Re: [gpsd-users] Set up for time sync and separate serial port use

[Pittman, Randall]

Again, thank you. This is helpful. I'm going to keep reading and thinking about 
this.
Best,
Randyh

Randall Pittman
Faculty Research Assistant | School of Civil and Construction Engineering | 
Oregon State University
Location: 006 Covell Hall | Mailing: 101 Kearney Hall | Corvallis, OR 97331-2132
Office: 541-737-2102 | Mobile: 541-286-7896


-----Original Message-----
From: gpsd-users [mailto:address@hidden On Behalf Of Gary E. Miller
Sent: Friday, March 10, 2017 1:09 PM
To: address@hidden
Subject: Re: [gpsd-users] Set up for time sync and separate serial port use

Yo Randall!

On Fri, 10 Mar 2017 20:29:04 +0000
"Pittman, Randall" <address@hidden> wrote:

> Thank you for the response, Gary. I have skimmed over the Time Service 
> howto, as well as the Garmin GPS 18 ntpd recipe 
> [http://www.rjsystems.nl/en/2100-ntpd-garmin-gps-18-lvc-gpsd.php].

Good.  I sure hope you are not using a Garmin 18!  That tutorial is pretty old 
too.  And the way he did the RS-232 will not work on many systems, he forgot 
the level translator.  RS-232 is +/- 12V and the Garmin 18 is 0 to 5V data.  
Some serial ports will work, others not.

He is also wrong about ntpd caring about getting input every second...

His minpoll o4 4 is OK on some hosts, but things like RasPi prefer 
minpoll=maxpoll=2.  A tweak you will not need for a long time, if ever.

A good start, but use more current sources for the details.

> 1. My GPS (Hemisphere Vector V103) starts up at 19200 baud, but can be 
> changed to a max 38400 baud with $JBAUD

Keep an eye on it, at 20Hz the speed 19200 may be too low.  You'll know if the 
messages lag.

> 2. The V103 starts up with a default set of messages, but I want to 
> turn those off and only enable the messages that I need.

Very normal.  You could write a simple script to send the setup you want and 
then start gpsd.

> 3. It is crucial that I receive the PASHR (heading, pitch, roll,
> heave) and GPGGA messages at the max 20Hz rate as this unit is being 
> used to geolocate marine radar imagery at long ranges on a boat.
> These two messages use about 25600 of my 38400 baud budget.

Ouch.  Can't it do 56,400?  And you can't calulate the BW needed that 
accurately.  NMEA messeages are variable length.

> 4. I would like to bring GPS timing along for the ride. I'm worried 
> that if I let gpsd talk to my unit it will mess up the message 
> configuration that I need.

The -b option tells gpsd not to send to the GPS.  But easier is to code your 
deisred setup into gpsd.  Prolly not a 1 day project...


> so it must not be strictly necessary for gpsd to talk to the unit for 
> it to be able to do timing.

Correct, just a LOT easier to let gpsd do the setup work.  In your case you are 
gonna have to do the setup work.

> I guess my python app and the splitter are not strictly necessary. I 
> could use the approach in the Garmin GPS 18 ntpd recipe and in the 
> step where he runs “$PGRMO,,4” for the Garmin unit, I could run the 
> commands to set the baud rate, disable default messages, and then 
> enable the messages I want.

Or you can start gpsd and then use gpsctl to send your setup messages through 
gpsd.

> And then I could use gpspipe to get the data, as you mentioned. So… is 
> it sufficient to enable GPRMC, GPGSA, and GPGSV at 1Hz for timing to 
> work? Would more often be any better?

The PPS only comes once a second, so faster is not better.  You can easily get 
to 1 micro second with the PPS. gpsd just needs to know the current second, and 
know that the PPS is valid by looking at the GPS status.

GPGSA and GPGSV do not come every second, just when needed, which can cause 
unexpected bottlenecks in the data stream.

I think GPRMC also needs GPZDA to get the current year.

> Also, if I change the baud rate to 38400 with $JBAUD, will gpsd 
> automatically figure that out and switch the baud rate of the serial 
> port?

On startup if gpsd can not grok the data it will autobaud.  It will also 
autobaud when the data stream is lost.  So if you use stty to set the port 
speed before starting gpsd then gpsd will not go into autobaud.  You can also 
force gpsd into a fixed speed mode, but no need if you are careful with stty.

RGDS
GARY
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary E. Miller Rellim 109 NW Wilmington Ave., Suite E, Bend, OR 97703
        address@hidden  Tel:+1 541 382 8588

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