GARMIN GPS - Palm - Macintosh

Some information from a user of GPS and Visor of Japan.

I use GARMIN GPS III Plus for cycling. I use to data logging and navigation GPS. I am dissatisfied with small memory of GARMIN GPS. I found that Handspring VISOR is very useful to use data logging. I use very good GPS software, GPSy, on my iBook. I use GPilotS software on my VISOR.

How to connect VISOR to GARMIN GPS

You can use very good software GPilotS.

• You can find this software is the following URL:
  GPilotS / PalmPilot software for GPS http://www.cru.fr/perso/cc/GPilotS/

I am using a special cable of Right Stuff Inc. (JAPAN). Right Stuff is the specialist of GPS. Right Stuff manufactures the cables for GPS and computer.

PN Technologies manufactures the cables for GPS and Palm/VISOR. I have a PDCH-GA, the calbe of GPS III Plus to VISOR. It works well.

Mark/Space DataCord HS works also well too. Mark/Space manufacture the cables for handheld computer. [2004-08-17: Mark/Space discontinued manufacturing all model of DataCord.]

Wac gave me the reply of my question about cable. I got useful advice from him. I heard that his cable is very good. All of the circuit of TTL converter is put into a VISOR connector.

You can find the cable in the following web site:

• PN Technologies
  http://www.pcables.com/

• Mark/Space DataCord HS
  http://www.markspace.com/datacord.html

• wac's Serial HotSync Cable
  http://wac.addr.com/ee/visor/visor.html

• Right Stuff Inc. (JAPAN) (Written in Japanese/Japanese fonts required to view this site)
  http://www.soaring.co.jp/

How to connect VISOR to iBook

GPilotS uses TrkDB-GPil.pdb file to track data. You have to turn on the flag to backup of the TrkDB-GPil.pdb.
Do HotSync.
You will find TrkDB-GPil.pdb file on your backup folder in your Macintosh.

How to manage data by my iBook

Mr. Umemura wrote a MacJPerl script, GPil2GPSy. This tool can convert TrkDB-GPil.pdb to GPSy track file. MacJPeal is Japanese version of MacPerl. You can use the script with MacPerl, not Japanese Version. You have to install MacPerl into your Macintosh.
GPSy is very famous software of GPS data manage.

• Mac . GPS . Perl (Written in Japanese/Japanese fonts required to view this site )
  The web page of Mr. Umemura
  http://member.nifty.ne.jp/Nowral/

• You can download GPil2GPSy4.5, the tool which convert track data of GPilotS to a file of GPSy, from his web page.

• You can find the source code of GPil2GPSy4.5 in his web page.

• GPSy
  http://www.gpsy.com/

This combination, GARMIN - VISOR (GPilotS) - iBook (GPSy), is very good. You need not bring your iBook/PowerBook to your cycling. GARMIN GPS and VISOR are enough to use to data logging. You can copy the data of GARMIN GPS to VISOR. You can use USB port to data transport from VISOR to Macintosh. Data transport through USB port is very fast than through serial port.

[ Go back to welcome page of my web site | GPS and VISOR page written in Japanese ]

I am not doing any commerce or business about GPS and Visor. I am just user of handy GPS receiver.