Linux bluetooth receiver

[cedo.maric]

To the admin first.
Please, read this intro, feel free to edit-add-delete whatever here is written in order to make other easier understanding this article
Also, it is highly prefereable to stick it to the root of according forum or even here in the root of the forum itself. I understand that this will be more of use.
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Now here it is.

I have installed OPENCPN in my comp, added CM93 map, and what now. No GPS receiver I had to pair with it.
But...
...the other day I have one of these fine bluetooth gps devices previously used with on of my earlyier smartphones and tablets which were without gps at all.
I found it lying in it's original box and now came to idea to pair it with comp.
But, as we all know, there is no easy meal anywhere so it was here as well.
After I paired that device it sat to the rfcomm0 port, (more or less all bluetooth gps-es will), and I had to deal with it.
It would be pretty nice if this would work out of the box, but it is how it is.
After some time, (a weeks), of workarround I found this nice way to do it without significant effort at all.

I did it in Ubuntu 12.04, 13.04, and now in 14.04. so presumably it will work in any given ubuntu after until developers manage to give us choice to put the serial port on our choice in bluetooth stack.

the procedure :

-1 get one of bluetooth gps receivers, (in order to do it in this particular way).
-2 install bluetooth manager, and other bluetooth applets from ubuntu software center.




-3 pair your bluetooth gps receiver with computer, (do it from bluetooth manager in settings part of ubuntu).
-go to the terminal and type sudo mc, aparently you will be asked to give your administrator password, so in order to do it have it handy somewhere if there is no one remembered, then to to the root/etc/bluetooth, where is lying file "rfcomm.conf", select it and hit the F3, or edit button. Chose Your editor and start editing Your file, copy following text and paste it in the end of line:

rfcomm3 {
bind yes;
device 00:1C6:FD:17:9F;
channel 1;
comment "Serial Port";
}

-4 instead device number, (the one that looks like NIC hw address), there needs to be typed one found in bluetooth manager as well. Ports can be changed as you will, (rfcommx, where x stays for desired serial port)
save file


- install opencpn
- go to the setup, connections, chose serial port and add following :

/dev/rfcomm3

where number 3 should be changed to coresponding port given in the editor
click apply and close window. I'd recomend to close opencpn then open it regardles what it might work automaticly


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I have been working with this for a months now, (i am seaman and been using this one to plot the courses, and record tracks of my vessel), have a lot experimenting, and trying other setups as well, but in the end this one works like charm. And if for any peculiar reason this one stops working, (highly unlikely), just reset the GPS receiver and sometime reboot the comp.
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Any help needed in this. Just ask, there is mail, but I'd prefer not to choke my mailbox with the questions.

[nohal]

cedo.maric...
Very good guide. It would be much better to put it into the documentation wiki at opencpn.org as here it will get lost, guaranteed.

Pavel

[cedo.maric]

will do certanly, as soon as I make it in some usable file and as I make some video of this.
I know that this is "nightmare" some sort of for the people working with the linux and wanting to stay stick in this, but do not have basic knowledge.