APCC has the ability to read a GPS device that is connected to your computer. Most standard GPS units that create a virtual COM port on a computer should work. APCC also supports reading GPS information from the Astromi.ch MGBoxV2.

APCC's GPS parser looks for a specific NMEA message, GPGGA, which contains time, latitude, longitude, and altitude values. Once it finds one of these records it will fill in the information in the GPS Status group box.

GPS Connection

COM Port: For APCC to read a GPS device, the GPS device must have a virtual COM port assigned to it. Usually the driver for the GPS device will automatically create such a virtual COM port, so you just need to select the proper port.

If you have a Astromi.ch MGBoxV2, then select "MGBoxV2" in the COM port drop down list (it should be the first entry). For it to work you must install the MGBox V2 ASCOM Observing Conditions driver from https://www.astromi.ch/product/mgbox-v2/ and configure the proper virtual port for the driver to use. Please consult the documentation for the MGBoxV2 driver for more information.

Baud: The typical baud rate for GPS devices is 4800 baud. (Note: This field is ignored when configured for MGBoxV2.)

Connect: Click this button to try to connect to the virtual port of the GPS. Once connected, the button will say "Disconnect".

GPS Status

Displays information obtained through your GPS device.

Actions

Create New Site: Click this button to create a new site with the current latitude, longitude and elevation last acquired from the GPS. This will open the Manage Sites dialog window.