Garmin 62S w/ APRS

[+jchabalk]

Hi there, i'm wondering if anyone's got a 62S device in use with APRS. Actually anyone who's using one of the newer model garmin devices that don't have a serial connection but rely on Garmin's special USB cable that allows straight serial out NMEA data...

 

From what i can dig up online there are only a few people using this cable on the new handhelds. I have a 60CSx that i built a custom cable for that lets me output Serial NMEA data to my APRS radio and also gets 12v power into the GPS. works like a charm.

 

With my new 62S i have acquired the proper bare wire from garmin (Garmin Part Number: 010-11131-00)

 

The question I have is about the USB end on the cable. On the Garmin site the usb plug is "straight," on the one that i ordered and received the USB plug is built at a 90 degree angle. The way the port on the GPS is oriented the 90 degree bend has the cable go right up and over the unit which would work but is generally poor.

 

Does anyone else have one of these cables? and if so did i get the wrong one for the GPSMAP62 Series? If the 90 degree bend was the opposite direction it would actually be pretty slick, straight out the back would work just fine too, that's what i expecting.

 

Here's a picture of the one i have, the one on the Garmin site shows a straight USB plug. Same part number etc...

 

GPSCity (The one i have):

 

Garmin:

Edited June 11, 2011 by jchabalk

[+jchabalk]

ok ok, i'm going to keep this thread going

 

I ordered the proper straight USB cable from West Marine today, it should be here in a couple of days. It's pretty weird how the Garmin part number is identical on the two cables but they have both a straight and a 90 degree version depending on where you get it. I suppose i could still be surprised and end up with another of the 90 degree cables but they told me it would be as it appeared in the picture which is straight.

 

While I had everything out I took the opportunity to test the set up with the 90 degree cable using alligator clip hook-ups. I have a Kenwood D710 radio that i've installed in my car in a way that i can use my Garmin handheld (formerly a 60CSx, now a 62S) for driving navigation and also to dump coordinates to the radio. The installation is rather inconspicuous and it can all be removed in just a couple of seconds so I can still park on the city streets. To do this I've built a couple of custom cables and cable-extensions and run everything off of a switched circuit installed off the car's battery. Once I get my 62S up and running as it should be I try to upload some pics of the whole thing in case any else is interested.

 

I set the interface on the "Driving" profile on my 62S to "NMEA IN/OUT" and then hooked up the hardwire as following:

Round DC Plug:

Red: 13.8v (switched circuit)

Black: Ground

 

3.5mm TRS for Serial Data:

White (Serial Data In): Tip

Green (Serial Ground): Sleeve

Yellow (Serial Data Out): Ring

 

I had brought the radio inside and powered it through my DC power supply on my bench so i could work on everything without being in the car and it all worked perfectly. (Got a firmware update of everything in at the same time too.)

 

The only question I have for now is - does anyone know what's inside the small box that's part of the hardwire? I'm guessing it's some sort of solid-state buffer for the serial data and a voltage regulator for the power in/out but i've never seen any other company do something like this using a USB port unless whatever's part of the cable is simply acting as a USB endpoint and outputting serial data. I dig it, for a while there i thought they were going to leave us serial users in the dirt.

[+coggins]

Looking forward to seeing the results:)

 

I know some of the newer gps units will show other APRS stations on the gps display, kind of like a Rino on steroids

[+jchabalk]

The last few days have been rather fruitless. i ordered a couple of cables from West Marine as their web site showed the "correct" straight USB cable rather than the one with a 90 degree bend. The cables arrived at the store yesterday and they are in-fact the 90 degree version.

 

I called Garmin this morning and the person I spoke with said that they have no power/serial cable specifically for the GPSMAP62 series and that the one i have with the 90 degree bend in it is the only one they sell. He had no idea why the pictures showed a straight cable.

 

I'm guessing this is probably a pretty low-yield item for garmin so there's likely no 62 series specific cable on its way. They Garmin support people had no idea.

 

i'm going to build up my cable using the wrong-way 90-degree version soon (whenever i have some time) and just use it. i don't anticipate any problems. more to come.

[rsaxvc]

I use a 62S w /APRS sometimes. The APRS messages generate waypoints on the device, and it works pretty well.

