GPS to PDA link

[+woodchuck gang]

I would like to link my Lowrance I-Way 250 to my Palm IIIc. I was told this can be done but no one knows how or what is involved. PLEASE HELP !!! the palm has a grab from GPS aption but I have failed to find any other info

[+ergomaniac]

You didn't mention what software you are using to store coords in your Palm. I use Cachemate and can transfer coords to my Garmin and Magellan GPS's but I don't believe there is a Cachemate plugin for Lowrance. You also have to use a serial connection to communicate between the Palm and GPS. USB doesn't support this kind of communication. I don't know anything about the Lowrance you mentioned but if it uses USB you may be out of luck.

[+markz68]

You didn't mention what software you are using to store coords in your Palm. I use Cachemate and can transfer coords to my Garmin and Magellan GPS's but I don't believe there is a Cachemate plugin for Lowrance. You also have to use a serial connection to communicate between the Palm and GPS. USB doesn't support this kind of communication. I don't know anything about the Lowrance you mentioned but if it uses USB you may be out of luck.

 

What Palm & Garmin do you do this with? I have a Tungsten E2 and a 60csx I'd love to be able to connect. I use CacheMate.

[+woodchuck gang]

I am using Cashmate to store cords. The PalmIIIc supports buth serial & USB. The GPS has A mini USB. Why is a serial connection needed if both support USB?

[+BaldEd]

What Palm & Garmin do you do this with? I have a Tungsten E2 and a 60csx I'd love to be able to connect. I use CacheMate.

Your problem was also my problem. The problem is with the Tungsten E2 - it does not have any hosting capability with it's USB only connection. You need a Palm that can host a connection. Most (all?) of the older Palms have a serial connection enabling you to upload and download between gps and the Palm.

 

However, I have found that with my 76CSx this connectivity is not really missed now that this gps has the microSD card (like your 60CSx). Caches in excess of the 1000 limit can be stored on the microSD card as Custom POI and the microSD has heaps of storage available for tracklogs that can be later transferred to any PC mapping product or Google Earth. For caching I use GSAK (PC) and have given up on Cachemate (it really needs to be updated to better cater for additional waypoints) and use instead an HTML reader (iSilo) on my Tungsten E2.

Edited May 26, 2007 by BaldEd

[+ergomaniac]

 

What Palm & Garmin do you do this with? I have a Tungsten E2 and a 60csx I'd love to be able to connect. I use CacheMate.

 

I can connect my Map60cx, Sportrak Color and Sportrak Map to my Palm IIIxe and transfer coords via a serial connection. I bought the IIIxe (cheap) off of ebay specifically because it has the old serial connection and use it exclusively for caching. The only thing required other than the serial cables is a null modem connector to connect the two serial cables (same idea as a cross-over cable between two PC's). I'm sure there are others that could explain the technical reason why USB won't work but from what I've read it sounds like USB on the PDA's can't support the two way conversation that is required by Cachemate to upload and download coords. I have to agree with BaldEd, that now that Garmin has worked out most of the problems with loading caches as POI's, I've used the PDA transfer alot less. I still use it with the Magellan's and I also like using the Cachemate search function with coords it's grabbed from the GPS... not really necessary but saves typing and is just plain cool!

 

I am actually finding that the "POI Clutter" on the GPS screen is starting to annoy me and I'm now going back to good old waypoint loads on my 60cx. I still carry 2400+ caches as POI's but generally leave them turned "off" and use the 1000 caches that I've loaded as standard waypoints... maybe a topic for another forum thread sometime.

[+markz68]

I do have all the caches in GSAK loaded into the 60csx as POIs. I am not really wanting to transfer waypoints to the 60csx.

 

I was more interested in being able to look up the next nearest in CacheMate using the signal from the 60csx. But I guess I will have to give up on that with the Tungsten.

 

I won't quit using CacheMate though. I LOVE being able to log them in CacheMate as I go, complete with notes, and then when I get home, being able to use the Express Logger to log them online! Very cool feature!

