+Desert_Warrior Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Like many others, I an strongly considering selling my 2 month old VISTA, and getting a GPSMAP-60CS. HOWEVER.... I do not see a way to get the 60CS to talk to TOPO or ExpertGPS. Both of these programs are based on the serial port. Anyone heard anything? Or should I be sending a message to them for the answers? Thanks - Y-all have a great Sunday. Quote Link to comment
anmtcalf Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 the 60 series is compatable and garmin sells a pc interface cable that connects to the serial port. problem solved. Quote Link to comment
+phantom4099 Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Looking at the 60 manual it looks like you can use the standard round cable for serial interface. It also has a seperate USB port, so you can load maps faster. Wyatt W. Quote Link to comment
+aka Monkey Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Just pick up the cable from GPSGeek.com for $7.45 and you're all set. Quote Link to comment
+Greg&Patty Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Check out this thread http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=62640 EasyGPS /ExpertGPS may have USB support in the spring/summer. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 (edited) My understanding is that it ships with both a Serial and USB interface. Edited January 19, 2004 by Renegade Knight Quote Link to comment
+Rubberhead Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 The amazing thing is that the GPSmap 60CS's USB interface looks like it takes a standard USB cable! That's a first for Garmin. Quote Link to comment
thcri Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 the guy that created ExpertGPS posted here he is working on it just as soon as he can get a 60 series unit. I am not worried about it at all. murph Quote Link to comment
+Brian - Team A.I. Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 The lastest updates for the Topo software provide a USB connection option. Quote Link to comment
+Desert_Warrior Posted January 23, 2004 Author Share Posted January 23, 2004 The lastest updates for the Topo software provide a USB connection option. Hmmmmm... wonder if the left hand knows what the right hand is doing. I have just sent the latest of a -SERIES- of E-mails to TOPO. I am beginning to wonder if they have a clue. I asked about using a USB connection, and I was told that I needed to supply my own drivers. Let me quote the E-mails here. > I am also getting a new GPS unit in a few weeks. This GPS > unit will not have a serial connection. It will be a USB connection. > > Is there a plan to have a USB compatable function in TOPO > soon, or will I need to seek out another software program? I thought I was clear enough. Here is the latest reply. "Thank you for your email. TOPO! already works with USB cables provided you download the driver for your cable. Please let me know if you have any other questions." Michael Wildschut TOPO! Technical Support National Geographic Maps Evergreen, Colorado Download a driver for my USB port? I thought windows did that already. Just to be clear, I quote my question to them here. I sure hope you are correct. But then I wonder, is the tech support for TOPO up to date? Or are then on another planet? I am waiting for another go at it with them... Quote Link to comment
+phantom4099 Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 They might think you are refering to a mouse type GPS reciever (like the Delorme earthmate-which is probable supported). Wyatt W. Quote Link to comment
+GeckoGeek Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 (edited) "Thank you for your email. TOPO! already works with USB cables provided youdownload the driver for your cable. Please let me know if you have any other questions." Perhaps he meant drivers for your GPS. I've seen cameras and MP3 players that have drivers that make the memory look like a removable drive to the computer. The software treats it like writing to a disk. No magic there. I don't think Windows has any extensions for GPS, but I can't be positive. But if it's made to look like a file system it would be easy to write all kinds of cool stuff that digs into the unit. D'oh!!!! Now that I hit post, I think he thinks you have a USB to serial cable - then his response would be correct - if you have the drivers for your USB to serial converter then TOPO! would work normally. Hmmmm, you don't suppose that the garmin is made to look like a serial port? That way once the drivers are installed everything works normally yet without the actual serial connection it can go very quickly. Will someone with a 60 chime in on how it's set up? Edited January 23, 2004 by GeckoGeek Quote Link to comment
+Desert_Warrior Posted January 23, 2004 Author Share Posted January 23, 2004 (edited) The tech-support folks at TOPO are whacked. Check this out. Here is my final try at them. . > You are talking about using a USB to Serial adapter. Up to now, > most GPS units have used a serial connection on their cables, and > the folks who have no serial ports have needed the adapter. This > is not what I meant. I have serial connections. This cable will not > plug into it. > > I am talking about a PURE USB connection. The GPS unit has a > cable with a USB-A connector on one end, and a connector for the > GPS on the other. Serial connections are not the question, nor are > adapters. > > How do I go about getting TOPO to talk to the USB port? I can click > on -preferences-GPS settings- and select comm-ports (serial ports) > 1 through 8. How do I get TOPO to recognize a GPS unit using a > real USB cable - NO ADAPTER - plugged into the USB port on the > computer? . Here is the answer I got from TOPO Tech Support. So, you didn't get a driver or software with the USB cable? Michael Wildschut TOPO! Technical Support National Geographic Maps Evergreen, Colorado I guess it could be worse. It could have been a long-distance call to some foreign country where you couldn't understand them anyway. Anyone see the amusement in this? If not TOPO, what other software will do the same? I have about had enough of them. Oh - BTW, I downloaded the latest version, I do not see USB support there. EDIT: My poor spelling. Edited January 23, 2004 by Desert_Warrior Quote Link to comment
