Contains explicit MAC attitudes. |
NEWSFLASHGarmin has announced that by the end of 2006 all hardware and software will be compatible with the Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger operating system. See Garmin's press release regarding OSX . Well,,,,, we're still waiting. But if you have time for another NEWSFLASHHere's a guy who explains how to load a Garmin GPS 60Cx thru USB with Virtual PC. See Bruce Hill's Blog. Or go to the bottom of this page. ----- NEWEST info on USB see the blog listed above or go to the bottom of this page ---- ----------------- Sorry this page is getting sloppy ------------------ Loading MapSource CDs into a Garmin GPS with a Macintosh
|
Contains explicit MAC attitudes. |
 The Quick and dirty for OS 9.2.2
|
We're not Mac or VirtuousPC experts. You could easily stump us so please don't bother to try. We know it WORKS and we're just trying to help you get it going too. If you can help your fellow mac user, please email and we'll add your tips below. If something's not clear, please copy our unclear instruction, clarify it and email both. This is a volunteer help site. Please help us find the problems so other Mac users can load their GPSs. Current knowledge (06/04/02):
|
|
Macintosh "Extension manager"
|
You need:
First things firstRESTART your mac in the most basic mode (OS 8.6 base or whatever) as in the Extensions manager" to the left. Get to this thru the "Apple" menu at the upper left of your screen and go down to "control panels" then over to "extensions manager". Locate your base set of extensions and then RESTART. Later when you get everything working, try to skip this step (i.e. run VPC with your normal set of extensions) and see if it all still works. |
|
Set up Virtuous PC in the Mac environment 
|
|
|
The NEXT picture (#4) |
You should now see the image to the left. |
|
So you're ready to load! When it's building the mapset is always runs at 9600 baud in spite of your settings.  First it erases all the mapsets currently in the GPS  Then it starts transferring at the rate you specified. When you see 99%, that's a good sign. It takes about 45 minutes to load 13Meg of maps into the eMap at 57600. |
 The 16 meg cartridge can hold 16 megs, but the maximum nunber of maps is 50. So in this case we were only able to load 13 megs. |
EpilogueMy powerbook G3 currently loads an eMap without going thru all that "restart/OS 8.6 base/stuff", and since I use ethernet for printing, I don't even have to shut off appletalk. I just run Virtuous PC like any other program, anytime. But until you get it going, it would be prudent to use the methods above. According to Connectix, the fastest baud rate possible for transfer to eMap/III+/Streetpilot is 57,600. 115,900 is not possible. |
Success stories loading Garmin GPSs with Virtuous PCGarmin map info Garmin 276c card thru USB!!!Hardware: Mac G3 laptop...400mghz with 512 megs of ram and a 40gig harddrive, Garmin 276c + Garmin USB cable (supplied with unit) Software: OS 9.2.2, VPC v3.03 / Windows 98 (only $20), Garmin Mapsource/ City Select, US Lakes and Fishing Hotspots and TopoUSA Notes: I'm actually running OS 10.3 but I chose to buy on ebay an old version of Virtual PC for practically nothing, $20, and see if I could get it to work. Garmin claimed that Mapsource would work on Windows 98 and the latest Virtual PC will not run on my laptop according to the specs. I still have OS 9.2.2 on my computer to use with the Mac Classic environment. What I did was select this OS 9.2.2 file as my start up disk and reboot. this runs the old system, clean. Then I installed and opened Virtual PC and Windows 98 runs. Then I downloaded all the Mapsource programs.... takes for ever(hour or two) to do all this. Mapsource opens fine but I could not get the selected maps to download into the gps unit/card. " GPS can not be found." Fought with it for many times, days or months.. Finally found the problem.... On the mapsource screen just to the right of the gps symbols is a little arrow this will change the selection from serial to USB. That was all the problem for months. Nothing in the help files or instructions says anything about this. Do need to be advised it takes between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours to index and download maps once this works. During all this I did fight my way through the Install new software part of windows 98 and finally figured a way to select the USB driver from the Garmin files. I'm not sure if I needed to do this because afterwards is when I discovered the little arrow beside the GPS symbols. .... but this can be a major pain too. You must browse to the right file and select it, but you must fight your way through multiple layers of 'auto-searches' and things to get there... Your site gave me the confidence to even attempt this, thanks. ------> See ANOTHER detailed "true USB" success story using 9.2.2 and Win98. My success story for your page (OSX 10.3 and IOGEAR adapter): I bought a Garmin GPSMAP 76S almost two years ago, and NEVER managed to get it to upload more than 2-3MB of maps, using any of the three slightly different models of Keyspan USB-to-serial adapter I have. I can't