 

-KD0LIX

[Grasscatcher]

Doesn't it make you wish that you had a 78 instead of a 62?

 

I run APRS on a 78S (and also a 76CSx and a 76CS before that) all(data & power) done thru one single Garmin round 4 pin plug. Powered from Snowmobile,ATV,car battery, or for hiking. a 12 volt separate sealed LA battery, and hooked to my Kenwood D7.

 

Started off using an old 4 pin serial cable from my 12XL.

[+jchabalk]

use used to use a 60CSx which i think uses the same 4-pin round plug you're talking about, it works perfectly and fits the device just right, i'm hoping that they come out with a similar cable for the 62 series.

 

rsaxvc - how do you connect your 62S to your radio? are you using the same cable i've been talking about?

[+michaelnel]

I wonder if something from this place might help?

 

http://www.usbfirewire.com/uextendminib.html

[rsaxvc]

use used to use a 60CSx which i think uses the same 4-pin round plug you're talking about, it works perfectly and fits the device just right, i'm hoping that they come out with a similar cable for the 62 series.

 

rsaxvc - how do you connect your 62S to your radio? are you using the same cable i've been talking about?

 

Same cable. I've got a TH-D7A, then a combination 3.5mm headphone jack cable and Garmin NMEA cable (010-11131-00). 62 tells Kenwood where we are, and Kenwood tells GPS where everyone else is.

 

http://garmin.blogs.com/softwareupdates/2009/06/aprs-support-in-colorado-and-oregon.html

[Grasscatcher]

use used to use a 60CSx which i think uses the same 4-pin round plug you're talking about, it works perfectly and fits the device just right, i'm hoping that they come out with a similar cable for the 62 series.

 

rsaxvc - how do you connect your 62S to your radio? are you using the same cable i've been talking about?

 

No round 4 pin plug on the 62 is there?

 

Garmin screwed up IMHO.

[Grasscatcher]

use used to use a 60CSx which i think uses the same 4-pin round plug you're talking about, it works perfectly and fits the device just right, i'm hoping that they come out with a similar cable for the 62 series.

 

rsaxvc - how do you connect your 62S to your radio? are you using the same cable i've been talking about?

 

Same cable. I've got a TH-D7A, then a combination 3.5mm headphone jack cable and Garmin NMEA cable (010-11131-00). 62 tells Kenwood where we are, and Kenwood tells GPS where everyone else is.

 

http://garmin.blogs.com/softwareupdates/2009/06/aprs-support-in-colorado-and-oregon.html

 

But you have to run strictly on internal battery power..... correct?

 

When you receive a "second" report from a specific station, does your hookup create a totally NEW waypoint or does the GPS just UPDATE the coordinates for that callsign and display it's new location?

 

Everytime there is a software update, be sure and check to see if it still works correctly after updating. My old 76CS originally worked correctly,(updating coordinates) then it changed and Garmin says SOL, discontinued model. The 76CSx originally only created NEW points, but then it was changed to UPDATE.....which reminds me, I need to check the 78S.

 

Creating new points everytime, you can quickly run out of waypoint capacity.

 

"They" may not even mention it in the "changes" for a new version, because "they" don't even have a clue how it affects APRS operation so APRS users have to be vigilant.

[+K4NNW]

Since it appears that nobody has resolved this issue, I e-mailed Garmin product support to see if they had any idea what's going on. For the record, I just updated the unit to v4.30 last night. This is what I sent them:

 

"After noticing a menu option for NMEA input/output (setup-> sysetem-> interface), I purchased a serial data/power cable (part number 010-11131-00) and attempted to interface the unit to some APRS hardware with known working serial ports (Argent Data Systems Tracker2 and Kenwood TH-D7A, to be precise). Neither of these (nor my computer's terminal program) would recognize any data coming from the unit with the interface set to NMEA in/out with WPL/RTE sentences on. However, I've noticed a steady 4.8VDC on the white wire and 6VDC on the green wire, but only when hooked up to an external 12V power supply. With no power applied, there is no voltage on either of these. Curiously, there is no change in either of these values when WPL, RTE sentences are turned off, or when the device is set to any other interface mode.

That being said, does this cable require external power to be present, does it require the GPS to be on battery power, or can it work both ways? Also, does this output at 4800bps, or 9600?"

