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Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 2:09 pm Post subject: Etrex to Memorymap.....?
Having got the Etrex out to record some walks that I have just done, I now find that Memorymap will not communicate with the Etrex.
Upon opening MM I get a box saying..'can't open Com port'.
I then go to the menu bar and click on GPS, and import from gps and the 'marks/route/track, box is greyed out.
The setup in the Etrex is
British Grid
ord srvy GB
Staute
Grid
The connecting lead is showing a green light, but the other lights that busily flash away when transferring data are not illuminated.
Joined: Feb 23, 2005 Posts: 376 Location: Catford, London, UK
Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 9:51 am Post subject:
Hi Norman,
So I believe the situation is that the eTrex is a non-colourscreen model with quite a large plug (probably black) with four contacts in-line at the top? This is a serial (COM Port) interface.
However, laptops (in particular) no longer have COM ports so the "cable" needs to convert from USB to the serial interface protocol. This requires special software "drivers" on the PC and this might be where the problem lies. The interface software usually allocates quite high COM Port numbers and often issues a new number, for example even if you just plug the cable into a different USB socket.
Personally, I haven't used Vista but you need to find the COM Port number using a path like:
My Computer : Control Panel : System : Hardware (tab) : Device Manager : expand (+) the entry for Ports (COM ...).
Look for the COM number quoted for an entry like "USB-Serial...".
Now open Memory Map. In the menu : GPS : GPS Setup.. : ensure Manufacturer is set to Garmin, the Model to Serial and the Port number as found above : OK.
With a bit of luck MM may now be able to communicate with the eTrex, but you might need to try switching the eTrex off and on, temporarily setting MM GPS Setup Manufacturer to "None" and/or reconnecting the cable at eTrex or USB ends in various sequences.
Other points: The eTrex should have a Settings menu where "Interface" needs to be set to Garmin, not NMEA. The baud rate should default to 9600. The exact version number of MM should be on the second line of the Help : About pull-down menu. It's worth upgrading to at least v5.1.3 (which is still available on their downloads page for "Educational users"). The latest version is actually v5.4.2 but this uses a new license management system so I suggest you (at least) get the eTrex interface working first before upgrading.
Joined: Feb 23, 2005 Posts: 376 Location: Catford, London, UK
Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 8:06 pm Post subject:
Hi Norman,
Maybe the USB-serial driver isn't installed. Has the cable worked before on that computer/OS? Do you remember how it was originally installed?
Try plugging the USB cable into a different USB port on the PC. Do you get the "Found New Hardware" Wizard? Do you have an original installation disc? Did you get any software with the eTrex (e.g. Mapsource) which might have a more automated setup?
Note: Many USB-serial adapters use a chip made by Prolific, so a Google for "Prolific Vista Drivers" might be productive, if they're required.
I found the driver disc that came with the converter cable and find it does not support Vista...so I could not have used the Etrex on the laptop.
Tried to use it on the desktop computer which is XP and I had some slightly different error failure boxes. The converter plug showed that some sort of transfer of data was taking place, but a few seconds later and a box said that Garmin was timed out?
I tried to download the drivers from the site you suggested, but to no avail.
At this point I considered buying a new cable and getting the correct driver, but all the cables that I looked at on Ebay, none supported Vista.
I shall give up at this point as I am spending more time looking at the computer screen than can be good for me.
Thanks for that tip, tried GPSU, all that happened was once Etrex was plugged in control of the PC screen was lost, with the cursor jumping around all over the place. Had to restart to clear screen.
Joined: Feb 23, 2005 Posts: 376 Location: Catford, London, UK
Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 11:28 am Post subject:
Hi,
Well that certainly sounds like a driver problem. And it does seem that Memory Map is more "demanding" of the USB drivers than some other software.
wyattnorm wrote:
I tried to download the drivers from the site you suggested, but to no avail.
What was the problem? Couldn't you find/dowload/install the file or didn't the drivers work? I'm not aware of an adapter cable with LEDs on it, so maybe it's rather old or unusual.
Does your "cable" have a 9pin plug+socket (i.e. COM port) in the middle? If so, you only need a USB-serial adapter (or initially a PC with a COM port). I'm not sure that this is the best or necessary route yet, but this URS2 (top-right) claims Vista compatibility at just over £5 including UK postage. However, I haven't tried it, the last one I bought cost less than £2 shipped from HK and works fine on my XP netbook, but does NOT have Vista drivers.
I downloaded what I took to be a suitable driver, installed as per instructions and thats when it went haywire.
Thank you for the link to the leads. The one you suggested looks the same as the one I am trying to use. At the cost of £2.20 and being Vista compatable I am going to try this way of getting it to work.
My present lead is quite old (5 years?), so may be better to dump it and go for new.
New lead arrived, nice little disk came with it, loaded the Vista driver and lo and behold, absolutely no improvement.
Still get told that it can't open Com port. Also get 'Time out 254' messages.
Whilst I was waiting for the cable to arrive, I followed some of your advice and downloaded GPSU....result, it works! Pity it is not compatable with Memorymap. All I get up on screen is a line drawing of the route walked.
At least I know from using GPSU that the Garmin cable works.
I will sit here for a while and try to get it to work.
I have just realised whilst looking at the computer Hard Drive screen, there is not an icon for the etrex. If I plug in a camera/sd card/ipod, there is an icon showing these as additional drives, should I have an icon for the etrex?
Joined: Feb 23, 2005 Posts: 376 Location: Catford, London, UK
Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 3:42 pm Post subject:
Hi Norman,
No, the etrex communicates via a serial port, not as a USB memory/card/drive.
Certainly MM does seem to be more "temperamental" than some other GPS tools. First check that the COM port number and baud rate are set the same as in your (working) GPSU setup. But, ensure that GPSU is closed down before opening (the GPS interface in) MM.
Personally, I prefer to set MM GPS settings to "None" before closing it down. Then after starting up MM, plug in and switch on the etrex and change the Manufacturer in (MM setup) to Garmin.
If you still have problems, there's a test using NMEA (Generic) interface mode. But this has to be setup on both the etrex and MM (and prevents the transfer of recorded data), so I won't give instructions yet.
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