM module only, not a retail product.
FV-25	Good	ANTARIS TIM-LP	UART	2.34	2.3	OEM module, available in small quantities from Tri-M systems. The ANTARIS chipset is End-of-Life. This module works in NMEA mode; UBX binary support is a work in progress. Firmware updates are available from uBlox; the update is strongly recommended as it fixes a number of UBX bugs, and adds useful new features. Reported by Chris Kuethe <chris.kuethe@gmail.com>
GM-38/12V	Bad	Furuno GN-77	RS232	2.21	2.x	Ships bad packet checksums when it doesn't have a fix. Reported by Angus Ainslie <angusa@deltatee.com>.
Techway
TP-051	Good	SiRFstarII	USB (PL2303)	2.3	2.x	Advertises that it's waterproof.
Trimble
Trimble Lassen SK	Good	Colossus RF ASIC, Scorpion DSP	UART	2.26	2.1	Reported by Rob Janssen.
Trimble Lassen iQ	Good	Colossus RF ASIC, IO-C33 (Epson C33 RISC)	USB (Silicon Labs CP2102)	2.34	3.0	Reported by Chris Kuethe <chris.kuethe@gmail.com>
u-blox
ANTARIS LEA-4H	Good	ANTARIS	RS-232	2.33	2.3	Sends 'E' in second field of GSA record, not an NMEA value. Actually sends '6' in the GGA status record for dead-reckoning fixes. Reported by Andreas Stricker <andreas.stricker@fela.ch>
ANTARIS LEA-4S	Good	ANTARIS	1USB+2UART	2.33	2.3	Reported by Ali Utku Selen
Wintec
WBT-200	Good	Fastrax itrax3 (uNav)	Bluetooth and USB (Silicon Laboratories CP2101)	2.34	3.0	iTalk support in gpsd is currently unusable, but the device functions well as a generic NMEA device. Reported by "Chris Kuethe" <chris.kuethe@gmail.com>

We want to extend this table. To report on a GPS, please tell us the following:

The GPS model name.
Whether or not it works.
If possible, an URL to a technical reference on it.
The GPS and (if applicable) USB-to-serial chip it uses. (Look at the output of lsusb(1), it may identify the USB-to-serial chip. If it gives a vendor and product ID, send us those numbers.)
The interface type (RS232, USB, CF, UART (= 5V TTL RS-232))
The vendor
Version of gpsd you tested with
NMEA version it emits, or '?' if the documentation doesn't say
Notes on the device

You should be able to determine many of these things by running gpsprof -f cycle against the device and looking at the output.

Notes on chipset support:

For vendor protocol protocol manuals see our Programmer's References page.

PL2303: support is broken in late 2.4 Linux kernels (it broke after 2.4.18) but good in 2.6.8 and later.

RS232 levels:

UART or TTL level RS-232 uses 0v and +5v, ordinary RS-232 uses -12v to -5v and +5v to +12 volts for the signal (IIRC). These are not compatible, and attempting to combine them can zorch your GPS. Converters do exist, see Google.

Untested Hardware:

Here is a list of the vendors we don't yet have test hardware from. An annoyingly large percentage of these outfits do not advertise email contact addresses on their websites. If you have test results for any of this hardware, please tell us. Most are straight NMEA and will probably work fine.

Name	Contact address	Products	Notes
DeLorme	?	Earthmate	Some newer Earthmates are SiRFstarII-based. The LT-20 uses "the ST Micro Vespucci STA2051 and the SiGe RF chip SE4100L."
Deluo	billing@deluo.com	Deluo GPS Pro	Looks like another SiRFstarII unit. Advertises Linux 2.4 support. USB and RS232-DB9 adaptors sold separately.
Garmin	sales@garmin.com	eTrex, foreTrex, GPS12, GPS72, GPS76	All handhelds with consoles. These guys are focused on the aviation market.
Laipac	?	G-10	Another SiRF unit.
Leadtek	gps@leadtek.com	GPS9531, GPS9532, GPS9543	SiRFstarII, uses R232C via RJ11 jack. One illustration of the 9531 seems to show the RJ11 plugged into an adaptor that goes to USB and DB9 connectors. The 9534 is a CF card.
Magellan	?	Roadmate, eXplorist, Meridian, SportTrack, MLR	Handhelds with consoles.
Rikaline	?	GPS-6012, GPS-6010-X5	The 6012 uses their own chipset; the others are SiRF-II. All ship with PS/2 connectors, presumably going to RS232 or USB adaptors.
Royaltek	?	Sapphire, Onyx	Sapphire is tested. There are two Onyx models: RFG-1000 and RFG-2000. The first one uses some 8-channel chipset, while the second - UNAV 12-channel (AFAIK without WAAS/EGNOS support), made of UNAV uN8021C RF frontend and uN8031B baseband processor (data sheets here) and designed by Fastrax. Fastrax claims 1/4s message rate support like the ANTARIS from u-blox, although it is not clear if the "consumer" firmware is capable of that.