ArcPad 10/Garmin/USB

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04-25-2011 07:41 AM
TimStrickler
New Contributor II
Does ArcPad 10x communicate with Garmin GPS via USB? We are running Arcpad10 on a new laptop with out a serial port & a new Garmin 62s, which also does not have a serial connector plug anymore.

I read a post in this forum that indirectly hinted this is now possible, but cannot find anything saying for sure if it is true or not. I know the solution is for the virtual software to convert USB port to a virtual serial port. However, since serial ports now seem to be going the way of record players and VHS machines it would be nice for this to work in the native environment without the gimmicks.

Thanks in advance,
Tim
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2 Replies
ToddStuber
Esri Contributor
Hi Tim,

ArcPad will communicate with a GPS device via a USB cable or Bluetooth connection.  Using port emulator software is more of a requirement for the GPS toolbar in ArcMap, which only supports communication to a GPS antenna via a serial connection.  Just make sure that the device is set to output to NMEA protocol rather than a Garmin proprietary protocol and that you set the correct COM port and baud rate in the GPS settings in ArcPad.

More information regarding connecting your device to ArcPad can be found here.

Thanks,
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TimStrickler
New Contributor II
Todd,

Thanks for your response.  We have been trying to make this work for some time now unsuccessfully. Using the find utility in ArcPad and having all the correct settings we cannot get ArcPad to recognize any Garmin (60csx or the 62s) without the emulator software.  Part of the problem is that a USB port is not a COM port so you cannot set the correct port, no? 

It works fine with emulator software, but not without it.

I am not sure if this means anything or not, but we are using  laptops as our data collector running ArcPad.
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