 

I'm hoping that there is a way to extract data out of this thing, especially without external power. If not, I'll probably buy a 78 eventually and do something with the 62. It's a shame that they dropped the ball on this one.

[rsaxvc]

Since it appears that nobody has resolved this issue, I e-mailed Garmin product support to see if they had any idea what's going on. For the record, I just updated the unit to v4.30 last night. This is what I sent them:

 

"After noticing a menu option for NMEA input/output (setup-> sysetem-> interface), I purchased a serial data/power cable (part number 010-11131-00) and attempted to interface the unit to some APRS hardware with known working serial ports (Argent Data Systems Tracker2 and Kenwood TH-D7A, to be precise). Neither of these (nor my computer's terminal program) would recognize any data coming from the unit with the interface set to NMEA in/out with WPL/RTE sentences on. However, I've noticed a steady 4.8VDC on the white wire and 6VDC on the green wire, but only when hooked up to an external 12V power supply. With no power applied, there is no voltage on either of these. Curiously, there is no change in either of these values when WPL, RTE sentences are turned off, or when the device is set to any other interface mode.

That being said, does this cable require external power to be present, does it require the GPS to be on battery power, or can it work both ways? Also, does this output at 4800bps, or 9600?"

 

I'm hoping that there is a way to extract data out of this thing, especially without external power. If not, I'll probably buy a 78 eventually and do something with the 62. It's a shame that they dropped the ball on this one.

 

It does require a 12-24v power for the cable. I'll try and load current software on mine to check.

 

There's also cable #010-10572-00 which should work on Colorado, Oregon 300/400/450/550 and GPSMap62/62S/62ST, but doesn't require power. It may drain your batteries faster though.

 

EDIT: I had the part numbers mixed up. 010-10572-00 doesn't need external power and 010-11131-00 needs external power, but won't run your batteries down.

Edited July 9, 2012 by rsaxvc

[rsaxvc]

I pulled out the voltmeter - I have 5 lines on my 010-11131-00, and I have 4.20 on my GPSMap62S, with the following signals

 

Black - DC supply ground (~0V, all further measurements relative to this one)

Red - 13.5 Volts from DC supply

Yellow - live, working NMEA data output, 4800 baud, shows as voltage fluctuating voltage

Green - serial ground (~0V)

White - high impedance(input)

[+K4NNW]

I'll see if I can order one of those this weekend. The only trouble appears to be that this cable has been discontinued. Ironically, one of the responses I got from Garmin was a link to this thread.

[rsaxvc]

However, I've noticed a steady 4.8VDC on the white wire and 6VDC on the green wire, but only when hooked up to an external 12V power supply.

 

What were you measuring green in reference to?

[+K4NNW]

Yellow, methinks. I'll check it again when I get home next, but the cable is 100 miles from me at the moment.

[+K4NNW]

Yes, that IS in reference to yellow being the ground. However, when I measure any voltage using the black wire as ground, I only get voltage in two places. I get a steady -6VDC on the yellow wire, and supply voltage on the red. I wish I could hunt down the schematic for this cable, since I don't have the color codes for it... either that, or they've become rather lost.

[rsaxvc]

Yes, that IS in reference to yellow being the ground. However, when I measure any voltage using the black wire as ground, I only get voltage in two places. I get a steady -6VDC on the yellow wire, and supply voltage on the red. I wish I could hunt down the schematic for this cable, since I don't have the color codes for it... either that, or they've become rather lost.

 

Here's the pinout:

Red - DC supply positive power (some large range of inputs accepted here, works on 12volt cars and 24volt trucks)

Black - DC supply ground

Green - serial ground

Yellow - serial TX (RX here to listed to GPS)

White - serial RX (TX here to send to GPS)

 

Green and Black (the two grounds) should be fairly close together in voltage on this cable.

 

Seeing -6VDC means that the cable has detected the unit, and that the cable is active. -6VDC in RS232-speak is a MARK bit, and since you're not seeing any SPACE bits, the bus appears to be working but nobody's talking. Does the GPSMAP have a GPS-fix? Alternatively, can you send it NMEA data from a PC?

[+K4NNW]

Yes, it had a fix, and no, I could not send data to it.

[rsaxvc]

Yes, it had a fix, and no, I could not send data to it.

