Could anyone suggest why I might be feeling a little electrical buzz from my laptop when it''s connected to the GPS (via serial to USB connector? And more importantly, how to stop it?
Does this happen when you have a program interfacing with the GPS?
The GPS produces an RF output from it''s internal oscillator and if the input isn''t connected to a program when it''s turned on it will nearly always put some ungrounded RF into the computer. A good indication is when the cursor goes crazy and other programs start popping up .. will even lock up the computer.
Best practice is to start the interfacing program and then turn on the GPS, reversing the procedure when shutting down.
By buzz is this a vibration or electrical shock. I was thinking the hard drive might be looking for two files it uses to plot a track and the files are spread apart on the disk and the hard drive disk arm is jumping back and forth to access both files and causing the buzz. Maybe a defrag might help put the files back in order. Just a guess but worth a try and it never hurts anything.
If both are on the same circuit, ac or battery, it may be that the boat, and therefore you when you're in it is a better ground than the circuit has, so it's reaching ground through you to the boat.
Check wiring and make sure that all circuits have good ground.
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