ipaq rx5935 to garmin etrex

andrewck · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 23, 2007 Posts: 3

I am hoping to connect my garmin etrex external gps to my ipaq rx5935 PDA,
the ipaq has a usb mini-b, and i have a usb-serial cable for the garmin to connect to PC
is there an adaptor to convert male usb A to usb mini-b male?

AllyCat · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:12 pm Post subject:

Hi Andrew,

Neither the Etrex nor the PDA is a "USB Host", so it is impossible for them to communicate directly with each other, even if you can make a physical connection. USB is a Host-Client system, where the Host is usually a PC or laptop and all other devices are Clients. A few PDAs do have a USB-Host capability, but even then, very few drivers (software) are available for the PPC Operating System.

The only way to connect a handheld GPS to a PDA is via serial communications (RS232), so if the Etrex doesn't have a serial port then you can't use it.

Cheers, Alan.
_________________
Garmin GPS72H/76/60/45, Etrex H, Mapsource v6.5.
Acer N50,HP114,Loox N560,Dell x50,CF/SD cards to 4/32GB.
RoyalTek,Holux236,Navman B10 & Copilot(Globalsat) BT GPS,TomTom5/6.
Memory Map (v5.4.2 & v5.1.3 OS & Euro), GPS gate,OSGPSconverter.

andrewck · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 23, 2007 Posts: 3

thanks Allycat
the garmin etrex cable is a serial one, with a serial to USB adaptor to connect to PC,
I was hoping to have an additional adaptor to plug into PDA, then connect using serial port setup on PDA

AllyCat · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:37 am Post subject:

Hi Andrew,

AFAIK, the Ipaq isn't a USB Host, so you can't use a USB-serial adapter (although PPC drivers are available if it uses the chip made by Prolific).

I don't think the RX5935 has a hardware serial port (I'd be interested to know if it does), but if it does, PC-Mobile might well be able to sell you a cable (they are located in Hong Kong, but are again keeping some stock for dispatch from the UK). However, I believe a solution may be possible, but I haven't tried it because my PDAs have hardware serial ports (and a USB Host capability):

I think you could use BlueTooth to connect the GPS with this Bluetooth-serial Adapter. You will then need a power supply for the Adapter (e.g. a battery box with 4 x AA cells) and an Etrex-RS232 (9-pin) connecting cable. Both of these are available from PC-Mobile, or you may find similar devices in some eBay shops. Note that the BT-serial adapter that PC-Mobile (used to) sell is not suitable, as it only connects via NMEA at 4800 baud, and you presumably want to connect in Garmin mode at 9600 baud to transfer Tracks, Routes and Waypoints?

It's not a compact or cheap solution, but I (and maybe others) would be interested to hear if you try/succeed, as serial ports are vanishing from PDAs (and smartphones), as they did with laptops and some PCs (but generally without the USB Host alternative).

Cheers, Alan.
_________________
Garmin GPS72H/76/60/45, Etrex H, Mapsource v6.5.
Acer N50,HP114,Loox N560,Dell x50,CF/SD cards to 4/32GB.
RoyalTek,Holux236,Navman B10 & Copilot(Globalsat) BT GPS,TomTom5/6.
Memory Map (v5.4.2 & v5.1.3 OS & Euro), GPS gate,OSGPSconverter.

andrewck · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 23, 2007 Posts: 3

many thanks for the good information Alan,
I will look into the options

I already have a serial cable for etrex, and usb adaptor to serial, so that i plug it into laptop
I can also use NEMA mode with the garmin and pc,

just want to connect to pda, so i can upload (anquet maps) routes and vicecversa from pda to gps for mountaineering/biking, for when i dont have laptop with me

there does seem to be a menu for selcting GPS settings - Hardware port, coms1 to com9 , which i use to select the internal GPS, so i assumed i could have used the same for connecting to an external one,
by cable connection
but was unaware of the USB hosting

thanks again for info and time taken to provide it!

andrew

AllyCat · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:25 am Post subject:

Hi Andrew,

Yes, sorry I didn't read your question(s) carefully enough the first time. It's confusing that some Etrexs have serial interfaces and others only USB.

I think the COM1-9 options are basically within Windows and may connect to real hardware like GPS, RS232 port, IRDA (infra red), etc., or only to "virtual" ports supported by BlueTooth, gpsgate, USB, etc..

"Real" ports are usually on a multi-way connector (typically 20-26 pins) on the base of the PDA and need special cables (my Mio 558 is unusual in also having a Mini type A USB connector - a very rare beast). However, many PDAs, etc., now only have a Mini B USB connector, which is fine for charging and USB client, but nothing else.

For anyone else reading this thread and choosing a handheld gps to use with a PDA for transferring routes, etc. when away from their main PC, the gps must have a serial port (a few like the Garmin GPS60 have both serial and USB connectors) because AFAIK no gps USB drivers are available for any PDA Operating Systems. The alternative is to transfer data via memory card (where available), but I believe this may only work for (Garmin) tracks?

Cheers, Alan.
_________________
Garmin GPS72H/76/60/45, Etrex H, Mapsource v6.5.
Acer N50,HP114,Loox N560,Dell x50,CF/SD cards to 4/32GB.
RoyalTek,Holux236,Navman B10 & Copilot(Globalsat) BT GPS,TomTom5/6.
Memory Map (v5.4.2 & v5.1.3 OS & Euro), GPS gate,OSGPSconverter.

Pc-Mobile · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:17 pm Post subject:

Ipaq 59xx series do not have serial port so CANNOT connect any GPS via cable.

I would advise you to forget your eTrex and buy a new bluetooth GPS, which would cost less than any cable adapter you might be thinking of linking to the eTrex.
_________________
Pc-Mobile
http://pc-mobile.net/gps.htm

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