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Connecting meri-gold to laptop with serial/USB converter


mookie

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OK any of you hardware tech-types out there, here’s a question for you. I’ve got a Magellan Meridian Gold with data cable that has a serial connector. I would like to connect the meri-gold to my laptop. The laptop does not have a serial port but does have a usb port. I know they make a serial to usb converter/connector so I will be able to physically connect my gpsr to my laptop. My question is…. will the gpsr be recognized by map software like ExpertGPS if it’s not connected via a true serial/COM port? I don’t have ExpertGPS yet or the connector but after reading the ExpertGPS website, I think its looking for a serial/COM connection. I am sending an email to ExpertGPS support with this question, but I wanted to give you guys a chance to show off your technical side:) Anybody else run into this before? or able to shed some technical light on my dilemma? All theories and suggestions welcome.

 

Thanks,

 

mookie

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Here's the response I got from TopoGrafix support...

>>>I've heard from many users who are doing this successfully. ExpertGPS now supports COM1-COM9, and your USB-Serial adapter should show up as a virtual COM port.<<<

 

I'd still like to hear from somebody who doing this successfully but I'll probably spring for the adapter and try it with the ExpertGPS demo.

 

mookie

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One of my local Staples stores was going out of business this weekend and I picked up a Belkin USB-Serial Adapter (F5U103) for 60% off.

I just installed it under Windows 2000 and it seems to work great with my Meridian and ExpertGPS 1.1.

I haven't tried MapSend Topo or TopoUSA yet.

I did have to re-boot to get the device to configure properly, but that's Windows for you. House of cards. icon_smile.gif

I expected some issues with the adapter since I have a dual-processor PC and sometimes USB drivers don't deal well with SMP, but there doesn't seem to be any problems.

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Thanks for the info infosponge. Now I see where you got the nickname. I looked locally at Best Buy and CompUSA and neither had the cable adapter. They both had a device that you could plug into the usb port of your computer and it would give you 2-3 serial ports. Too big and Too much $$$, about $75 I think. Saturday, I ordered a cable type converter online for $23 from buy.com, I just checked and they haven't shipped yet icon_mad.gif This is a case where I would gladly pay a few bucks more and get it locally. I didn't even think to check Staples or Office Depot/Max, maybe I'll try there at lunch today.

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quote:
Originally posted by geebeebop:

Thanks for info Mookie. I was just wondering if the drivers for the serial/USB converter will work with Windows XP.


 

Actually I'm using this on my Toshiba laptop running XP. There were no XP drivers on the CD that came with the cable so I used the ones listed for Win2000. XP gave me a warning that these were not XP drivers. I felt adventurious and loaded them anyway. They have worked without problem for three days now. I haven't gone to Hawking's site to see if they have XP drivers yet, maybe they are out there. If you rather not use non-XP drivers you may want to check the manufacturer web site before you buy a cable. I know Belkin makes a cable as well as a couple of other companies. I just bought the Hawking because it was the cheapest icon_wink.gif

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I believe the problems relating to USB-serial adapters go back to the application (mapping)software you are using. Most older serial communications libraries relied on the fact that when a character arrived on the serial port, the port hardware raised an interrupt on a particular IRQ (interrupt request queue). As I recall, serial ports used IRQ 3 and 4 by default. The USB adapters will not trigger the hardware interrupt. Any software written lately uses Windows services instead of hardware interrupts. If your application can be configured to use serial ports greater than 4, it should work with the adapter.

 

Rick WØYGH Belton, MO

N 38°49.370 W 094°33.150 or thereabouts

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quote:
Originally posted by mookie:

OK any of you hardware tech-types out there, here’s a question for you. I’ve got a Magellan Meridian Gold with data cable that has a serial connector. I would like to connect the meri-gold to my laptop. The laptop does not have a serial port but does have a usb port. I know they make a serial to usb converter/connector so I will be able to physically connect my gpsr to my laptop. My question is…. will the gpsr be recognized by map software like ExpertGPS if it’s not connected via a true serial/COM port? I don’t have ExpertGPS yet or the connector but after reading the ExpertGPS website, I think its looking for a serial/COM connection. I am sending an email to ExpertGPS support with this question, but I wanted to give you guys a chance to show off your technical side:) Anybody else run into this before? or able to shed some technical light on my dilemma? All theories and suggestions welcome.

 

Thanks,

 

mookie


Hi mookie,

 

I had the same problem. I bought a Compaq laptop and it does not have a serial port. After much look and reading I found out, you have to buy a docking station. I bought The mobility EasiDock usb 200. No the computer is not very portable. Hope that helps you.

 

KF5DM

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