USB Garmin to Maxsea (serial)

[whipper_snapper]

I would like to connect my Garmin 76C to my PC running Maxsea.

The Garmin has only a USB connection.

The PC has USB, but Maxsea is expecting only serial input. Is there such a thing as a serial emulator that can make a USB input look like a serial port to Maxsea? Or is there another way to do this?

It is a real shame that Maxsea (v10.1) cannot use the USB input.

Thanks for any help

 

[chibb]

Most serial USB GPS's come have a driver (software) that makes them appear exactly as a serial port. Try installing the driver if it came with one and see if a new serial port appears.

 

[whipper_snapper]

You appear to be suggesting I should read the instructions.....and break a lifetime's habbit.

thanks, I will try it !

 

[Guest]

[ QUOTE ]
I would like to connect my Garmin 76C to my PC running Maxsea.

The Garmin has only a USB connection.

The PC has USB, but Maxsea is expecting only serial input. Is there such a thing as a serial emulator that can make a USB input look like a serial port to Maxsea? Or is there another way to do this?

It is a real shame that Maxsea (v10.1) cannot use the USB input.

Thanks for any help

[/ QUOTE ]

?????? If you have the driver disk for the USB cable - it should set a virtual Serial Port ... look in Device Manager and you should see a Prolific or other named cable assigned a Com port number ... look in the listing Com Ports & LPT

You will need that Com Port number to set in the config menu of Maxsea.

Don't forget also to connect cable to SAME usb port each time you use - otherwise it will assign a different Com Port # and you'll not get feed to Maxsea ....

Another little annoying habit with GPS connected to USB ... often if connected when you start PC - the PC starts doing stupid things as Microsoft sees the GPS as a Mouse pointer device ... If it does that unplug cable ... restart machine wait for it to settle and then reconnect .... There is a patch from MS - but its useless ....

 

[whipper_snapper]

No, I see no sign of sucha thing or reference to it in the manual.

There are USB drivers, but nothing that makes a com port appear

 

[whipper_snapper]

I have the USB driver and the GPS talks to the garmin mapsource software without problems. But I do not see a virtual com port in the devices list and maxsea does not see any useable com ports either.

I have just found a utility called GPSGate, that takes the USB feed and sends it to any number of virtual com ports (and other cleve stuff apparently). It works, and allows me to send data to both maxsea and visual passage planner (which is marginally useful)

But the demo expires in 14 days after which they want $30, and I would like to avoid the added complexity that having to run another program brings.

 

[steverow]

Maxsea will only see Ports up to 09.
If your USB software has allocated anything higher then you will be out of luck.

 

[whipper_snapper]

Thanks.

I am obviously missing something fundamental here! I will have a poke around on the garmin site for suggestions- but I am certainly not seeing a virual com port simply by plugging in the GPS via USB. The PC dings and whirs and says it recognises a garmin GPS, but no extra com port appears with any number in the hardware list or is seen by Maxsea.

As I mentioned, I can fiddle this with GPSgate, but that is very unsatisfactory.

 

[dmayes]

The Garmin onlu outputs it's own sentences over the USB port. That is OK with the program that Garmin supply as it is expecting them. On my GPS 60 if I set it to NMEA out, it then ouputs these sentences over the socket at the back, you have to buy an extra cable for that. Some software recognises the Garmin sentences OzzieExplore is one.

 

[Guest]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks.

I am obviously missing something fundamental here! I will have a poke around on the garmin site for suggestions- but I am certainly not seeing a virual com port simply by plugging in the GPS via USB. The PC dings and whirs and says it recognises a garmin GPS, but no extra com port appears with any number in the hardware list or is seen by Maxsea.

As I mentioned, I can fiddle this with GPSgate, but that is very unsatisfactory.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've searched my archive of GPS stuff and - yep - some garmins and their cables do not install a virtual com port. And GPS Gate is the method that another used to get round it.


This may help ..... http://www.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=591 ..... based on page ..... http://www.gpstm.com/support.php?article=7

It's worth searching the freeware sites ... as often a kind person has had same problem .. written small routine to cure it and provides free on web ....

For others - it's worth noting that Garmin cables are not cheap and alternative 3rd party ones often will be not only cheaper BUT being based on Prolific architecture - have driver disk to solve this very problem and create virtual ports ...

 

[Talbot]

couple of extra thoughts:

Your garmin needs to be told to export data. this can be in either the Garmin format, or in nmea. if you use gps gate, you can export in garmin proprietary and then convert through gps gate.

I chose to use a serial output from the GPS 76 so that I could split off the nmea signal (I export in NMEA) and also send it to the DSC radio. JGtech sell the appropriate power and serial cable for the 76 cause I have just purchased one!

I use a serial/usb cable (US232R-10) from easysync as this version of their cable actually shows dataflow.

The other tip for Garmin/maxsea is to check which nmea sentences come out of the garmin, and make sure that MAXSEA is set to use the same sentences (took me 5 days to sort that one the first time)