NMEA GPS Receiver, for NMEA Applications. Does not count as a Windows Sensor, and thereby does not provide location services to Windows.
PRO:
-weatherized to handle all but submersion.
-magnet and rubber pad allow it to attach to many surfaces without damage. This includes the body panels of a car!
-complies with NMEA standards.
--Presents as a standard USB-to-Serial interface. The NMEA interface uses the following settings: COM4, 4800 Baud
-Updates location once a second (1Hz).
CON:
-No support for Windows Location Services. This device is exclusively an NMEA device. It will work anywhere NMEA works, meaning the overwhelming majority of classic location application, but zero modern Windows applications.
-While marketed as "waterproof", it is only IPX6 rated, meaning it is not truly waterproof. It can handle a very hard rainstorm, though.
-only one location update per second (1Hz). There is a 5Hz version, but this is NOT that product.
NOTE: there's a software package that will connect to an NMEA device and create a Windows Sensor for use with Location services. This is a software workaround for the lack of native software from the hardware manufacturer. It has some bugs. But mostly, it works. The package in question is called GPSdirect, from TurboIRC.
My only hangups are with the software. I know this device complies with the standards it claims to support. But it's 2015, and there are newer standards.
Bought it with one-day shipping with sunday delivery, it arrived on time, hooked up to my Asus laptop running windows 10 instantly, connected and worked perfectly with Google Earth's GPS function without even installing any drivers. Kudos for a good product. The reason it is not 5 stars is that the directions, on paper and on the included mini CD, were not all that much. Info is king, but hey, it worked without needing anything so I guess we're good to go.
Arrived promptly, works perfectly. I'm running it on Windows 10 with VisualGPSView. Tested against Google Earth. agreement is typically within 1 or 2 times 1/10^5 degree or 1 to 2 meters, quite good enough for my application. The price is good. The build- quality appears to be good.
I bought this receiver to replace a GlobalSat ND-105C Micro USB GPS Receiver, which is badly made and does not work.
Update, May 21: the results of 1 to 2 meters were for half-hour or so averages, but appear not to be repeatable. Later runs show more variance. I'm working with the NMEA data and will post results when I get them.
Absolutely fantastic. Worked in Windows 10 Pro 64bit desktop without installing ANY drivers.
Worked in Windows 7 Pro 64bit laptop without installing ANY drivers.
Neither OS required a restart.
.
I'm using it with Street Atlas USA 2015 Plus [Download] an offline gps program. Street Atlas USA recognized it immediately without my needing to select it.
The settings if needed are -
Device: GlobalSat BU-353
Port: USB
Settings: 4800,8,N,1
If your computer picks anything else, set it to the above settings.
The first time that Street Atlas USA locked on to the satellites it took about a minute and a half. After that, Street Atlas USA locks on to the satellites in the blink of an eye.
Testing it on both computers *INSIDE* my home, it picked up 7 to 8 satellites!
No question about it - this is one great GPS receiver.
As to the many 1 star reviews, I didn't find any that were valid. That's not to say that some people have computer problems that they don't know how to resolve, or that someone didn't get a bad unit. But I had absolutely NO problems.
Windows 10 Creators update crippled my Streets and Trips GPS. This GPS receiver fixed it. Worked right out of the box. Nice job, Globalsat.
Now, will someone PLEASE come up with a Streets and Trips replacement? DeLorme, Bing, Google Maps, etc., all suck compared to the excellence of Streets. No wonder Microsoft abandoned it. They cut the price right down to unprofitability for market dominance, then quit. Thanks, MS idiots.
