Hardwiring a serial port

[+Airmapper]

I have a Garmin GPS 72, and being the cheap, penny pincher I am, have been procrastinating on getting a cable for it.

 

So, even though I still plan to get a real, reliable, and durable cable, can I hardwire me one for temporary use, like some have done for the i-Finder Go's? I do not have a serial plug to wire from, but I figure only 2-4 of those pegs are needed anyway. I want to take some light coated wire and snip it so I can slide it over the metal posts and make a connection from GPS to computer.

 

What I don't know is:; 1) Will this even work, and 2) which pins do I connect to on the GPS and in the serial port? (Pinout charts needed maybe?)

[+Steel City Seekers]

Don't know if this would work or not, but check it out for yourself. See cable #G9SF on the link below for $9.00. The page referenced if you look up a little from the product is for a series of Garmins, including the 72.

 

http://pc-mobile.net/grdc.htm

 

Edit: No, wait, sorry. It looks like you actually need GR9SF to work from GPS to PC. It is $19.00. Maybe getting too pricey.

Edited September 8, 2006 by Steel City Seekers

[+Airmapper]

Thanks Steel City Seekers, I'll give it a look.

 

I found these websites:

http://www.diyha.co.uk/electronics/comm1.html

http://pinouts.ru/Devices/garmin_round_pinout.shtml

[+Steel City Seekers]

Yes, I just buy the cable, or live without it, becasue I can't do all the pin-outs. Be sure to see my edit above. I'm afraid the price went up on my earlier suggestion.

[+Airmapper]

I think I'm going to get this one when I do get around to it.

 

http://www.gpsgeek.com/products/pc-adapter...-72-76-76c-76cs

[+LandRover]

I think I'm going to get this one when I do get around to it.

 

http://www.gpsgeek.com/products/pc-adapter...-72-76-76c-76cs

I found a round tuit in a cache, if you need it I could mail it to you.

[+PDOP's]

I made a cable to connect to a Eagle Explorer by using half of a serial cable and four of the female pins shown below

 

 

I suppose you could just use individual strands of wire with the pins on both ends. I got the pins from serial connector kit from Radio Shack. The pinout below

 

 

is found on the Pfranc site where you can buy the round Garmin connector too.

 

Edit to add: You can also get the pinout and cable instructions from this PDF

Edited September 8, 2006 by PDOP's

[+Airmapper]

Thanks everyone, I got it to work.

 

I used three small wires, and wrapped them around the pins, and managed to load my data to EasyGPS, and test to see if MapPoint recognized the unit (It did.)

 

I still want the real cable.