How to bring GPS signals into a controller

Procedure to connect a GPS received to a Q.series controller and read the signals

The Q.series controllers have the option to connect a GPS receiver for

• time synchronization
• live position data

A Gantner controller such as a Q.station has drivers for NMEA 0183 protocol or Garmin USB devices. The NMEA 0183 standard defines the communication between a GPS receiver and the device. The NMEA data sets used in the controller are:

• $GPRMC (Recommended Minimum Sentence C)
• $GPGGA (includes position information, number of satellites, …)

Recommended GPS receivers

The following GPS receivers are recommended:

• The Navilock 62531 can be mounted on a roof of a cabinet or vehicle.
   
• The Navilock 62523 looks like a PC mouse and can be placed anywhere. It also has a magnetic bottom to fix it to a metal part.
  
  

Controller configuration

1. Connect the GPS receiver to the USB port on the controller
2. In GI.bench, double-click the controller to open the Controller Settings window
3. Enter a Device count of 1
4. Select the port the GPS receiver is connected to
5. Select the type (NMEA-0183 receiver or Garmin USB-GPS receiver)
6. Enter the appropriate parameters for baud rate and format based on the GPS receiver
7. If you would like to synchronize the controller's time to the GPS clock, check the box for Enable time sync
8. Click OK and write updates to the controller

Get positioning data

Create arithmetic virtual variables using the function GetPositioningData() it is possible to get some more information out of the GPS signal:

GetPositioningData(Selector;InfoSelector)

Selector: defines the USB port to which the device is connected (Q.station X). 

InfoSelector