Help setting up Garmin 120 to link to pc?

[rich201283]

Hi
I have made the serial cable to connect betwee my garmin 120xl and my laptop, I understand that the settings need adjusting on the interface menue on the garmin but what would i need to do on the laptop so it feeds the information into seaclear or tusinami. Any information would be a great help.

 

[Searush]

I don't remember the details, but you need to set the baud rate (speed) and com port. I think mine was 4,800b/sec and com1. There are utilities that will show if you are getting a signal or not & also which satellites have been locked on to.

 

[RestlessL]

I assume you have wired the cable correctly, but to be on the safe side, the NMEA OUT from the Garmin (normally blue) connects to the Rx pin in the serial port (Pin 2), and Ground (black) from the Garmin goes to Pin 5. In addition, if you are going to send data back to the Garmin from the PC you need to connect Pin 3 to the NMEA IN of the Garmin (Brown)

Set the Garmin interface to NMEA, at 4800 bits/sec.

The simplest way to check the connection is to use Windows Hyperterminal (assuming you are not using Vista). This should already be installed on the PC, and can be found in All Programs/Accessories/Communications/Hyperterminal. You will need to select the appropriate com port. The settings for NMEA are 4800 bits per second, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity and no flow control. If all is well you will see the NMEA sentences as they are received - If not then try a different port.

Using SeaClear, just select Tools/Properties/Comm. Check the Com port and speed (4800). There is also an NMEA input monitor under Tools/System.

As a general principle, the communication settings on the PC are set by the application you are running.

If you use a Garmin program, such as MapSource, to send data back to the chartplotter, youi may need to set the Chart Plotter interface to GARMIN, and not NMEA, remembering to switch it back before using SeaClear etc.

Hope this helps

John