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ETrex-H Wanted


BigOpe

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Will read up on the Vista. Problem I've encountered before is different plugs at the GPS end, not the computer end. Had to have different cables for my Windows 7 desktop PC and my Windows 8.1 laptop, and the plugs at the GPS were different on the two cables.

 

I'm not sure I follow. Why did you need two cables for your laptop and desktop when the USB ports on the computer are the same? And if you're talking about the GPS end, they would only be different if you've had more than one GPS.

 

My point is that all GPS models in the past.... 8-10 years all connect with a standard USB cable. Thus if you need extra cables, you can get one at radio shack or wal mart. The GPS has a mini-USB type A and the computer is a regular USB type A. This is an improvement over old eTrex line which connected via serial cable, which is no longer supported, and required a special cable to convert to USB. Normally I'd agree that that older GPS technology is still functional today, but this is one case where I advocate leaving unsupported standards in the past.

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Is there a difference between the etrex H and an etrex Venture HC? I have a Garmin etrex Venture HC that I might be willing to part with.

 

Yes. The Venture HC is newer (than the h), has a color screen, connects via true USB (as opposed to a serial port with USB converter cable). I think both still predate paperless caching.

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Will read up on the Vista. Problem I've encountered before is different plugs at the GPS end, not the computer end. Had to have different cables for my Windows 7 desktop PC and my Windows 8.1 laptop, and the plugs at the GPS were different on the two cables.

 

I'm not sure I follow. Why did you need two cables for your laptop and desktop when the USB ports on the computer are the same? And if you're talking about the GPS end, they would only be different if you've had more than one GPS.

 

My point is that all GPS models in the past.... 8-10 years all connect with a standard USB cable. Thus if you need extra cables, you can get one at radio shack or wal mart. The GPS has a mini-USB type A and the computer is a regular USB type A. This is an improvement over old eTrex line which connected via serial cable, which is no longer supported, and required a special cable to convert to USB. Normally I'd agree that that older GPS technology is still functional today, but this is one case where I advocate leaving unsupported standards in the past.

 

The difference was actually in the SOFTWARE that enabled whatever the GPS speaks to communicate with Windows. The plugs at the computer end were both normal USB, the plugs at the GPS end were the same as far as the contacts, but were different shaped. (BTW, on the Etrex-H it is NOT a mini-USB Type A, but rather an oddball slide-on connector with four copper contacts, never seen it anywhere else but on the Etrex-H.)

 

But the REAL difference that required a second cable was that the software for my first, Windows 7 cable did not work with Windows 8 and was not going to be upgraded, so I had to get a second cable. Second cable, in turn, had the right connector at the GPS end but terminated in a serial connector, so I also needed a serial-to-USB adapter. Simple problem, really, but the various bits and pieces to solve it were most definitely NOT to be found at Radio Shack, BestBuy, etc. All hail the Internet, I found them all there eventually.

 

But the good news, found an Etrex-H on EBay, so I'm back in business.

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