 

Have you tried talking to it in Garmin-Serial mode? There are a few desktop programs you could use to verify the unit can communicate over that cable.

[+K4NNW]

No I haven't. What programs might those be?

[rsaxvc]

No I haven't. What programs might those be?

Mapsource should connect if the unit is set to 'Garmin Serial' mode.

[+Red90]

It MUST be in serial mode to stream NMEA... Use Franson's GPSGate on the computer to see what is up.

[rsaxvc]

It MUST be in serial mode to stream NMEA... Use Franson's GPSGate on the computer to see what is up.

 

there's a few different modes:

 

• Garmin Spanner - use a normal USB cable and Garmin USB Drivers, and set Franson to 'Garmin USB', but this won't help us troubleshoot the problem.
  
• Garmin Serial - use the cable you're working with now, attached to an RS232 port on the desktop, and set Franson to 'Garmin COM'
  
• NMEA - use the cable you're working with now, attached to an RS232 port on the desktop, and hyperterminal, or Franson set to 'COM'
  

[+K4NNW]

Today, I finally got the time and hardware together to poke around and figure out what's going on with this thing. Since I don't have a Windows machine with a serial port, I fired up CuteCom and hooked up a cable to my Garmin 276C. As predicted, I started getting data easily. This is what showed up:

SK\0xd5\0xd4\0x15\0xd2\0x93\0x93\0x0925)\0x8f\0xe9

%EU\0xc5\0x8ab\0x8ab\0x1a\0xb1\0xa9\0xcd\0xdd5)G:A\0x05A\0x09\0xb1Y\0xb1Y\0xb1\0xb1\0xb19\0xb1\0x05\0xb1Y\0xb1\0xb1\0xb1\0xb1\0xb1\0xb1\0xb1\0xb19\0xa9\0xdd\0x195)\0xff$GPRMC,,V,,,,,,,220712,8.5,W,N*23

$GPRMB,V,,,,,,,,,,,,A,N*13

$GPGGA,,,,,,0,00,,,M,,M,,*66

$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E

$GPGSV,3,1,12,02,68,007,00,03,00,336,00,05,63,212,00,06,00,317,00*74

$GPGSV,3,2,12,07,00,086,00,08,00,120,00,09,00,221,00,10,55,052,00*77

$GPGSV,3,3,12,13,18,055,00,17,08,130,00,26,04,168,00,29,16,313,00*7F

However, after double-checking my pinouts, I fired up the 62 to see what would happen... nothing. It didn't matter what mode I used. I didn't get a thing out of it. By the way, I was using Garmin part #010-11131-00 for this, with 13.8VDC input. I tried to order Garmin part #010-10572-00 earlier in the week, but nobody has it, since it's been discontinued. Surprise, surprise. Requiring external power to even have a hope for serial data is a deal-breaker. It appears that a 78s will be in my future.

[+fabifri_OE9FRV]

Hi folks!

 

I just have bought a brand new GPSmap 62s, and I'm very statisfied with it. Seeking some geocaches and using it with the very detail rich OpenMTBMaps makes really fun. Now it comes to the Amateur Radio part. I'm a Ham since 2008, and now i was researching how to connect the GPSmap 62s to the Kenwood TM-D710 or TH-D72.

It seems a little bit tricky, because of the lack of documentation from Garmin. (about their features and pinouts...) It seems that someone has already tried it, maybe he has already replied to this thread. He writes in his Blog, that it's working: Garmin GPSmap 62s NEMA Serial Port

 

I want to build up a splitter cable. On one side with the Garmin USB Plug and on the other side a cigarette-lighter-plug and a 2.5"-Plug. Will this be possible? What do you think?

 

regards

Fabian (aka OE9FRV)

 

//EDIT: I also haven't seen the GPSMap 62s on the compatibility list from the part 010-11131-00. There is only 62stc, 62st, 62sc.

Edited July 23, 2012 by fabifri

[rsaxvc]

I want to build up a splitter cable. On one side with the Garmin USB Plug and on the other side a cigarette-lighter-plug and a 2.5"-Plug. Will this be possible? What do you think?

 

That's what I've been using in the car since I upgraded to the Montana. I added a medium-sized capacitor to level out the alternator noise.