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Serial To Usb Adapter


out12

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Wondering if anyone has tried any serial to usb adapters other than those sold by GPS makers. I have an Etrex legend and my new computer has no serial port. The Garmin adapter is over $50. I have seen many on Ebay for around $25, but it seems that not all adapters will work the same.

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Wondering if anyone has tried any serial to usb adapters other than those sold by GPS makers.  I have an Etrex legend and my new computer has no serial port.  The Garmin adapter is over $50.  I have seen many on Ebay for around $25, but it seems that not all adapters will work the same.

 

unless I am mistaken here, I believe what you are really asking for is a USB to serial adapter - yes?

 

You will be pluggging it in at the computer end with a USB plug? And at the other end the GPS has a serial connector?

 

Radio Shack sells one also. One of the biggest things to be careful of when using one with a GPS is to NOT use a hub. Plug it directly into your computer.

 

is $40 but works well for me.

 

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...uct%5Fid=26-183

 

cc\

Edited by CompuCash
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I have "generic" serial/USB adapter, think I paid around $20 for it... Works fine with my Magellan.... Basically a serial/USB adapter is a "serial/USB adapter".... Most are mass produced in China or some other cheap off shore manufacturing facilities and use much the same software (driver) and parts.... Only the name on the package is different to correspond with who is selling them....

 

Dale

Edited by Dale_Lynn
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I bought one one eBay for $7 and it works fine. (Don't remember the brand.) With shipping it came to $10. There are a ton on eBay, but most are from foreign sellers and the shipping alone is $15-$20. I made sure that I bought from a US vendor, and that they had a guarantee (in this case, 14 days from arrival). I've been using it for two months now with no problems.

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I have a Garmin 76S and just had to buy a Belkin serial-to-USB adapter today at Staples. It's is working as I was able to download a software update from Garmin. However for some unknown reason it will not let me download cache coords.from Easy GPS. Says it can't find the the port. Worked on it for over an hour and could not solve the problem. Very disappointed as this was the reason i spent the $30.00 on the adapter. Any ideas?

 

braymon2

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I have a Garmin 76S and just had to buy a Belkin serial-to-USB adapter today at Staples. It's is working as I was able to download a software update from Garmin. However for some unknown reason it will not let me download cache coords.from Easy GPS. Says it can't find the the port. Worked on it for over an hour and could not solve the problem. Very disappointed as this was the reason i spent the $30.00 on the adapter. Any ideas?

 

braymon2

I tried that as well but the only software I could find to work with USB was GSAK. That was several years ago so maybe others now support USB.

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I have a Garmin 76S and just had to buy a Belkin serial-to-USB adapter today at Staples. It's is working as I was able to download a software update from Garmin. However for some unknown reason it will not let me download cache coords.from Easy GPS. Says it can't find the the port.

I've used the Belkin serial-to-USB adapter to download waypoints from EasyGPS. It did take me a while to figure out how to get it set up & working.

 

IIRC, when you send the waypoints you pick the port you want to use. When I first started I'd pick 'USB', since it was on the USB plugin, but I got the same 'can't find port' error you did. When I switched the port to 'comm 4' (or whatever comm port Belkin set up on - should be your highest number) it worked fine.

 

It seems like I also need to have the adapter plugged in before booting my laptop. If I plug it in after I've booted up the laptop thinks its a pointing device and the mouse bounces all over the screen. That could be just me though, as I plugged the adapter in before installing the driver - just what it tells you not to do.

 

Also double check your baud rate to be sure your gps & EasyGPS have the same number, and the NMEA setting (Either off or V2.1 GSA - EasyGPS likes it one way and my mapping program likes it another, and I can't remember off hand which is which)

 

A few weeks ago I switched from EasyGPS to GSAK so my EasyGPS memory isn't that great. If you're still having problems I can double check what I did to get it set up.

 

BTW - I use a Meridian Color, but that shouldn't matter with the error you got.

 

HTH,

Lisa

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Interesting thread on the OziExplorers Yahoo group that may shed some light on this...

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OziUsers-L/message/25150

 

I found this response particularly illuminating...

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OziUsers-L/message/25152

 

Follow the thread for more. You should go back to the main message page if you want to read them all.

 

HTH

 

Rich Owings

www.MakeYourOwnMaps.com

www.GPStracklog.com

 

"We were desert mystics, my friends and I, poring over our maps as others do their holy books." - Edward Abbey

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I have a Garmin 76S and just had to buy a Belkin serial-to-USB adapter today at Staples. It's is working as I was able to download a software update from Garmin. However for some unknown reason it will not let me download cache coords.from Easy GPS. Says it can't find the the port. Worked on it for over an hour and could not solve the problem. Very disappointed as this was the reason i spent the $30.00 on the adapter. Any ideas?

 

braymon2

At some times EasyGPS can not find the port that the serial/USB converter is assigned to.... You may have to go to System manager to see what port number PC/Windows has assigned to the USB/SERIAL adapter and put that port number in EasyGPS..

 

The following text from another post may help you...

 

Finding Com Port

 

It’s quite possible your lap top or desk top machine can not "find" correct COM port!...

 

Or your computer does not have traditional serial port. (they are slowly going away in favor of USB). A USB/Serial adapter may be the answer for you.

 

If you have Serial/USB adapter and are not getting it to work, suggest you delve into what COM ports or USB/adapter ports your "systems" have available or are configured for....

 

Major problem is usually identifying what COM port number the USB/RS-232 (serial) adapter was assigned by WINDOWS system. This is also valid for locating available hardwired serial ports. Port numbers can be verified in the "control panel" under "system" under "hardware" under "device manager". Scroll down to “ports” and it will tell you the port number and at what speed (baud) port is configured at. You can actually plug in and unplug adapter and see the "port" appear and disappear. Right clicking on "port" and selecting "properties" will tell you everything you need to know about port. This info is necessary to get EasyGPS and GSAK and “other” programs to communicate with GPS unit. Yes you do need to set baud rate on GPS to match computer COM port which may be set with whatever software computer is running.

 

Most software applications and hardware (modems) like to work with COM 1 ... Also if you have any "synchronize” software running for a Palm or other hand held, it grabs COM 1 and will not let any other applications use it. You may need to disable any synchronization software it you have it as a running application to release COM 1 if you have to use that specific COM port.

 

Also just plugging in a USB/Serial adapter to USB port may not trigger system to assign COM port number. In some cases you must have a valid device (GPS) on end of data cable from USB/Serial adapter and the device must be turned on for system to respond and assign a COM port number. Also having a loop back plug in USB/Serial adapter will trigger adapter/system to assign com port number if serial adapter requires a "valid" device on end of cable.

 

 

Also you need to load USB drivers for USB/Serial adapter before plugging in adpater unit to computer.

 

Dale

Edited by Dale_Lynn
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