Is Streets & Trips 2009 on laptop compatible with Garmin eTrex?

We purchased MS Streets & Trips software (only) and need the GPS locator. Is is possible to use the handheld Garmin etrex Legend GPS as the GPS locator? If so, what device would be required to connect the Garmin to the laptop? We only have the serial connector for the Garmin that allows us to transfer data. It has a serial port that won't work on our laptops. My laptop is a HP t6400 (brandnew)

If you are sure the Etrex puts out a GPS signal on its interface (I think it does), you need a serial to USB adapter. It comes with a software driver to provide a COM port S&T can recognize.

However, with the prices of good USB GPS (such as the GlobalSat BU-353) being so reasonable, it would be easier and cheaper to buy one. Then you could leave it in your vehicle permanently and use the Etrex for what it does best. Also the USB GPS receivers are more sensitive than your Etrex.

Terry

I can confirm that the Garmin etrex Legend does work the M$ Streets and Trips. It does require the adapter for USB which I found pretty cheaply. if you have a very old laptop it might have the RS-232 but I don't think that's likely. Anyway, it works and it updates pretty quickly and accurately.

Resurrecting this old thread... what would this adapter cable look like? I've used adapters to get from old serial devices into a USB on a PC, and I guess I can imagine having a USB device going into a serial port (though it's kind of weird), but in this case the GPS is USB and the PC is USB. What does the cable do? It seems like a software problem. Thanks for any help. I'm trying to get an eTrex to work with Streets & Trips 2010.

The adapter discussed was for a serial Etrex. You have a USB one. Your problem is Streets & Trips can not see a signal on a USB port, it needs a COM port. Get yourself a copy of GPS Gate. It can find your Etrex and put the data on a COM port, in fact several COM ports. S&T can be set to get its GPS signal from that COM port.

Terry

Thanks for the reply. This has me very curious then, how does Microsoft expect people to use their software? Laptops haven't had serial ports for years.

Most USB GPS receivers including the ones that ship with Streets & Trips include a USB to serial driver, a piece of software that creates a COM port to output the GPS data. NMEA GPS data is basically a low speed serial signal and has used this method of communications for years.

Garmin has not developed such a driver for their devices as MapSource can communicate directly with the USB port. That is where GPS Gate comes in.

Terry

GPSGate works great. It's unfortunate that it effectively increases the price of S&T by more than 25%. Seems like Microsoft is missing the boat here since Garmin must account for 50% or more of the handheld GPS market? Garmin is being an annoyance too I suppose, with their own interface, since Mapsource is a pretty junky piece of software (IMO). If it has real-time capability, I haven't found it.

Microsoft offers a GPS with the package which works fine. For those that wish to deal with a PND or handheld (which is considerably more expensive than the S&T package), there are some hoops they must jump through. If this is a deal breaker for you, consider Street Atlas which will work with your Etrex (I have been told). I hope you have looked at GPS Gate Express, a lighter less expensive version which only provides 2 COM port outputs.

Terry