SUBJECT Hardware -> GPS
Question: I want to connect a GPS to my laptop, but it only comes with USB ports and all the GPS's have serial (9 pin) interfaces. What can I do?
Answer: What you need is an USB to Serial converter. It is not just a cable that changes around pinouts, it actually has to convert the serial data to the USB format for transmission to the computer. It should come with software to emulate a serial port for your computer (usually COM 5). A generally respected manufacturer of USB to Serial cables is
Keyspan, but you can usually find the same thing cheaper on ebay. Just make sure if you get it from a fly-by-night vendor to check that the drivers that are supplied with it are compatible with your operating system.