Help Please

[+pinguino]

Ive just bought an etrex legend and a palm IIIxe from ebay, (both recieved quickly and Im very pleased). However, both of these use serial connections to the pc. Unfortunately since I only got my pc at easter I have no serial ports on my pc to connect them to. So i was wondering if it is possible to use a serial to usb converter? Ive heard bad things about these, because of the differing technologies, I even heard a story about someone blowing a device up using one. Alternatively I could get a serial port put in my pc, how much does this cost and is it easy??

 

Apologies for such a boring topic.

 

Thanks in advance

[+Skippy and Pingu]

I use a USB/serial adapter for connecting the GPS to the PC as the GPS has serial and I'm too lazy to keep leaning behind the PC to plug it in. I'll find out the make in a minute but I've had no problems what so ever with it.

[+walkergeoff and wife]

Are you sure that you have no on-board serial ports? Most PCs still have one.

 

If you have not it is possible to buy a PCI-serial card for your PC, which has the advantage of having at least two serial ports so that you can have both devices attached at the same time, without conflict.

 

I have one serial port, and have bought an extension cable so that I can swap my Vx for my GPS12 when I need to upload co-ords. This is no problem and the cable was cheaper than a board.

 

Try eBay.

[+Nellies Knackers]

Try Lynx cables for an adaptor, it's about £20 inc. postage and definately works on garmins.

It's also quite an easy modification to use the usb for power source too.

Edited August 23, 2005 by Nellies Knackers

[+Pengy&Tigger]

two serial port usb converter these should do the trick, connect both at the same time.

 

Pengy

[+pinguino]

Thanks for your help. ye walkergeoff Im sure i dont have a serial port, there is nothing that looks like it will accept the cable. How easy is it to install a pci serial port? it would be good if i could have 2 ports.

 

thanks again

[+walkergeoff and wife]

Thanks for your help. ye walkergeoff Im sure i dont have a serial port, there is nothing that looks like it will accept the cable. How easy is it to install a pci serial port? it would be good if i could have 2 ports.

 

thanks again

Hi

 

Have you checked the spec of your PC? Usually they tell what ports are available.

 

If you are running XP it is not too difficult. The main thing is to be sure that you have the drivers. If you buy new then you will usually get a driver CD with the product. If you buy second hand you can usually get the drivers from the manufacturer's web site.

 

You can usually download drivers for your operating system, and generally you would install them before installing the card.

 

To install the card requires that you remove the covers of your computer and then remove the blanking plate next to the PCI connectors. There will be a row of between 3 to 5 or maybe more. Usually the blanking plate is held in by one screw. Please make sure that the power cord is disconnected completely from your PC and you take precautions against static - this is usually not a problem but just make sure you have one hand on the chassis whilst installing the card.

 

The card fits tightly (I mean it) in the socket on the mother board, and you use the screw that held the blanking plate to hold in the new card you have installed.

 

When you switch your PC on again, XP will tell you that it has found new hardware and is installing the drivers for it. If it fails to find, then you may have to tell it where they were installed when you installed the software, but usually this is not a problem if you XP drivers.

 

If you are worried about getting a second hand card, then new ones are about £20. PCworld do a good one here.

 

If you are worried about taking the covers off your PC then the best thing to do is to get a friend to manage the whole thing for you.

 

 

I hope that this helps.

[Beer Monster]

I seem to have hundreds of things plugged into almost every orifice in my PC but luckily only 2 are serial. Unluckily I only have 1 serial port.

 

The etrex goes into the serial port and the dive computer plugs into a USB serial adapter, then into a USB hub and then into the PC. I just needed to be a little careful in telling the dive software which COM port (serial port) the computer is plugged into. I think it'll now recognise up to 6 COM ports. Finding the right one was just trial and error.

 

I don't know the make, but it was about £9 from www.ebuyer.com, and much more reasonable than the £50 cable that connects to the dive computer!