+Desert_Warrior Posted January 26, 2004 Author Share Posted January 26, 2004 (edited) My understanding is that it ships with both a Serial and USB interface. OK - the 60C is in the hands of several users now. Is it true? Does it ship with both a USB AND SERIAL cable? If not which one? If USB only, how are you interfacing it with ExpertGPS, TOPO, or any of the other programs? Thanks. EDIT: Spelling - as usual! Edited January 26, 2004 by Desert_Warrior Quote Link to comment
+RobAGD Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Yep sounds like thier tech people are complete tools. Give them a link to the Garmin page for the 60 and tell him to READ the product lit there and then reply to your emails -Robert Quote Link to comment
topografix Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 My understanding is that it ships with both a Serial and USB interface. OK - the 60C is in the hands of several users now. Is it true? Does it ship with both a USB AND SERIAL cable? If not which one? If USB only, how are you interfacing it with ExpertGPS, TOPO, or any of the other programs? By "interface" I think he means that the 60C has sockets in the back for both USB and serial cables. There's an accessory serial cable listed on Garmin's 60C page. If you buy this cable (or have an old Garmin 12 cable around) you can plug it into the serial socket on the GPS and use ExpertGPS, Topo!, and all your other software for data transfer. If you choose not to purchase the serial cable, you'll have to wait until programs are updated to support pure USB transfers. ExpertGPS will support USB in the next release (spring/summer 2004). I'll try to have beta software available for testers as soon as I can after I purchase a 60CS. Someone asked if a USB-to-serial adapter will solve the problem. It won't. Software has to be updated to "speak USB" to the GPS. Quote Link to comment
+MeeCachers Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 OK - the 60C is in the hands of several users now. Is it true? Does it ship with both a USB AND SERIAL cable? If not which one? If USB only, how are you interfacing it with ExpertGPS, TOPO, or any of the other programs? The 60C ships with only the USB cable, not a serial cable. If you want to buy a serial cable you will have to purchase it separately. There are also some USB drivers that come with the 60C which are required for communicating with the GPS. I am currently using MapSource to communicate with the GPS over USB - as others have pointed out there is no way to do this currently with ExpertGPS or TOPO. Quote Link to comment
+Jim W Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Desert Warrior, what TOPO maps are you using?? I want to buy a good TOPO program, but didn't know which one to buy. Thanks Jim W KD6EO Quote Link to comment
+Desert_Warrior Posted January 27, 2004 Author Share Posted January 27, 2004 Desert Warrior, what TOPO maps are you using?? I want to buy a good TOPO program, but didn't know which one to buy.Thanks Jim W KD6EO I am using three programs mostly. First - ExpertGPS. $$$ for $$$, a GREAT program. It does leave a few things out, but overall, I love it. I have tried most of the stuff available on the web. ExpertGPS is what I seem to go back to. Next, and I really love this one... National Geographic TOPO. It does a few things that ExpertGPS cannot do. BUT... it is not cheap! $100 per state. I have Texas and New Mexico. I was going to get Arizona next, but until something shakes out about the GPS60C/CS and the USB connection, I am holding off on that. Last, I play around with VisualGPS. Just for fun. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 It ships with the USB cable only. Quote Link to comment
+sbukosky Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Next, and I really love this one... National Geographic TOPO. It does a few things that ExpertGPS cannot do. BUT... it is not cheap! $100 per state. What is the advantage of National Geographic Topo over Mapsource's topo? Quote Link to comment
+Desert_Warrior Posted January 27, 2004 Author Share Posted January 27, 2004 What is the advantage of National Geographic Topo over Mapsource's topo? I have not looked at mapsource in so long it would not be fair for me to comment. Perhaps someone using TOPO and mapsource recently will jump in here. Quote Link to comment
capt caper Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 (edited) I use both. The NGTopo has much better maps and will show the track nicely when loaded back to Topo. Also you can draw a track and it will give profile,and converts it to route with funtions of your choice very quickley. We use it all the time. It won't send a track back to the gps either. Garmins maps are no where near as nice,but...... Mapsource does a better job saving,editing tracks. I've never had a problem transfering with Mapsource. Topo can be fussy about transferring. Harder to make a route too. I print out maps from NG Topo with routes on them to take since they're real looking. It seems that all these programs do something the others won't do. I wish on would do all. Some may let you send a single route or waypoint others won't. You can join tracks in GPS Trackmaker but can't in the others, and on and on. Edited January 27, 2004 by capt caper 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.