begin to estimate how many hours I wasted on countless failed attempts. It would have tried the patience of a saint. Finally I gave up, and my solution was that whenever I wanted to upload maps I'd find a PC-owning friend who was willing to let me install the MapSource software on their PC. Last week, based on the advice on your web page, in a last-ditch attempt to try one last time to make it work, I bought an IOGEAR GUC232A USB-to-serial adapter from Amazon for $29. I was not enthusiastic to buy yet another USB-to-serial adapter since I already have three and I don't really need another, but I'm glad I did. I installed the drivers in Windows 98 inside Virtual PC, and after two false starts and a couple of reboots, on the third try I successfully uploaded a full 24MB maps to the device. So it's not conclusive that Keyspan is to blame for all the trouble, but the evidence certainly seems to point in that direction. My current working setup is:
Great resource for the Garmin and the Mac! I'd like to contribute my success story... Garmin Street Pilot III, Mac OS 10.2.8, Virtual PC 6.1, Windows 2000 I was able to get the Garmin Street Pilot III to work with my Macintosh Quicksilver 867 Mhz G4 with Mac OS 10.2.8 and Virtual PC 6.1 running Windows 2000. I connected the Garmin directly to the Mac using the Keyspan USB-to-Serial adapter (Keyspan item USA-19HS). I had no luck using the Garmin-supplied USB card reader. I installed the drivers for the adapter on the Mac OS side, not the VPC side. Then connected the adapter. Once in VPC, I went into the VPC settings for Windows 2000 and told it to use the Keyspan for the COM1 port. Don't install the drivers for the Keyspan in Windows. You may need to restart the Mac to get things to work properly. I was having trouble installing, but that might have been becuase I tried to install the drivers for the Keyspan in Windows. (There are two versions of detailed instructions on the driver disc that came with the Keyspan adapter. I went with the first version.) In MapSource it found the Garmin through the adapter and I'm transferring the 128 MB of maps as I type this. Unfortunately, it's slow as dirt and is telling me it's going to take 7 hours. This wouldn't necessarily bother me (do it while I sleep), but since I have the serial cable connection going into the Garmin from the Keyspan adapter, I have to run on internal batteries. I've dimmed the screen as dark as it will go and set it for indoor use with new batteries. I'm hoping it will last the 7 hours. I might try rechargable batteries since they tend to last longer than alkalines. This will kill two birds with one stone since I can also use them in my digital camera. Another success story with Jaguar 10.2.6 using the IOGEAR GUC232A USB to Serial Adapter to load maps to the Garmin GPS from a Macintosh. I am also using Virtual PC 6 with Windows XP-Home. I have a Garmin GPS Vista and previously a Legend. After trying the Belkin and Keyspan USB/Serial adapters, I was very frustrated as neither would work. I also tried dowloading the newest drivers for the two devices without success. Then I found your success stories using the IOGEAR unit, and it worked without problem and automatically negotiated a 115200 baud rate for loading maps into the Garmin GPS. Although it is not easy to find the IOGEAR unit at retail stores in the SF Bay Area, it is easy to get through web outlets/stores. Thanks for your help and hopefully this information will assist others who are currently trying to connect a Garmin to their Macintosh. R Hoyer - June 2003 Typically the larger memory GPSs have a hard time keeping the load process running. GPSIII+ only has 1.44 Mb memory, and the problems usually show up after 2 Mb. Here's a 24Mb success story from a clever hacker who seems to know more than a little about the internal workings....... Dear CycoActive, I have VPC (5.0.3) running on OSX (10.1.4), and just yesterday loaded
an eTrex Legend, without Classic or restarting into 9. I downloaded
the Keyspan driver for OS X, installed it, and then launched VPC and
selected the Keyspan adapter in VPC as COM1. I was able to update the
firmware on my eTrex right away, but downloading map sets Thinking that it might be a hub-related issue, I connected the Keyspan directly to one of the motherboard USB ports. This did not seem to make a difference. Finally, I vowed to give it one more shot before rebooting into 9. This time I started it off, then left VPC to work in the background while I browsed the web, read mail, and other things. Success! I am theorizing (and it's only a theory at this point, we'll see when I have to download new maps) that the kext that runs the Keyspan may not have been getting enough CPU with VPC in the foreground, so it couldn't keep up with the rate at which VPC was trying to talk to the GPS, and finally would plotz. With VPC in the background, it could not saturate the Keyspan kext but it had no trouble providing the data to the GPS. I should add that the successful attempt was at high speed (112k, or whatever the top setting is), so if this proves to be the case, it's certainly a nice deal for those downloading big maps.
