XPort

XPort	Wiki and Tech support	Car PC Remotes, Timers, and more
The best, Most reliable, Most popular.

XPort Serial COM port splitter for Windows XP and Windows Vista.
Compatible with all GPS and Navigation software.
Used by Military, Fire/EMS, Police, and consumers everywhere around the world.
Recommended by Microsoft, USGlobalSat, Pharos, and others.

Up to 8 virtual, bi-directional ports for simultaneous application usage.
New interface for easy access to GPS data (XPortGPS.h). Develop GPS applications quickly. Unlimited soft connections. No buffers. No delays. Even allows XPort to be closed while apps are running. Finding GPS, baud rate, COM port reading, NMEA/SiRF parsing, and hibernation/standby handling is a thing of the past!
Optimized to use very little memory. Much smaller than any other solution available.
Scans and repairs the COM port arbiter to free up unused ports after drivers leave them allocated.
Scan is only compatible with NMEA 0183 and SiRF Binary protocols, but the splitter handles any form of data transparently as long as it's continuous.
Fixes most hibernation issues. Any USB device, including hubs can be automatically stopped and restarted when hibernating.

You might also like Compass. The coolest skinnable compass, GPS info display, system time synchronizer, plus GPS log playback through XPort.
New version! Does not require a COM port.

Also, new GPS DirectShow Filter

PayPal donations of $5 or more accepted as a Thank You and to keep the interest going.

Total Donations: $345.42

My personal Q&A:
Do you know how many hours I've spent on support email? Way too MANY!
Do you know how many of those have donated? NONE!
Do you know why there's no response to your email? Now you do. Use google. ;-PPPP
Thank you to all who've donated.

Version 1.34 - 6/03/09: Added a timeout compatibility (Immediate with TotalTimeoutConstant set). May fix delays in some COM reader implementations.
Version 1.33 - 4/26/09: Added battery saver for bluetooth battery powered GPS devices. Added reference count to API.
Version 1.32 - 4/25/09: Fixed issue with log playback using Compass/WM_COPYDATA.
Version 1.31 - 4/15/09: Finalized interface (XPortGPS.h) Improved NMEA/SiRF Filter.
Version 1.30 - 4/14/09: Fixed icon colors. Added new GPS quick connect interface (C++ class object, can be converted to VB, VB.NET, etc.)
Version 1.29 - 4/03/09: Added automatic first-run setup. Improved port enumeration and arbiter maintenance. Added status Icon.
Version 1.28 -11/27/08: Changed driver start to fix startup when using minlogon without keyboard

How to use:
When starting XPort, there will be no window if it's currently installed. Just a tray icon (that's for rebooting without any annoying popups when it starts). Double-Click on the tray icon to open the configuration dialog. Scan for your GPS or set the input manually if you already know, and set the outputs to a few unused COM ports, then hit "Enable Ports" and it's ready to go. You may now close the dialog. XPort will continue to run in the task bar and will start when Windows starts (except under Windows Vista - See note below).

NMEA Filter filters all noise/non-NMEA/SiRF data from the virtual ports.
Battery Saver keeps XPort from opening the GPS when no virtual ports are in use, mainly for battery powered GPS devices.
Video Reset briefly turns the monitor off and back on. This help in the car PC when the monitor is often blank when starting or resuming Windows.
Just below these is the log output. Enable the check mark to start logging data from the GPS.

The device list at the bottom works much like DevCon, and is for devices that have trouble with hibernation. Check only the devices you have trouble with. XPort will stop the driver before hibernation, then start after resume, then retry any driver that fails to start a few seconds later. Use with caution. Some devices may freeze XPort or fail to disable or enable. Each device may add several seconds delay, so it may not be a good option to use. You can test each device by disabling/enabling in Device Manager.

Tray Status Icon: Black=Not Connected, Cyan=Connected-No data, Red=Connected/No Fix, Yellow=2D, Green=3D

How to uninstall:
If XPort is running, uncheck "Enable Ports" and close the window, then delete the XPort.exe file.

Notes:

The config window will open if XPort is run a second time (started from 2 places). XPort automatically runs from the explorer shell startup.
When connected to the input port, you will see NMEA ($GPxxx) data on the bottom of the window or hex (A0A2xxx) if using SiRF. This does not mean data is being sent to the other ports. The ports must also be enabled.
If you are using iGuidance, choose at least one single digit port number in the output ports on XPort and use that for iGuidance. Otherwise iG will truncate to 4 characters, saving "COM234" as "COM2" in the registry.
The radio buttons are only connection indicators. You do not click on them.
If you don't see the port your GPS is on, just click "Scan" which will search all ports.
You must take the files out of the zip and put them on your hard disk in order for it to work properly.
Cursor sometimes jumps all over the screen clicking left/right? Here's the fix: Open Regedit. Navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SerMouse, and change the value "Start" from 3 to 4. Reboot.
Or click here and Open
Still have hibernate isues? Make sure you have the latest Prolific PL2303 Driver which most USB GPS units use.
When running under Windows Vista you will need to give XPort Administrative rights.
If you see "This application is being blocked by another computer" by a firewall installed on your computer, press "Unblock."

Download (28KB) (by clicking this, you agree that you have at least glanced at the large complicated instructions above, and you will in no way redistribute, make money off of or use in any way other than for personal use)

// Example code for sending data to XPort. You would really want to slow this down.

   SendToXPort(1, NULL, 0); // Pause real GPS before sending
   for(;;)
   {
       Read( hFile, szString, 100, &dwLength );
       if( dwLength == 0) break;
       SendToXPort(2, szString, dwLength ); // Send NMEA data
   }
   SendToXPort(0, NULL, 0); // Unpause real GPS when done sending

void SendToXPort(ULONG ulMsg, char *pszData, ULONG ulLength)
{
     HWND hWnd = FindWindow( NULL, "XPortMsgWnd" );
     if( !hWnd ) return;
     COPYDATASTRUCT CD;
     CD.dwData = ulMsg;
     CD.lpData = pszData;
     CD.cbData = ulLength;
     SendMessage( hWnd, WM_COPYDATA, 0, (LPARAM)&CD );
}

Other tweaks for car PC

Disable boot login:
1. Click Start > Run > Type "control userpasswords2"
2. Uncheck "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer"

Disable baloon tips:
1. Click Start > Run > Type gpedit.msc
2. Click User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu & Taskbar
3. Double click on Remove Balloon Tips on Start Menu Items
4. Click Enabled
5. click OK
Or RegEdit:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Create a new DWORD value named EnableBalloonTips.
Set value to 0 (zero)

Disable prompt for password on resume from hibernate/suspend
1. Click Start > Run > Type gpedit.msc
2. Click User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management
3. Double click on Prompt For Password On Resume From Hibernate/Suspend
4. Click Disabled
5. click OK

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