bstevent

MacGPS Pro works well. You can save/manage waypoints, tracks etc. If you have digital maps, you can calibrate them and then overlay your waypoints, tracks, etc. You can even get a moving map display if you have an iBook or PowerBook. Look at . You will need a USB/Serial converter. I've got a Keyspan that works fine with MacGPS Pro. You will also need either VirtualPC or access to a real PC if you want to update the firmware (Garmin provides regular updates) or use Garmin MapSource software. The Keyspan converter doesn't work well for this purpose -- a number of people have found that an Iogear adapter does the trick. If you do a search, you should be able to find quite a bit of discussion of these points.

dawgspit asked: Are there any of you guys out there that use Macs? I guess my question is how do I go about downloading waypoints and transferring them to my Legend. Try MacGPSPro at . I've had success downloading waypoints to an iMac and uploading them to a Legend. It's relatively cheap and it's been updated to an OSX version. The author forwards updates to registered users quite often. I guess I'll assume you have a working Serial/USB adapter -- if not, there has been a lot of discussion here about that. GPSy is worth a look too but the promised OSX update is loooooooong overdue. Bob

I had the same problem today. I changed the extension on the file to .loc before downloading it(from .asp -- which Internet Explorer wanted to assign) and the MacGPSPro Utility worked fine. One of the earlier messages talks about configuring your browser -- I'd guess that would be a better fix. All 15 waypoints showed up in the MacGPSPro file. I uploaded them to my Legend without a problem.

quote:Originally posted by bstevent: Why not go to the MacGPSPro site...? Cheesehead Dave said: I did go there already. It looks promising, but what I'm really wondering is if anyone here uses it and finds it useful for Geocaching, especially compared to other software such as ExpertGPS for Windows. I've just spent the last day playing with OSX version 4.0.2 of MacGPSPro. Here is some information. What else do you want to know? It will open base maps of various sorts and overlay waypoints, tracks and routes. An example: I've got Canadian 1:50,000 scale topo maps in .png format that I can open, convert to .pict format and calibrate. They work fine. MacGPSPro will give you a real time display on the basemap which means, if you have a laptop, you can have a moving map display. Of course, it will NOT upload maps to the gps receiver. It will download and upload waypoints, tracks and routes from the GPS receiver. You can edit them graphically with the program or open them in a text editor for editing. It will download and translate .loc files from this site. (You don't need EasyGPS or Expert GPS). I've had mixed success converting other files. I'm using a Keyspan USA-19 serial/USB adapter to connect an Etrex Legend to an iMac. (I do also use Virtual PC to upload firmware updates and MapSource maps but the Keyspan adapter doesn't work for that -- an Iogear UC232A works).

posted September 22, 2002 06:21 AM Rich in NEPA wrote: Celestial functions ... I was vacationing on the upper Maine coast during the first half of September and the built-in tide calculations were extremely useful and quite accurate (don't want to get stuck in those sea caves at high tide!). Also, knowing the sunrise/sunset times for various days was very helpful for planning photo sessions. _____ How DOES one read the high and low tides on an Etrex Legend? It appears that they are related to the best fishing times in the Hunt & Fish Accessory (or are they elsewhere?) but I'm not sure which of the times is which.

I agree with everything Jolly B Good says about connecting a gpsr to a Mac using Virtual PC. His comments months ago helped get me on track. I've given up on using the Keyspan for that purpose. The Iogear works. Except ... I also use GPSy with my Garmin. For THAT connection, using Mac software and Mac drivers, the Iogear adapter causes problems and the Keyspan works smoothly. An explanation? "Magic" is the best I can do.

For DarrenF: I think you should send your findings about the calculator to Garmin. You've done some good work. They may or may not be able to make the corrections -- the Legend, after all, was not designed to be a full-fledged scientific calculator, but it's worth a try. I've sent a number of requests to their technical support and have always received a reasonably quick and helpful reply. The Etrex Legend Beta team's address is: Yes, you've read some stinging criticisms of Garmin online but most, if not all of it, is just e-mail flaming.

For DarrenF: I think you should send your findings about the calculator to Garmin. You've done some good work. They may or may not be able to make the corrections -- the Legend, after all, was not designed to be a full-fledged scientific calculator, but it's worth a try. I've sent a number of requests to their technical support and have always received a reasonably quick and helpful reply. The Etrex Legend Beta team's address is: Yes, you've read some stinging criticisms of Garmin online but most, if not all of it, is just e-mail flaming.

If you have a serial port, use it. Those of us using adapters, do so because we don't have serial ports -- there is no advantage to making the connection more complex than it needs to be.

Wow, the calculator is a lot more capable that it looked. To clarify, under options you can toggle the calculator between standard and scientific and you can toggle the scientific calculator between radians and degrees. I tried a few of the trigonometry functions on the scientific calculator and they work. It also has roots and powers and memory functions. I might actually use this!