and another OSX..... Dear CycoActive, I have consulted your web page in the past for help in downloading maps from MapSource to a Garmin GPS using a Macintosh. After quite a bit of frustration, I may have found a robust way to do this under Mac OS X (thanks to several posts on the Connectix Virtual PC support forum). I'd like to share my experience with your readers. I hope this approach works for them, too. I had been stymied (like many others), when trying to download maps by a loss of connection error (usually occurring after only a few MB had been transferred). I was using a TiBook running Mac OS X (10.1.5), USB-Serial Keyspan adapter, Virtual PC 5.0.4, Windows 98, Mapsource 4.09, eMap 2.75. At best, I was able to transfer maps of about 4-5 MB after many frustrating attempts---about one in six seemed to work, and forget about 6 MB or more. Based on reports from others, I decided to try the Iogear USB PDA/Serial Adapter (Model: GUC232A). I installed it under Windows 98 as a USB device, following instructions given on the CD that came with the adapter---the only tricky part is showing the Windows "Add New Hardware Wizard" where to look on the CD, which is in the folder E:/GUC232A/WIN98 (there are also WIN95 and WIN2000 folders). The adapter automatically configures itself to COM3. I did not assign this in the VPC Settings, other than enabling the USB feature. MapSource burped once, not finding the Garmin, but on the second attempt it found the connection and was able to successfully load a 15.5 MB mapset to my eMap. No disconnects! What a relief! A few extra notes: No drivers for the Iogear adapter were installed under Mac OS X. The data transfer rate was set to 115,200 (on COM3) in MapSource. Before purchasing the iogear adapter, I tried the same approach (i.e., recognizing the adapter as a Windows USB device rather than a Mac USB device) with my previously purchased (and now unreturnable) USB Keyspan converter (USA-19QW), but I could not get the "Add New Hardware Wizard" to locate the proper drivers. After two attempts asking Keyspan customer support, they told me it was a Connectix problem... surprise, surprise... ---Jeff Derby |
|
.......dinosaurs rule! |
|
JAGUAR! By the way, I'm using a USB hub with several other USB I downloaded MapSource from the Garmin CD-ROM into Windows and then hooked up the Garmin. I had no problems checking for upgrade GPSMap76S software using the Garmin website or with transferring maps and routes from MapSource running in Windows onto the handheld unit. In fact, I loaded quite a lot, and the download took more than sixteen minutes. I suspect that the slow speed is caused by the serial connection. I ended up spending from 8am until GPSV and Virtual PC 6.0 on OSX (10.2.6) Report from a new user... Garmin GPS-V (birthday gift) just what I wanted. Not realizing MapSource software "does not support Macintosh" is disheartening. I felt a bit foolish, however research to overcome this shortcoming commenced immediately. A friend directed me to your site and I found all the needed answers AND reassurance. Decided to obtain Virtual PC for Mac 6.1 and IOGear GUC232A USB PDA/Serial Adapter. Selected the Virtual w/Windows XP. Installed Virtual software on my G4 (OS10.2.6), connected the adapter to a USB port, downloaded the new "X" driver from IOGear, installed MapSource and.... tah-dah!!! Operates A-OK, wonderful, as hoped. Updated the MapSource version at the Garmin site using Number 2 (my name for the XP operating system) and Internet Explorer. Downloading via Safari on OS-X and moving to the XP desktop didn't work for me. Thanks for the extensive info provided by your readers/users. I haven't a Garmin but a Filser LX20. The way I installed and had success could be helpful for Garmin also. You page helped to get it working! I have a GPS working with MAC OSX 10.2.8 on my iBook, VPC 6.1 and Windows 98SE. The important thing is the USB2Serial adapter. I have one from Aten (www.aten.com.tw for about 45$). You need a driver for OSX (download it from the page) NOT for WindowsXP! Install it on OSX. The setting for VPC should be USB OFF and select on COM1 or COM2 the usbserial (which is seen after installing the driver on OSX and pluged in. After starting the VPC you can install the GPS-software. This works like a charme. Hello fellow GPS MAC Users (MAC G3 Beige desktop with a USB card installed) About a month ago I was given a gift of a Gamin GPS unit ( GPSV) for Auto routing. I struggled how to make it work with my MAC ( G3 Beige desktop with a USB card installed) and I found your site by accident. I downloaded the instruction on how to make it work with Virtuous PC using windows 98 SE. I followed your directions and using a Keyspan Mini Port Replicator and uploading the software for my MAC as well as into windows 98 SE. It worked like a charm. I have been able to upload and down load Maps, routes and other stuff from Mapsource into my GPSV without any problems, Update my system software to my GPSV unit, and update my Mapsource software version. It has been wonderful. I did this in OS 9.22 & in OS X. In OS X VPC recognizes the port Replicator a lot better than in 9.x since I am using USB connections. 