+juanbob Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 I have read some past posts regarding USB to Serial converters. I have a serial port, so that is not the problem...just wondering if I get the USB to serial converter if my transfer speeds to my Garmin datacard will speed up? Is transfer speed limited by the serial interface, or the unit itself? With a 64MB datacard, it takes hours to transfer all the data by serial. Just hoping for an alternative to speed things up short of buying the datacard writer. Thanks for any info or help anyone can offer. Juanbob Quote Link to comment
Schlags Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 Juanbob, The data rate ("speed") is indeed limited by the serial interface of the GPSR. The only advantage to USB is it's more convenient. Quote Link to comment
+juanbob Posted August 21, 2002 Author Share Posted August 21, 2002 I was afraid of that Thanks for the info...just saved me the trouble of buying a converter cable. Juanbob Quote Link to comment
+Minex Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 Is there actually a USB to serial converter? I stopped by CompUSA the other day and one of the sales rep's said that there's only serial to USB converters... not the other way around. Quote Link to comment
+juanbob Posted August 21, 2002 Author Share Posted August 21, 2002 OOOPS...Did I get it backwards. Serial to USB...like plug serial cable into USB port on computer. I am a spaz...always typo-ing Juanbob Quote Link to comment
+sbukosky Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 Well this is kind of off topic. I appreciated the need to increase download speed as I have a 64 meg card in my eMap. It takes about 2.5 hours to fill it up but I just do that before I go to bed. It is a pain if you need a change at the last minute though. My question is regarding the connection. Speed aside, I really want to connect via the USB connection rather than the serial port. I've lost two boards so far from hot connections. So the question is, can the cord be connected through a serial to USB adaptor and will the Mapsource and EasyGPS software work? Steve Bukosky N9BGH Waukesha Wisconsin Quote Link to comment
SergZak Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Steve Bukosky:Well this is kind of off topic. I appreciated the need to increase download speed as I have a 64 meg card in my eMap. It takes about 2.5 hours to fill it up but I just do that before I go to bed. It is a pain if you need a change at the last minute though. My question is regarding the connection. Speed aside, I really want to connect via the USB connection rather than the serial port. I've lost two boards so far from hot connections. So the question is, can the cord be connected through a serial to USB adaptor and will the Mapsource and EasyGPS software work? Steve Bukosky N9BGH Waukesha Wisconsin Steve, A USB Serial adapter should work just fine for you using MapSource and EasyGPS (I know MapSource will for sure but I don't use EasyGPS so...) Have you thought about getting the Garmin USB Data Card Programmer for uploading MapSource maps to the data card? It sure beats the S L O W and sometimes unreliable serial port. Using the programmer, you can write a full 64mb data card in about 3-4 minutes. It may bit a bit expensive (about $80) but in my opinion, it paid for itself the first time I used it. It's a great time saver along with knowing that the data *will* be transferred to the card the first time and every time Quote Link to comment
Couch_Potato Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Steve Bukosky:My question is regarding the connection. Speed aside, I really want to connect via the USB connection rather than the serial port. I've lost two boards so far from hot connections. So the question is, can the cord be connected through a serial to USB adaptor and will the Mapsource and EasyGPS software work? I'm using one of the serial to USB converters with no trouble. Well, no trouble once I finally managed to get Windoze98 to recognize it and install the proper drivers (for some reason it wanted to use the WinXP driver). I can't guarantee that it works with Mapsource since I don't have it, but I know it does work with EasyGPS, GPSTrackmaker, USAPhotomaps, and everything else I've tried it with. As long as you can choose which COM port that the software uses it should be compatible with the adaptor. If somebody wants to buy me a copy of Mapsource I'd be happy to test it out and let you know. I'm not lost! I just don't know where I am. Quote Link to comment
+sbukosky Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 Thanks for the info. Already won an adapter and USB hub on eBay. Can't wait to see if my money was well spent, unlike the shoes that don't fit and the PDA case that was, well, not worth the $34.95 retail price it was claimed to be. Steve Bukosky N9BGH Waukesha Wisconsin Quote Link to comment
+sbukosky Posted August 31, 2002 Share Posted August 31, 2002 it is a little touchy. After a little downloading and uploading I had to reboot the eMap to get it downloading again. Sometimes I initially get a no communicating message but on the next retry it works. Steve Bukosky N9BGH Waukesha Wisconsin Quote Link to comment
+ApK Posted September 3, 2002 Share Posted September 3, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Minex:Is there actually a USB to serial converter? I stopped by CompUSA the other day and one of the sales rep's said that there's only serial to USB converters... not the other way around. ??? Next time tell the sales person to turn around 180 degrees and ask the question again... The serial device you hook the adapter to is talking back to the computer, isn't it? Quote Link to comment
+Knoarmann&Phryd Posted September 4, 2002 Share Posted September 4, 2002 quote:Is there actually a USB to serial converter? Yeup... I have this one: http://www.keyspan.com/products/usb/pdaadapter/ and it works fine to help the path from my Mac Pizmo to the Magellan gold. Quote Link to comment
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