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I got a Garmin 18 USB GPS Receiver for Christmas. Of course one of the first things I tried to do was get it working with Google Earth. It turns out you need to do some tricks to get it to work, but once you have your setup correct, it works quite well.

There are two applications needed before you get started.

The first application is called GpsGate, by Franson Technology. (It's $29.95 for the full version, but they have a 14-day trial so you try it out to make sure it works with your device.) GpsGate basically takes your Garmin 18 USB device and lets you create virtual serial ports from which to pick up the GPS data. The upshot is that your computer thinks you have tons of GPS devices connected, each on their own serial port. Normally you can only have one application using your GPS device at any given time. But, if you use GpsGate, each program can access the GPS device on a different virtual COM port, so each program thinks it has sole control over your GPS device.

Once you have GpsGate downloaded, set it up so that it is using the Garmin USB input and then add a virtual serial port. Here's what your settings screen should look like.

UPDATE on Jan. 23, 2006: After writing this article, I got busy and wrote my own application to get my GPS receiver working in Google Earth. It creates an auto-updating placemark in Google Earth showing the current location being sent from your GPS receiver. You can have it leave a trail behind you as you move, show your current speed, leave a "shadow track" on the ground if you're flying, and more.

The program I wrote is called Earth Bridge. Just download and install it, set your connection and view settings and then let 'er rip. Make sure to set your COM port in Earth Bridge to the same virtual COM port you created in GpsGate. Once you connect, you can go to the GPS Status tab to ensure you are actually receiving the GPS data over the COM port.

The second application you need is TrackerGE, by Ray Perkins. TrackerGE basically takes input from a GPS device on a serial port and creates a Google Earth KML file called gps.kml in the TrackerGE folder. This KML file is set to refresh itself automatically in Google Earth. TrackerGE constantly populates the KML file as it gets info from the GPS device. What this essentially does is create a marker in Google Earth that is constantly up to date with the location that your GPS receiver has.

The settings for TrackerGE can seem intimidating at first, but it's not hard once you figure it all out. Here are the settings that I use. The most important settings are to make sure the COM port is set to the (or a) virtual port you created with GpsGate, and that GE radio button is selected at the top, and finally that the GPS is checked at the top. The other settings are just Google Earth display settings.

Once you have these two programs set up and running, load up Google Earth. Go to the File menu and choose Open. Navigate to the TrackerGE folder and open the gps.kml file. Your view should now track in on your current location, as being reported by your GPS device.

Technically, this whole procedure should work with any GPS device. However, the tracking feature, where it leaves a trail behind you as you move, may only work in Google Earth Plus. I have Google Earth Plus which is only $20 a year, so it's worth it just to pay the $20.

I should also mention that the program nRoute, which comes with the Garmin 18 USB, does not work when you have this set up. This is because nRoute only understands input from a Garmin device, and GpsGate takes the input from the Garmin 18 USB and turns it into more widely accepted GPS data format which nRoute won't accept.

I had a hard time finding information on the Internet to get all this working. Hopefully this helps out someone else who gets a Garmin 18 USB for Christmas and wants to get it working with Google Earth. :)