+ottor Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Was given a Garmin eTrex Venture HC handheld GPS .... I already have the Natl Geographic TOPO maps for my State. Is there a way I can load the Maps on my laptop, attach the Garmin to my Laptop, and have it provide "Real Time" navagation on the mapscreen on the PC ?? If not ...... what would I need to accomplish that? (I have a bit of a vision problem and find the small screen of the Garmin a bit of a problem to read - I normally travel off road in my vehicle, and using the 15" laptop for navigation would be much more comfortable) Thanks, r Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I don't know about the National Geo maps but you could certainly do it via mapsource or basecamp and any number of free maps that can be downloaded into either. Quote Link to comment
+ngrrfan Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) Was given a Garmin eTrex Venture HC handheld GPS .... I already have the Natl Geographic TOPO maps for my State. Is there a way I can load the Maps on my laptop, attach the Garmin to my Laptop, and have it provide "Real Time" navagation on the mapscreen on the PC ?? If not ...... what would I need to accomplish that? (I have a bit of a vision problem and find the small screen of the Garmin a bit of a problem to read - I normally travel off road in my vehicle, and using the 15" laptop for navigation would be much more comfortable) Look at the tool bar at the top of the Topo program and you will see that you can connect a GPSr to it, show your position, and start auto tracking. That should do what you want to do. Edited January 31, 2013 by ngrrfan Quote Link to comment
Grasscatcher Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) I can't remember if the Venture H has a serial port or not....... (round 4 pin Garmin connector) What is required to do what you want is to use one of the (older) Garmin models compatible with serial cable. (old e-trex, 60 / 76 series and other older models) Don't believe it can be done hooking up with USB. Unit must be set on "Garmin" or "Garmin Serial" (not nmea in/out, spanner,etc) under Main menu/system/interface. I just did it with my 76CSx and my 78S and it worked perfectly. Edited January 31, 2013 by Grasscatcher Quote Link to comment
+Red90 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) Yes, but you will need Franson's GPSGate or similar. http://gpsgate.com/support/using_a_garmin_gps_as_input Edited January 31, 2013 by Red90 Quote Link to comment
Grasscatcher Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Yes, but you will need Franson's GPSGate or similar. http://gpsgate.com/support/using_a_garmin_gps_as_input Why do you say that? I don't have that (software program) and I just hooked up my 76CSx and my 78S by serial cable to my laptop and in TOPO! I went into Handhelds, setup auto tracking and it started tracking. Immediately my position showed up onscreen. Quote Link to comment
+Red90 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 I normally travel off road in my vehicle, and using the 15" laptop for navigation would be much more comfortable) You can also consider a standalone USB GPS. I use a Globalsat MR-350 connected to a laptop. They are quite cheap and with mounting outside, reception is wonderful. Quote Link to comment
+ottor Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 I normally travel off road in my vehicle, and using the 15" laptop for navigation would be much more comfortable) You can also consider a standalone USB GPS. I use a Globalsat MR-350 connected to a laptop. They are quite cheap and with mounting outside, reception is wonderful. Sounds interesting ... what Mapping software are you using with your gps? appreciate the info.... r Quote Link to comment
+Red90 Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Sounds interesting ... what Mapping software are you using with your gps? You can use anything you want once you have a PC. I use GPSGate to get the data from the GPS and save a log of all the tracks. I have Garmin's Mobile PC and nRoute on there as well as Fugawi and Oziexplorer. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.