fab44

Grow up children - this isn't the place to argue Mac vs. PC.

Garmin says the cold startup time for the eTrex is 5 minutes according to the manual for my Legend. During this time it not only locates the satellites but downloads tables of information from them. The tables are good for 4-12 hours. So if you turn on your GPS later that same day, the startup time is much shorter (about 1 minute based on my experience)

EasyGPS is Windows software, not Mac. Have you looked at the tutorials on http://www.easygps.com/ ?

As long as you have OSX drivers for the USB-serial adapter, it should work. I have a Keyspan PDA adapter that works fine in OSX, but is not compatabile with Virtual PC 3 and Windows 98 under OS9. Found some advice on this board that the IOGear USB-Serial converter works better with Virtual PC so I invested $30 and found this to be true.

The Legend works just fine in my SUV. The Legend should work in most cars, except those with metal shielded windows. There's a short list of these cars on the EZPass website (as these windshields also interfere with EZPass).

OK, finally got around to trying the IOGear USB to Serial Adapter under OS9.2.2 with Virtual PC 3 and Windows 98. After installing the IOGear drivers under the MacOS and Windows, Metroguide 5 now works just fine. Thanks for the good advice. I've just finished sending 7.5 MB of Maps to my eTrex Legend. Serial sure is slow - the transfer process took around 25 minutes (at 57600 bps).

This is very simple to do on my eTrex Legend. Just go to the setup screen, click the widget next to the close box and an owner information screen will appear. Fill it out and this information will appear when you first turn the unit on.

FYI, the basemap that's built into the Legend only has major roads (interstate highways), lakes, rail roads, bridges and town, city and state boundaries. If you want roads, then you'll need the Metroguide.

OK, I'll pickup the IOGear USB adapter today at Best Buy ($29.99). Hopefully it works with Virtual PC 3 - I really hate handing Microsoft (who now owns Connectix) any more money.

I installed the latest Keyspan USB-PDA drivers (2.5) from Keyspan's website. I configured VPC to enable the USB port and the Keyspan PDA adapter is checked. But once Windows 98 is up and running, the Keyspan configuration program (Windows version) doesn't see the Keyspan adapter. Metroguide won't see the GPS either - tried clicking on the serial autodetect button (from inside Metroguide) and also manually trying all 8 Comm ports at speeds from 9600 to 57600. Any suggestions? FYI, I verified the Keyspan adapter works fine with my GPS - as GPSConnect works just fine.

FYI the compass on the eTrex Legend works off the satellite GPS signal - it's NOT an electronic compass (which reads magnetic north). What this means is the Legend (and most of the other eTrex models) needs a clear view of the sky AND you need to be walking for the compass to work. Once you stop walking, the Legend will get get confused and the pointer may do a 180. This is normal. The best way to find a geocache is to watch your GPS until you get within 25 feet of the cache. Then put the GPS in your pocket and start looking around for the geocache.

Well, I've fiddled with Virtual PC 3 with Windows 98 for a couple of hours - and Garmin's MetroGuide version 5 still won't speak to my eTrex Legend. I've searched the web and found that while some people have success with Virtual PC and the MapSource program's - I sure haven't. Has anyone had success using a 700 MHz iBook with a Keyspan USB-PDA adapter and VPC3 with Windows 98?

It's good to see other Mac users here! I recently bought a Garmin eTrex Legend - it comes with a PC serial cable. You can attach it to your Mac's USB port using a Keyspan PC serial adapter (which has the 9 pin DB connector). The Keyspan adapter costs about $35 and there are drivers for both OS8/9 and OSX on Keyspan's website. There is some free Mac software for transferring wapoint information to/from your Mac - see http://www.chimoosoft.com/gpsconnect.html While you're there - also check out the free Terrabrowser for the Mac. As others have mentioned, Garmin's MapSource program is the ONLY way to get map data into the a Garmin GPS - and this is a Windows program. So you'll need to run Virtual PC with this program. I just got my copy of Garmin's MetroGuide version 5 last night and I'll try it today. It was only $79.99 from Amazon.com (which is $10-$20 cheaper than I found elsewhere).

Managed to get a nice case of poison ivy (face, arms and a leg) on only my second geocaching outing! Had to get some pills from the doctor to clear it up. I'll wear a long sleeve shirt next time and bring some poison ivy medicine next time!