Configure GPS/NMEA
By default, ArcFM Mobile, obtains a device’s position from its onboard GPS via Location Services. However, the application also supports external receivers that use the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) data specification via a serial, TCP, or UDP connection. Tenant-level GPS configuration occurs in the Solution Center and generally applies to your entire organization. See ArcFM Solution Center and ArcFM Mobile – Configuration Guide for details.
Individual devices can override tenant-level defaults and use custom configurations if necessary. To configure ArcFM Mobile for Windows to use an external NMEA receiver, follow the steps below.
- In ArcFM Mobile for Windows, click the settings
button.. - In Settings, click or tap the GPS tab to open GPS configuration
options.
- If Use Windows Location Services is enabled, click or tap
the toggle to disable Windows Location Services and enable additional
configuration options.
- If a default configuration has been specified in Solution Center, it is automatically selected. In the example shown here, Basic
Serial Port is the default choice. Use the drop-down menu to select
from other profiles configured in Solution Center.
- To use configuration parameters different from the defaults,
click or tap the Override toggle.
- If you select TCP Port, you must provide an IP address or hostname and a port number.
- If you select Serial Port, you must provide a port name and baud rate.
- If you select UDP Port, you must provide a port number.
- Click or tap Save to save your GPS configuration.
If ArcFM Mobile for Windows stops receiving messages from a configured NMEA receiver, the app notifies the user and switches to Windows Location Services. You must ensure that Windows Location Services are enabled and functional for these situations. When ArcFM Mobile for Windows receives messages again from the NMEA receiver, the app notifies the user and resumes using the external GPS device.
GPS for External Navigation Apps
ArcFM Mobile does not provide turn-by-turn navigation but instead integrates with third-party navigation apps for this capability. On Windows devices, many such apps, including Windows Maps and Google Maps, obtain position information only from Windows Location Services. They do not recognize external NMEA receivers unless the position data from these receivers is available through Location Services. Therefore, the NMEA receiver configuration in ArcFM Mobile does not eliminate the need for GPS position information in Location Services when integrating with some navigation apps.