GPS - Garmin GPS II Plus with PCMCIA serial port doesn't work

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Garmin GPS II Plus with PCMCIA serial port doesn't work

Charles

2006-07-27, 10:33 pm

I have had a Garmin GPS II Plus for several years now and have always
been happy with it. Mostly I use it to record tracks while traveling in
car, downhill skiing, ATV riding, hiking, etc. I use OziExplorer and
plot the tracks on maps.

Recently my old reliable Win 98 notebook with serial and parallel port
became not so reliable. Now I have a new Toshiba. I bought a PCMCIA
serial port to connect to the Garmin but it doesn't work.

I got a long e-mail from Garmin saying that either PCMCIA serial ports
or USB to serial ports sometimes work and sometimes don't. Same computer
brand, same port brand, sometimes work and sometimes don't.

I have no idea what is wrong as all I get is a message saying it cannot
connect to the Garmin.

Suggestions?

I am also considering a new USB GPS but that is another post.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Charles

peter

2006-07-28, 3:33 pm

Charles wrote:
> Recently my old reliable Win 98 notebook with serial and parallel port
> became not so reliable. Now I have a new Toshiba. I bought a PCMCIA
> serial port to connect to the Garmin but it doesn't work.
>
> I got a long e-mail from Garmin saying that either PCMCIA serial ports
> or USB to serial ports sometimes work and sometimes don't. Same computer
> brand, same port brand, sometimes work and sometimes don't.
>
> I have no idea what is wrong as all I get is a message saying it cannot
> connect to the Garmin.
>
> Suggestions?

Unfortunately it does seem to be a 'hit or miss' situation as to which
serial port adapter will work in a given situation. I'd try searching
with the make and model of your PCMCIA serial port card to see if there
might be a new software driver or any trouble-shooting hints.

I use a USB/RS232 adapter from GPSGeek with a laptop and that's been
working fine but I sure wish the newer notebooks/PCs/etc. still came
with RS232 ports.

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