GPS on a laptop

Canned Heat

New member
I apologize if this is posted in the wrong forum.
I know this is an often asked question because I have researched it extensively. However, I have not found an answer.
I have a laptop, Windows 10.
I can buy any USB GPS puck/receiver.
I can buy or download any maps.
I will be in remote locations with no cell or internet.
My needs are simpler than most. I do not need point a to b navigation. I do not need turn-by-turn navigation.
I only want to display my location - a moving dot - on the map. That's all. It would be nice to have auto-scrolling maps, yes, but even that is not necessary. I only want a moving dot showing my present location on the map.
Can anybody help?
(DeLorme Streets and Trips 2015 is a no because I have searched for it and cannot find it.)
Thanks all.
 

clydeps

Member
This reminds me of the joke about the tourists in Ireland who asked a farmer how to to get to Dublin. His answer - "well if you be wanting to go to Dublin I wouldn't be starting from here".
I have a laptop, Windows 10.
Therein lies the problem. It's like asking how to remove a screw with a hammer. It can be done, but it won't be pretty.

Just get a cheap phone/iPad/tablet and be done with it.
 

DRAX

Active member
Google Earth Pro for Windows does provide GPS support for Garmin and NMEA devices. There is unofficial offline map support with it as well, basically you view/zoom in on the areas you plan on traveling to generate cached map data on your PC that Google Earth will read while offline. That combined with a supported Garmin or NMEA GPS data stream should resemble what you're wanting. Problem is, there's just not much demand for supporting that kind of use anymore. Everything mobile is focusing on iOS and Android. I get wanting to use what you already have, but I predict that will end in frustration.
 

4000lbsOfGoat

Well-known member
My needs are simpler than most. I do not need point a to b navigation. I do not need turn-by-turn navigation.
I only want to display my location - a moving dot - on the map. That's all.
A laptop is an overblown solution to "simple needs". Any (cheap) Android phone will show you where you are on the map. Google Maps lets you download maps for offline use (not as easily as you might like, but it can be done).

I get wanting to use what you already have, but I predict that will end in frustration.
These are wise words.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
The fella asked about a laptop maybe because he has it already or needs it for other things? I have a laptop I use for work and for its main task a tablet isn't an option. I get to lug around a Dell Precision mobile workstation with an i7-1265/32GB.

So it's got the horsepower, why not just use it?

For basic map display I installed Cartograph on the machine:

And use these Mapsforge files:

And use your favorite USB GPS dongle. I've a couple, a Garmin GPS 18 puck but the generic uBlox-based one works just as well.

It puts a blue dot on an OSM map, nothing fancy, in the free version. If you pay for the Pro version (about $10) you get a few features, like being able to layer maps and load tracks. It's cross platform, I run it on my personal Mac and it can run on Android and iOS, too.

Screen Shot 2022-06-01 at 8.11.01 PM.png
 
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