Homemade Etrex datacable

[PropThePolecat]

Hey everybody.

Got tired of manually entering waypoints into my Garmin Etrex H and a Garming brand data-cable costs a whopping 70GBP here in Denmark.
I tried looking for one in the UK as theyre certainly cheaper but i couldnt find a webshop that had gotten good reviews so i didnt dare.

Ive stumbled onto this site ages ago where this german guy gives instructions on how to make your own cable so i decided to give it a go.

The site is here: http://www.jens-seiler.de/etrex/datacable.html

What youll need is a DB9 serial (RS232) port connector, wire, a old credit-card or any other plastic card, some scissors/knife, drill and some strips.

You can find the DB9 connector on old computer mouses and the like. I didnt have one so i had to buy one for 1.5GBP and solder the wires onto it.

You can see the pictures of the cable i made here on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/km-m/sets/72157618881775219/

If i anyone has any questions or need any help let me know and ill do what i can.

Regards
Mads

 

[stooboy]

well done, like the idea of using the credit card instead of a flexable membrain you should post a howto on http://www.instructables.com/ is a good resource for hacks like that.

 

[Ex Member - Sidney Bounty]

yup it works been using one I constructed a long time used it for updateing software in the etrex only now the computer I have only has USB connections...

 

[PropThePolecat]

@ Stooboy: Ill try to make a tutorial at some time...Nobody should pay that much money for such a thing.

@Survivalbill: Garmin is not quite up to date in terms of connectivity. Who on earth still uses the RS232 port ??? But ive seen a tutorial somewhere on how to convert a RS232 plug into a USB plug, dont know what it takes though.

Mads

 

[Mikey P]

@ Stooboy: Ill try to make a tutorial at some time...Nobody should pay that much money for such a thing.

@Survivalbill: Garmin is not quite up to date in terms of connectivity. Who on earth still uses the RS232 port ??? But ive seen a tutorial somewhere on how to convert a RS232 plug into a USB plug, dont know what it takes though.

Mads

You can get cheap RS232-USB converters on eBay - I use one so I can download data from my heart rate monitor to my laptop. It's weird as you have to use the RS232 cable and a converter because the straight USB device does not work with Apple Macs! Gaaah!

 

[helixpteron]

Might be an idea to delete your visible personal data from the card images before you post on the internet!

 

[PropThePolecat]

Nothing of importance on those pics....I already checked.

 

[Zodiak]

Nice idea I like it

What software do you use with it?

 

[PropThePolecat]

I use a software called EasyGPS. Its pretty basic but it gets the job done. And most importantly its free.

You can find it here: http://www.easygps.com/