Holes In The Back Of Your Computer......

[+NickandAliandEliza]

Well by yours, I actually mean mine...........

 

I have two comports in the back of my computer. I recently bought a Garmin Forerunner to help with running etc (or rather because it was a gadget and shiney and new). I already have my eTrex cable in one and a cable for my Nokia phone in the other. Changing from the eTrex cable to the Forerunner cable is a real pain as it involves pulling out my computer table and unscrewing the leads of one, to plug in the other (yes I know I'm lazy).

 

What can I do? Is there an extension lead of some type that I could plug into comport1 to give access from the front? Garmin have already told me that I can't meddle with the cradle that came with the Forerunner, so it looks as if I'm stuck with having to change them over each time..........

 

Please help me to

a) remain in my chair when needing to change leads

stop Ali saying I'm making the study look untidy by permanently having the computer desk 4 feet from the wall................

 

This really is a crisis.

[+Stuey]

Faced with the identical problem to you, I bought a one metre extension cable from ebay. It was just a few quid too. Do a search for "9 pin serial extension cable" and you'll find a few.

 

I just have it with one end on the desk, the other plugged in the back of the PC.

[+Sue and Bernie]

I had the exact same problem! I use the solution you have already espoused on my home PC - a serial extension cable to effectively bring the serial port to the front.

 

To this I connect my Vista, SP3 or organiser dock as the need arises. I connect and disconnect the GPS with it turned off (PC running), power the GPS on when connected, then run the host software. No problems for the past 2.5 years....

 

There is also another solution that I use for my laptop. I was horrified to find that a modern laptop does not usually have a serial port - they've been binned! The answer is a USB to Serial cable... and to save you looking, this is the cheapest UK solution I have found:

 

eBuyer USB to Serial Cable

 

...£6.29 to you John, plus postage. Beats the stupid prices Garmin and others would stiff you for. No connection to eBuyer, just a happy and very regular customer.

 

Hope this helps...

[+NickandAliandEliza]

Excellent.

 

Thanks to you both.

[NeilFord]

Such beasties can be had from PC World, Maplins, etc. or bought online.

 

You'll probably find it's just as cheap to buy on the high street once you take postage into account.

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/module.as...3491&Products=1 is a suitable cable, £4.99.

 

- Neil.

[+Stuey]

Such beasties can be had from PC World, Maplins, etc. or bought online.

 

You'll probably find it's just as cheap to buy on the high street once you take postage into account.

I'm not going to mention the exact eBay auction by lot number, but a Buy It Now price of £2.25 with a £0.49 postage charge is very good value

[NeilFord]

I'm not going to mention the exact eBay auction by lot number, but a Buy It Now price of £2.25 with a £0.49 postage charge is very good value

Okay, that is cheap. And as they come recommended, I'd say they were a safe bet. I have seen some really shoddy cables in the past, hence my suggestion of looking at reputable suppliers.

 

- Neil.

[+NickandAliandEliza]

Not sure if it's due to all the yanking out and chopping and changing but it seems now that the comports have packed up.

 

When I try to link to my Vista to download stuff from MemoryMap I get the message "Unknown Garmin: Unable to open Comport: Error 5:"

 

It won't link to EasyGps either. I've swapped over leads to the Forerunner cable and get the same message.

 

Does anyone have any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?

 

It was working fine a few days ago.

[+John Stead]

I had this problem and found it only arose after I had been using Mapsource which locked the comport. Rebooting was the answer.

[NeilFord]

As Mr Stead says, a quick reboot should be the first port of call.

 

If that doesn't work, then you may have a hardware problem.

 

- Neil.

[+Stuey]

Not sure if it's due to all the yanking out and chopping and changing but it seems now that the comports have packed up.

 

When I try to link to my Vista to download stuff from MemoryMap I get the message "Unknown Garmin: Unable to open Comport: Error 5:"

 

It won't link to EasyGps either. I've swapped over leads to the Forerunner cable and get the same message.

 

Does anyone have any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?

 

It was working fine a few days ago.

I have found that if I have a couple of programs open that can connect to the GPS, one of them will tie up the COM port until it is closed down. Basically, this means that before I upload of download waypoints, I have to close down all other applications GPS related.

 

Hopefully this is all it is for you.

[adrianjohn]

Its not that expensive to add a couple of extra comports to your pc, you should be able to obtain a two port card from your local branch of Maplin Electronics. I have one fitted in my pc it saves all that lead swapping, especially if I am moving way points from gps to the other.

[+NickandAliandEliza]

I've tried rebooting and that doesn't work.

 

As far as I know I don't have any other GPS related things running when I try to transfer the data or any other programs using the comports when I try to do so. Is there any way of finding out if something is using them?

[adrianjohn]

Have you got Hotsync for a pda running, you may have to disable that if you have as it grabs control of the comport. Even with some USB connected pda docking stations the software still grabs the port.

[+NickandAliandEliza]

I've tried it with both the PDA on and off. It's connected by USB and I've even tried taking that out.....

[NeilFord]

I've tried it with both the PDA on and off. It's connected by USB and I've even tried taking that out.....

Check the settings for the software, even though you are using the USB port it may well still be monitoring the serial ports.

 

Which PDA is it? And what version of Windows?

 

- Neil.

[+NickandAliandEliza]

NeilFord I could kiss you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I'm not that way inclined.....

 

Checked the settings on my PDA and for some reason it was showing as being connected by both USB and Comport. Disabled the comport setting and now everything is working. As far as I know I hadn't changed any settings proir to this. But someone was house sitting when we went to Scotland last week who denied knowledge of any computer tampering..........

 

A big thanks to all those who helped

Edited May 9, 2004 by Nick & Ali (nicktinknick)

[NeilFord]

My pleasure. Now where do I send the invoice? ;-)

 

- Neil.

[Sheards]

I would also like to say a big thanks. I had been using GSAK and G7toWin quite happily with my eTrex Venture and laptop, but when I tried to update the software on the GPSr, I kept getting an error. When I then tried GSAK and G7toWin, I got the same error. Didn't think to check the settings for my Pocket PC as I hadn't touched them and it's connected via USB.

 

Read the above thread, checked the connection settings, unchecked 'Allow serial cable or infrared connection to this COM port:' and I now have a nicely up-to-date GPSr.

 

Iain Sheard(s)