[rokclmb]

http://www.gomadic.com/

There are some things here to connect PDA to GPSr's. They are also available on amazon.com

[+NightPilot]

USB is badly misnamed. It is not universal. In order for two USB devices to work together, one has to be a USB host, which requires additional hardware and software. No PDA or GPS that I'm aware of is a USB host. USB slaves cannot communicate with each other. RS232 serial connections are really universal, because any two devices with RS232 serial ports can work together. You can connect your Palm to a GPS which has a serial port, but not to a USB device. Older GPSrs, such as the blue Legend, work fine with PDAs, and I regularly connect my T3 to my Legend, but newer ones with USB connections can only connect to a PC, nothing else. In order to get somewhat faster connections to a PC, the manufacturers have eliminated the capability of connecting to anything else. All this came about because Micro$oft decided to implement a new protocol without fully thinking through all the implications, and forcing it on us through its marketing clout.

[+JaySTE]

I'm new to paperless caching, having recently acquired a Palm IIIxe at a yard sale. I use GPX spinner and Plucker to get the cache pages on my Palm. My GPS is a yellow Etrex. Both devices connect via serial cables.

 

My question is what advantages would I have by connecting my Etrex to my Palm IIIxe?

 

FWIW, I found a cable to connect my units here: http://pfranc.com/cgi-bin/P/BH121900/

 

Jay

Edited May 27, 2007 by JaySTE

[+ergomaniac]

I'm new to paperless caching, having recently acquired a Palm IIIxe at a yard sale. I use GPX spinner and Plucker to get the cache pages on my Palm. My GPS is a yellow Etrex. Both devices connect via serial cables.

 

My question is what advantages would I have by connecting my Etrex to my Palm IIIxe?

 

FWIW, I found a cable to connect my units here: http://pfranc.com/cgi-bin/P/BH121900/

 

Jay

 

That cable is the expensive way to go... all you need is your GPS and PDA cables and a null modem connector (like this http://www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=121390 ) to join the cables. I picked up my connector for $4.

 

I don't know if GPX Spinner and Plucker would allow you to transfer waypoints from your PDA to your GPS, I've never used them. Cachemate is cheap and works well with the Palm IIIxe. The advantage is that you can load cache coordinates and info onto your PDA for thousands of caches and can download waypoints from your PDA to the GPS. My old yellow Etrex only held 500 points which was a problem when I travelled around out of my local area. With Cachemate I can load up cache info from several areas and carry them with me and bulk load the GPS as needed. Saves a lot of time compared to keying coords for individual caches.

[+NightPilot]

If you connect your GPS to your Palm, you can use Cachemate to find the closest caches to your location. You can use the CacheNav plugin to navigate. If you don't want to pay for Cachemate, you can use CetusGPS (freeware) to get the caches and navigate using that. GPSBabel will take the caches and convert them to Cetus format. Both CacheNav and Cetus give more options while navigating than the yellow eTrex alone does. Ergomaniac is correct in that you can use a null modem to connect your current cables, or you can buy just the pFranc connectors and make your own cables. It's up to you how you do it.

[+JaySTE]

That cable is the expensive way to go... all you need is your GPS and PDA cables and a null modem connector (like this http://www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=121390 ) to join the cables.

 

Cachemate is cheap and works well with the Palm IIIxe. The advantage is that you can load cache coordinates and info onto your PDA for thousands of caches and can download waypoints from your PDA to the GPS. My old yellow Etrex only held 500 points which was a problem when I travelled around out of my local area. With Cachemate I can load up cache info from several areas and carry them with me and bulk load the GPS as needed. Saves a lot of time compared to keying coords for individual caches.

 

If you connect your GPS to your Palm, you can use Cachemate to find the closest caches to your location.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. That's just the kind of info I was looking for. I like the idea of the null modem connector, that way I can still run my GPS off the vehicle power using my serial / power cord for the GPS. Now the serial end of the cable will have a function while I am driving, no longer will it just be taking up space.

 

Jay