EQMOD, Alignmaster and a Garmin GPS Unit

[NeilW]

Hi,

More EQMOD woes. I have a Garmin etrex-H (the yellow one), connected to the laptop via an RS32 to USB cable, which the system recognises as being on COM3. I also have the Garmin set to output in NMEA format at 4800 baud.

Both EQMOD and Alignmaster seem to recognise that there is something on COM3, but neither seem to be able to pull any data from it. From reading the EQMOD documentation and FAQs this unit should work.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

[mswhin63]

I had this a lot on Windows 7 PC, I now use Windows XP different computer so I can on assume it is a driver issue. I am not using the same GPS unit but the problem was similar.

[NeilW]

Hi Malcolm,

Yes, I'm using Windows 7. I have an old laptop running XP...I'll give it a go.

[Visionoz]

Neil

This might not help you directly but I used the Synta GPS model (there's an actual brand that it is similar with and just re-labelled as SkyWatcher, Tawainese made and the name eludes me atm) and it works a treat - so I would say that your GPS would be having issues then especially with the confirmation of the previous poster, Malcolm

HTH
Cheers
Bill

[naskies]

My Garmin GPS (USB device) doesn't expose a virtual COM port in Windows, so I've had to use a program called GPSGate Client (http://gpsgate.com/products/gpsgate_client) (free non-multiplexing client, endorsed by Garmin) to do the trick. It worked great with EQMOD/Alignmaster. Perhaps you could try using it to wrap around your Garmin device?

[NeilW]

Thanks Dave, I'll definitely give it a try.

[NeilW]

Dave, the GPSGate Client worked a treat with the Etrex, thanks. I have a much later model Garmin, the GPSMap 62s. These later Garmins just seem to set themselves as a mass storage device when you plug them into PC via USB, and they don't appear to transmit any data at all. The PC just sees them as an extra drive, so Alignmaster, EQMOD and GPSGate can't seem to pull an location data from them. Guess I'll just stick with the old model for the purposes of this exercise.

[2stroke]

"usb gps nmea" on ebay is the simple cost effective way :) I was very lucky and got a bluetooth unit for $15 secondhand a while back and love it :)

[naskies]

Fantastic :thumbsup:



I have a similar model that does the same thing, i.e. you can't "see" any device other than the USB Mass Storage. Have you enabled the NMEA In/Out interface on the device? From the main menu, select Setup, System, Interface -> NMEA In/Out.

[NeilW]

Yes, definitely have the interface as NMEA In/Out, but once the device is connected, the screen just displays "Garmin" and the USB symbol, and is effectively inoperable. Unplugging the USB turns the GPS off too.

Jay, thanks, I will investigate that unit, but for now I'll have to stick with the older model Etrex to enable EQMOD etc. to find its position. New isn't always better :-)

Thanks,