Feature Product
- Built-In GPS Patch Antenna
- Built-In Roof Mount Magnet
- 48-Channel All-In-View Tracking
- SiRF Star IV GPS Chipset
- WAAS/ EGNOS Support
Description
The BU-353-S4 is a USB GPS receiver that features a highly sensitive, low power consumption chipset in a ultra compact form factor. The BU-353-S4 is powered by a SiRF Star IV GPS chipset, and will provide you with superior performance in urban canyons, and in dense foliage. With the SiRF CGEE (Client Generated Extended Ephemeris) technology, has the capability of predicting satellite positions for up to 3 days in advance, and will deliver a CGEE-start time of less than 15 seconds under most conditions without any network assistance. The BU-353-S4's MicroPower mode allows the receiver to stay in a hot start-like condition almost continuously while consuming very little power.
Not perfect but works better than any one of the many other GPS models I have owned in the past. You have to set it on the dash, it won't work inside a steel body unless it's by a window (but what would I expect LOL). I would say it is about on the same reception level of a high-end Garmin. My old DeLorme units were a joke.
I bought this because my existing BU-353 did not work with my new Windows 8 computer. I think you will be happy with this product but make very sure it is a BU-353-S4. The S4 has the new chipset and earlier versions do not. Take care on the model number. This antenna will work for you for real time navigation with Streets and Roads, Topo USA and other laptop navigation software, and give you a precise location. I find it helpful and more reliable than tethering a handheld GPS to my laptop. This receiver gets is power from your laptop and has no batteries to worry about
I wanted a simple, inexpensive, but accurate GPS receiver to use with Google Earth's "real-time GPS" function. This GlobalSat BU-353-S4 USB GPS Receiver works perfectly for that use. It is small and unobtrusive and the long cord allows it to be placed on the dashboard of my car.
With my laptop in my car and the GlobalSat BU-353-S4 plugged into its USB port my position is shown very accurately in Google Earth. I have taken a number of test drives and this GPS receiver updates my moving position with just a little delay (it may be Google Earth that is causing the delay). This GPS receiver is so accurate that if I drive one direction on a two-lane road and then drive back the other direction, the route lines in Google Earth can be seen to be separate and right over the corresponding lane used. Please note that for this setup to work - without any currently active internet connection - the satellite imagery must have been previously loaded into the Google Earth cache (do an internet search for "google earth offline" and follow links from there; it is possible to create multiple caches of different areas).
The GlobalSat BU-353-S4 USB GPS Receiver comes with a small but handy application, GPS Utility, which can be used to check the functioning of the receiver. The app displays a sky map of all of the GPS satellites detected and the signal strength, as well as the raw data stream from all detected satellites. It also provides data for current longitude, latitude, heading, elevation, and speed. Please note that it appears that the computer port used by this GPS receiver cannot be used by two applications at the same time - only one app can access the GPS satellite data at a time - so if running Google Earth "real-time GPS" the GPS Utility app will not receive the GPS data at the same time.
In summary, this GlobalSat BU-353-S4 USB GPS Receiver works perfectly and is exactly what I was looking for. It should work for any "GPS aware" application (such as Google Earth).
I use this on a 64-bit Windows 7 laptop to keep the laptop time synchronized. This is for operating ham radio FT8 digital mode whilst portable. It is low power consumption, and appears to keep time synchronized within .1 second. It's small. Works great. You'll need software like NMEA2 to use it, which also gives you your grid square. The only caveat is you need to find the port # it is connected to, which changes every time you plug it in. No problemo. I wish everything was this easy!
My husband and I have used Microsoft Streets & Trips (2006) for years to plan our vacations (multiple stops every time that you just can't do on a phone with Google maps). The GPS receiver that came with it still worked, but the Windows 10 anniversary update last year killed the driver and I couldn't get an updated one from the company that made it (lots of online searches for a fix & nothing worked). We were about to go on another big 11 day trip when I ordered this GlobalSat BU-353-S4, hoping that it would work with S&T. I installed the driver, plugged in the receiver and S&T recognized it immediately. This receiver worked like a charm and I can't begin to say how thrilled I am with it! Excellent purchase value, as I "spent" a lot more in time looking for a fix for the other one than this receiver cost!!
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