Wow, the calculator is a lot more capable that it looked. To clarify, under options you can toggle the calculator between standard and scientific and you can toggle the scientific calculator between radians and degrees. I tried a few of the trigonometry functions on the scientific calculator and they work. It also has roots and powers and memory functions. I might actually use this!

The radio shack converter sounds useful. I may try it to see if I can boost the speed of my transfers. At a minimum, you should use fresh alkaline batteries (1.5 v each) and not rechargeables (1.2 v for the NiMH batteries I've got). (The GPSy site says the same thing.

I finally got things to work! It seems this requires VPC 5 and won't work with VPC 4. I've posted some of the details in the newer thread: Mac: USB - Serial Help Please!

I also finally got MapSource working with an Iogear adapter with the windows driver installed on Virtual PC. I've been able to upload map sets to the 8MB capacity of my Legend and also update the firmware. Some observations: a. The setup works with the adapter plugged in to the main USB port on my iMac but not when plugged into the extra port on the keyboard. The port may be the problem or I may eliminate a conflict when I unplug my USB hub in order to plug in the adapter. b. This works with VPC 5 but not VPC 4. I've just upgraded and had no luck until I did. c. It is sometimes necessary to unplug/replug the gpsr to get the Garmin software to recognize it. d. I've had success uploading maps at 57,600 but not 115,200. Others have reported success at the higher speed. e. I've had success uploading firmware but only with the high-speed setting unchecked. The gpsr is set to "Use with gps off". For anyone planning to try this, be persistent! But I'm not going to get rid of my older Keyspan adapter. The Keyspan adapter (and its Mac drivers) work really well with GPSy on the iMac -- I get freeze ups with the Iogear. [This message was edited by bstevent on July 31, 2002 at 10:54 PM.]

I downloaded and installed it this evening. I can't comment on the calculator except to say that it looks pretty basic. I've never used it. The battery guage (Main menu/Setup/System) has settings for Alkaline, NiCad, NiMH and Lithium. My freshly charged NiMH batteries show as only partly charged when the menu is set to Alkaline but fully charged when it is set to NiMH. I guess that's an improvement.

I downloaded and installed it this evening. I can't comment on the calculator except to say that it looks pretty basic. I've never used it. The battery guage (Main menu/Setup/System) has settings for Alkaline, NiCad, NiMH and Lithium. My freshly charged NiMH batteries show as only partly charged when the menu is set to Alkaline but fully charged when it is set to NiMH. I guess that's an improvement.

Go to www.iogear.com Click on Support Click on Tech Info Library Select GUC232A in the first box Click search Select the article "Driver installation for Windows XP Users" That should get you started -- the article suggests that you should use the Windows 2000 driver. I got help from the same site in figuring out that I should use the Windows 98 driver for ME. The driver installed properly but I still haven't got my setup working -- I get a Windows error when MapSource checks the gps (which I've described elsewhere!).

Okay, I've taken the above advice. I've got an Iogear GUC232A adapter. I've installed the Windows 98 driver to a new clean Windows ME Virtual PC (4.0.2). (The Iogear site says to use the Windows 98 driver for Windows ME). The USB driver shows up fine and a COM3 port does too when I look at device manager. This is all done with a slimmed down set of extensions on the MAC and with the Mac Iogear extensions disabled (OS9.2.2). I then try to install MapSource. I get a Windows error after Mapsource detects the gps at Com 3. It reads 0E : 0028 : FF043C08 Any ideas? Should I change the COM3 device settings?

I've been trying for a week to upload a large map set to an Etrex Legend using an iMac (with OS 9.2.2), a Keyspan Adapter (USA-19) and Virtual PC 4 with MapSource installed on a virtual Windows ME computer. Every attempt so far has ended with MapSouce losing contact with the gpsr -- sometimes right away but once as far as 70% into the upload. The setup DOES work to update the Gramin firmware and to upload small map sets (< 400 KB). There are a lot of references to this problem on this site and elsewhere. So three questions: a. Has anyone got a Keyspan PDA adapter to work consistently uploading large files? b. Has anyone NOT had success with the Iogear GUC232A which several people have recommended? c. Would switching to OSX (VPC 5 and Keyspan's OSX Mac driver) help?

quote:Originally posted by BPACH:Does anyone know of mapping software or even paper maps that show fire roads and two tracks. I want to find a cache in Michigan and it seems like the closet I can get is a couple of miles away through some harsh territory. It seems like one of those "you cant get there from here" deals. If they are available for your area, and if the area you want to cover is relatively small, and if flight lines have been flown since the roads in which you are interested were built, then aerial photographs are the way to go. But they can be costly. They include details that will never make it to commercially available maps. Two sequential photos and a hand held viewer give you an amazing three dimensional view.

We are going to England but this discussion about France covers the same ground (ha). Do any of you have thoughts on the following: 1. Do you know how MetroGuide Europe (new) and Roads & Recreation Europe (also new) compare? 2. Is the information in Roads & Rec Europe significantly newer than that in Roads & Rec Great Britain? I see a sale price on the Great Britain CD.