Well, when I got my Garmin GPSMAP 96C I thought it might be interesting getting it to talk to my Mac. I wasn't wrong!!!
Firstly, I had no choice but to use a PC for updating the firmware and the Jeppesen maps on the unit. I didn't mind that so much because I don't think I will have to do that very often. I wanted to just download tracks and routes to Google Earth from it, and that proved more challenging. I purchased a copy of MacGPSPro. Then I discovered after much trying that it doesn't work with USB on my Garmin. I didn't realise I'd read the confusing website properly, and discovered it only works via Serial on this unit.
So, I purchased a Garmin serial cable off Trademe, and a USB to Serial converter. Now I find there are no maps included with the program. So once I tracked down a NZ map from linz, I found I couldn't import it into the program as it was just a scan of a paper map. So I then had to track down a calibration file, which was also interesting, and somewhere out there I found one for the exact map I had. Yippee!!
Once I had installed a driver for the serial converter and rebooted, the GPS started talking to the Mac! Woo hoo!!
I have now been able to download tracks, routes, waypoints, and it will show my current position on the map! The map is only 1:1 million, so I wouldn't mind a 1:50 thousand map, to get more detail.. We will have to keep trying. Or an aviation chart would be perfect!
But it works, and I am stoked! Will have to go for a drive and watch it on the map live...
3 comments:
I have all the New Zealand VFR maps scanned and calibrated for use with my GPS, we could try and see if they work with MacGPS?
The program in question says it supports OziExplorer maps, so you never know. Couldn't get them working when I tried but maybe I was doing it wrong or something. Worth a crack
Contact me on msn sometime, amartin@comtek.co.nz
Post a Comment