communicating with novatell gps unit

[suni]

Hi,

I am trying to communicate with Novatell GPS (propack V3) unit using serial port using VISA. I am using Labview 8.6. Do i need to add this device in MAX in order for me to use VISA function. Can somebody point me in right direction? Thanks

[Dennis_Knutson]

You do not need to add the device in MAX and in fact, you cannot add the device in MAX. As long as your serial port is listed, you can use VISA to communicate.

[suni]

Thanks for the reply.

I wrote a simple code with visa configure serial port and visa read and visa close. This program is giving me some garbage info from the com port. Is there anything I missing in my program. Thanks.  

[Dennis_Knutson]

Since you did not post your program, I have no idea if anything is missing but the first thing you should do is test the communication with a program like Hyperterminal. That way, you can debug the com settings and cable. You also might have to convert the data from the unit. If you have an electronic copy of the manual, it would help to attach it here.

There have also been a lot of posts on connecting to GPS receivers. Do a sarch for that or NMEA.