problem on connecting with Garmin GPS

[westgate]

Hi, guys,

I am trying to connect my x5 with a garmin etrex vista gps. Following some posts on this forum, I bought a Dell axim x5 serial sync cable, a null modem and a DB9 gender changer. So the whole kit is configed as
Garmin GPS --> Garmin PC interface cable --> DB9 gender changer --> Null modem --> Dell x5 serial sync cable --> Axim X5.
I have tried mapopolis, oziexplorer CE and G7ToCE, but none can find the gps, no matter the gps is set to "garmin 9600" interface or "NMEA 4800" interface. I do not know what is wrong here, but I am sure there is no defected items in the whole kit, because I can sync the x5 with PC through the serial sync cable, and the GPS can also communicate with a PC through the Garmin PC interface cable and even with two null modems.

Actually I have another serial cable bought from pocketmapstore.com for connecting the garmin gps and axim x5. With that cable, mapopolis and oziexplorer can find the gps and provide navigation if the gps is set to "NMEA 4800" interface, but oziexplorer and G7ToCE still cannot communicate with the gps when the gps is in "garmin 9600" mode, although oziexplorer and G7ToCE are both supposed to be able to do so.

Anybody can give me some hint on what is the problem here? I really appreciate your input. Thank you.

[westgate]

Forgot to mention, I checked with pocketmapstore.com. They said that their cable does not support communication in "garmin" mode. But I want to upload/download tracks to/from the gps with the axim x5, which can only be done when the gps is set to "garmin" mode. That is why I want to switch to the dell x5 serial sync cable + null modem + Garmin PC interface cable, but it turns out this configuration supports neither mode, at least on my axim x5.

[JakeRich]

As far as I know, none of the PPC products use the Garmin mode. They use the NMEA standard mode only. If you are running Linux, you might try GD2. You might also search here.

[westgate]

Are you sure? Both oziexplorerCE and G7ToCE have menus to upload/download waypoints and tracks to/from the GPS, and both of them claim to support Garmin etrex gps, which means the "garmin" mode is supported.

Besides, even with "NMEA" my axim X5 cannot find the gps, when I am using
axim serial sync cable + null modem + garmin interface cable.
My axim X5 is running pocket pc 2003, not linux.

As far as I know, none of the PPC products use the Garmin mode. They use the NMEA standard mode only. If you are running Linux, you might try GD2. You might also search here.

[JakeRich]

It looked like GD2 had a PPC version. The reason for Linux is that it needed to be un-gzipped on a Linux machine and probably compiled there. If you don't have linux on a PC, it probably won't work for you. In the original posts, I assumed you wanted to use the Garmin protocol to navigate, not just download the tracks.

There is another thread here at Aximsite about how the Garmin requires a signal on the RS232 port to trigger the file transfer. The Axim Serial cable doesn't provide it, so it has to be artificially generated. Try this thread for the details of that cable modification. The other site also has a ton of references to the Garmin interface. I once tried G7toCe but could never get it to work, so I've never recommended it. I see that they now have a WM2003 version, so it might be worth trying again. I still think you'll need to do the "trigger" changes to the cable set.

[westgate]

JakeRich, thank you so much. The discussion you directed me to is so helpful. I will modify the serial sync cable as they mentioned.