Data Hacking

Chapter 7 — Making Connections
4. Pair the devices. Most Bluetooth devices must be paired before use (for security, most
Bluetooth devices have to be introduced to one another and a pin code inserted the first
time they are connected to prevent unauthorized connections). Consult your manual for
instructions for how to do that.
5. Check connection type and speed. Make sure that both the GPS and software are set to
the same protocol and data transfer speed. For NMEA, try speeds of 4800 or 9600 bps.
Software-Specific Issues
Numerous software-specific issues can cause problems for those wishing to make use of a GPS
and a PC or PDA. The following sections cover some of those issues.
Erratic Mouse Pointer after Connecting a GPS
Sometimes after you install and connect a GPS to a PC, the mouse pointer will jump around
the screen in what appears to be an erratic, unpredictable fashion. As you can guess, what is
happening here is that the PC is taking the signal from the GPS and interpreting it as mouse
information. Use the following steps to troubleshoot this problem:
1. Restart the PC. With the GPS connected at startup, the system should detect both the
mouse and the GPS and work properly.
2. If this doesn’t work, download and install new drivers for your mouse from the vendor’s
website. This should reset the settings and cause the pointer to ignore the GPS data.
3. Unfortunately, some GPS-mouse combinations cannot be fixed directly (usually it’s a
bad driver issue), and these problems can generally only be fixed either by reverting to
using a basic driver supplied by the operating system or by replacing the offending
mouse (try to get a USB mouse, as these are less prone to problems).
4. Check for updated drivers for the GPS too. These might be helpful in solving such
problems.
Windows XP Problem: Microsoft Ball Point
Here’s another interesting problem: You connect the GPS to your PC, and Windows XP or
2000 identifies it as a “Microsoft Serial Ball Point.” This prevents the GPS from working as
a GPS because the system thinks that it is a mouse. The solution is fortunately quite simple:
Disable the fictitious mouse and the GPS will then work just fine.
Here are the steps to follow:
1. Boot the computer with the GPS receiver attached. The cursor might be behaving
erratically and jumping around the screen, or all sorts of other unwanted behavior may
be observed.
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