9.x wants to recognize the modem and printer port mostly. I need to get the DB9m to Din 8 Cables to work with it better and my laptop. I have also had another success with my OSX and my Garmin. I have been able to upload and download directions from DeLorme Street Atlas 6.0 for the MAC without a problem using Classic running OS X on my G3 computer. Thank you for your website and your assistance from all the people who have sent in their experience. I hope this will help someone else. I'm using an iBook 800MHz, OSX 10.2.6, Keyspan USA-19QW, VirtualPC 6.01, Windows 2000 SP 6, Garmin MapSource 4.16, and Garmin Legend 3.20. Thanks for your Garmin for Mac page! Just to let you know, I just got it working! At first, I tried using an old Bafo USB to Serial adapter (same "Prolific" chipset used in the Iogear), using the Windows-driver only method. BUT, Windows 2000 would crash on me (blue-screen ish, except VirtualPC makes the screen black, then 5 sec later reboots) every time after I insert the cable. Not good! I ended up buying a Keyspan USB Serial Adapter for $35. I loaded the Mac OS X driver, version 1.4. Then I fired up Virtual PC and got it to attach COM1: to the Keyspan. IMPORTANT: Select the "Modem" checkbox, Select the "Advanced Settings" checkbox, and UNselect all the Advanced Settings. Otherwise, VirtualPC would use up all your CPU keeping the serial port "hot" by polling it constantly, rather than using DTR properly. And it'd cause errors when you try to do something else that's resource intensive (such as Mozilla). Again, thank you for your page! Otherwise, I'd still be pulling my hair out trying to get the Bafo/Prolific drivers working. -nev Tickle the mouse!After reading through the VPC and Garmin stories on your site I want to add mine so people may get things going.I tried VPC 6.1 plus Windows 2000 on an iMac G4 with OS X 10.2.8 with Garmin's USB Data Programmer. Somehow the USB settings in VPC flips back to its 'disabled' position. No go! Then I installed VPC +Windows 2000 using OS 9.2. with the following settings: COM 1 + 2: None USB: enabled as well as the USB Data Programmer (tick mark) Fire up MapSource (5.3 in my case) and save just one map to the Programmer. Funny enough it takes a few tries before the Programmer is recognized (you will see the 'initializing' window but nothing happens). It took me 3 tries before the Programmer came alive (meaning closing the download window and repeat the 'save to device' action again or take the Programmer out of the USB port and put it back again). I was able to store 126MB in a 128MB card in about 10 minutes time. Sometimes the data transfer seems to stall but when you move the mouse you can tell it is awake again. It is not the smoothest way if transferring data but it works. The USB port I used is one of the 3 on the back of the iMac. I hope this will help. Good luck. -Frank Ditmarsch, The Netherlands From See Bruce Hill's Blog posted at 02:45PM Feb 12, 2007 by Bruce Hill in Personal Garmin GPS MapSource Updated From MacAfter I bought my Garmin eTrex Vista Cx I was stymied by the need to borrow a PC in order to download the maps. Not willing to give up just yet (I am an engineer. I should be able to figure this out!) I found a couple of clues that lead me to a successful download of new map data to the microSD flash memory card from the PowerBook via Virtual PC and the USB connection. I'm running Virtual PC for Mac 6.1 and Windows XP on the PowerBook G4 (MacOS X 10.3.9).
Windows XP should find the new hardware connected and alert you. This doesn't appear to always be the case. If it doesn't find the GPS as a storage device, then select the USB icon from the virtual PC task bar at the bottom of the screen and enable the "Unknown USB device". MacOS will complain here that the removal of the device mounted from Finder wasn't properly shut down. Click OK and ignore. The GPS is now in Mass Storage mode and the flash memory is mounted from Windows as drive E:. In MapSource, select the maps for your mapset, then click the Send To Device icon. The GPS should appear as Removable Disk (E:\). Select Send to transfer your mapset. When the Transfer is complete you can power off the GPS to unmount the device. I also set up the GPS to store Tracks to the flash memory. From Windows Explorer, you can copy the *.gpx files stored on the flash memory card over to the Network Drive that is actually the Macintosh Hard Drive. This allows you to access them from the Mac. You can also access these from the MacOS Finder when the GPS is in Mass Storage mode and is mounted. Next step is to see how many maps I can get on the 2Gb microSD memory card I bought. It should hold all of the US City Maps and most of the Topo's for the Southwestern US. Posted at 02:45PM Feb 12, 2007 by Bruce Hill in Personal |
| See CycoActive's Garmin handheld GPS page!
©1999-2006 CycoActive. (02/16/07) all rights reserved. Links are welcomed, but no part of this page may be reproduced without permission. Any suggestions, comments or links? |
| This page has been accessed | times since 12/05/99. |