oarsmann Posted March 3, 2003 Posted March 3, 2003 Has anyone out there tried to make a USB or Firewire comm cable for the eTrex series? Should be simple, but I wonder how I could get the software to detect the unit with alternative connection types. Anybody have experience with this? Quote
+BigNick Posted March 4, 2003 Posted March 4, 2003 quote:Originally posted by oarsmann:make a USB or Firewire comm cable... Should be simple... If simple actually means extremely complex, then yes it would be simple Not only will this require a sound knowledge of electronics, you will also need to write software to recognize your adapter and to emulate a serial port. Make life easy on yourself and just buy a Keyspan serial adapter or similar. Cheers Nick. Quote
oarsmann Posted March 4, 2003 Author Posted March 4, 2003 Anyone who's ever set up a stereo or home ethernet network should be able to connect the cable to a USB plug, provided they know which leads are for data in, out, and ground. In fact, Garmin makes a loose end cable for you to do just that. I'm just wondering if there is software/driver support out there for the faster communication standards. Quote
01ROVER Posted March 4, 2003 Posted March 4, 2003 http://www.gpscity.com/gps/brados/4216.3.13091496386989143477/usb6adapter.html Is this what you are after? Greg Quote
01ROVER Posted March 4, 2003 Posted March 4, 2003 here is a shorter version: http://www.gpscity.com/gps/brados/4216.6.11955210592189143477/usb4adapter.html Quote
+Desert_Warrior Posted March 4, 2003 Posted March 4, 2003 quote:Originally posted by 01ROVER:here is a shorter version: http://www.gpscity.com/gps/brados/4216.6.11955210592189143477/usb4adapter.html I believe I paid about $13.00 each for 4 of them over the web. And they are working FINE! Who would pay $40.00 for that cable? Or maybe I should ask, what makes a $13 cable worth $40? Just a quick search.... $18.00 You need to look for the $13 yourself. Mike. Desert_Warrior (aka KD9KC). El Paso, Texas. Citizens of this land may own guns. Not to threaten their neighbors, but to ensure themselves of liberty and freedom. They are not assault weapons anymore... they are HOMELAND DEFENSE WEAPONS! Quote
+BigNick Posted March 4, 2003 Posted March 4, 2003 quote:Originally posted by oarsmann:Anyone who's ever set up a stereo or home ethernet network should be able to connect the cable to a USB plug, provided they know which leads are for data in, out, and ground. Unfortunately USB is not a simple serial connection (nor is firewire). You need some electronics in one end, plus some software to emulate a serial port running on your host operating system - it is not just a case of putting the correct plug on the end of the basic bare wire garmin cable. It's a bit like saying that putting a HD15 plug on the end of a coax cable will let you use your TV as a monitor on your computer! Hopefully one day Garmin will provide both serial and USB connections on their GPS units (and bluetooth would also be nice ) Cheers Nick. Quote
+Harrald Posted March 4, 2003 Posted March 4, 2003 quote:Originally posted by BigNick:<> Hopefully one day Garmin will provide both serial and USB connections on their GPS units (and bluetooth would also be nice ) <> Don't hold your breath. I (and others) have emailed them about adding USB support. They have flatly refused to change. They quote some BS about there being no standard yet. I think the average user has no need to handle (upload and download) as many waypoints as geocachers do. Out of the 8 friends I have that own GPS units I'm the only one that uses a computer with it. Mostly they waypoint fishing holes and hunting tree stands. If they have 80 waypoints between them I would be surprised. That being said. I don't think we're a large enough market for the large R&D and retooling cost. The addition of the Geocaching Icon was a cheap way to keep us happy. I'm sure if more people wrote to them though things could change. ==================================== As always, the above statements are just MHO. ==================================== Quote
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.