I'm the guy that posted back in March about my Garmin 12CX and its
burned out backlight and failing memory battery. Rather than pay for
repairs, I ended up just buying a GPSMap 76 ($143 from Amazon) which
serves my basic needs (which way? and how far?). I've never been all
that enthused about postage stamp sized maps on handhelds but my new
one does everything a mapless 76 will do and it cost less too.
But before I pitch my 12CX in the trash, I've been thinking how nice
it would be if I could hook it up to my laptop, using just the
antenna/receiver parts of the gps (sitting on my dashboard) and a
laptop as a chartplotter (on the front seat). Now there's a screen
size I can use as a chartplotter. And since I already have the
hardware (gps, laptop, serial cable) I'm wondering, does there exist
software to do what I'm thinking? (basically, I want the laptop to do
everything that the GPS would normally do except receive signals) And
if so, who provides it? And how much? And what sort of "gotchas" have
I not considered? (yes, I've considered the laptop on the floor if I
have to slam on brakes)
Anyhow, thanks in advance for any advice/ideas.

Rick

I've done this - use the GPS as an NMEA data source, with a power/data
cable and external antenna, I've just stuck the thing under the seat
and pretty much forgot about it.
Get a cable:
http://www.pfranc.com/cgi-bin/P/pCombo32/garmin-GPS-cables
And an antenna:
http://www.gilsson.com/
Just have to get the thing set to output the data...might be tough
with a goofy display.

I'm the guy that posted back in March about my Garmin 12CX and its
burned out backlight and failing memory battery. Rather than pay for
repairs, I ended up just buying a GPSMap 76 ($143 from Amazon) which
serves my basic needs (which way? and how far?). I've never been all
that enthused about postage stamp sized maps on handhelds but my new
one does everything a mapless 76 will do and it cost less too.
But before I pitch my 12CX in the trash, I've been thinking how nice
it would be if I could hook it up to my laptop, using just the
antenna/receiver parts of the gps (sitting on my dashboard) and a
laptop as a chartplotter (on the front seat). Now there's a screen
size I can use as a chartplotter. And since I already have the
hardware (gps, laptop, serial cable) I'm wondering, does there exist
software to do what I'm thinking? (basically, I want the laptop to do
everything that the GPS would normally do except receive signals) And
if so, who provides it? And how much? And what sort of "gotchas" have
I not considered? (yes, I've considered the laptop on the floor if I
have to slam on brakes)
Anyhow, thanks in advance for any advice/ideas.

Rick

I'm the guy that posted back in March about my Garmin 12CX and its
burned out backlight and failing memory battery. Rather than pay for
repairs, I ended up just buying a GPSMap 76 ($143 from Amazon) which
serves my basic needs (which way? and how far?). I've never been all
that enthused about postage stamp sized maps on handhelds but my new
one does everything a mapless 76 will do and it cost less too.
But before I pitch my 12CX in the trash, I've been thinking how nice
it would be if I could hook it up to my laptop, using just the
antenna/receiver parts of the gps (sitting on my dashboard) and a
laptop as a chartplotter (on the front seat). Now there's a screen
size I can use as a chartplotter. And since I already have the
hardware (gps, laptop, serial cable) I'm wondering, does there exist
software to do what I'm thinking? (basically, I want the laptop to do
everything that the GPS would normally do except receive signals) And
if so, who provides it? And how much? And what sort of "gotchas" have
I not considered? (yes, I've considered the laptop on the floor if I
have to slam on brakes)
Anyhow, thanks in advance for any advice/ideas.

Rick

Go to the Garmin web site and download the free software "nRoute". This
is the type of application it was specifically designed for.

On Mon, 05 May 08, first.last wrote:
Go to the Garmin web site and download the free software "nRoute". This
is the type of application it was specifically designed for.

Gave it a try but after a couple minutes of running the Setup wizard,
a message popped up that said "No previous nRoute detected. Setup
ended" (or words to that effect). Maybe that was an update I
downloaded? It was nRoute ver 2.7.6 4/24/07 found on this page:
http://www8.garmin.com/support/mappingsw.jsp
I'll try running setup again but I expect the same result.

There are other choices on the page. For instance:
nRouteEnglish For Legacy Operating Systems Ver 2.6.1 1/16/07

Haven't tried that one yet.
Obviously, I'm stumbling around in the dark here.

Rick

Try downloading from here:

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=575

That should be an original version.

PhantMan at (no spam) nospam.invalid> wrote in message
news:a4tt14heot79qsavr9vrkakjfifn5n24lm at (no spam) 4ax.com...
On Mon, 05 May 08, first.last wrote:
Go to the Garmin web site and download the free software "nRoute". This
is the type of application it was specifically designed for.
Gave it a try but after a couple minutes of running the Setup wizard,
a message popped up that said "No previous nRoute detected. Setup
ended" (or words to that effect). Maybe that was an update I
downloaded? It was nRoute ver 2.7.6 4/24/07 found on this page:
http://www8.garmin.com/support/mappingsw.jsp
I'll try running setup again but I expect the same result.

There are other choices on the page. For instance:
nRouteEnglish For Legacy Operating Systems Ver 2.6.1 1/16/07

Haven't tried that one yet.
Obviously, I'm stumbling around in the dark here.

Rick

okay thanks. But what did you use for laptop software?

Try downloading from here:
http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=575
That should be an original version.

A cheaper alternative for your laptop only would be MicroSoft Streets&Trips

there are a
lot of choices depending on your purpose & location.

If you add a broadband wireless card, you could use Google Earth too,
I think.

Mike wrote:
A cheaper alternative for your laptop only would be MicroSoft
Streets&Trips

I'll check it out, thanks.

I recommend Delome Street Atlas. The have a bundle that comes with a USB
GPS for under a hundred bucks.

If you add a broadband wireless card, you could use Google Earth too,
I think.

In fact, I have a broadband wireless card so I can use my laptop
anywhere in my house via a wirless modem. I'm not sure how I would use
it riding down the road in a car though. We're talkin' range a only a
few hundred feet here.

I'm the guy that posted back in March about my Garmin 12CX and its
burned out backlight and failing memory battery. Rather than pay for
repairs, I ended up just buying a GPSMap 76 ($143 from Amazon) which
serves my basic needs (which way? and how far?). I've never been all
that enthused about postage stamp sized maps on handhelds but my new
one does everything a mapless 76 will do and it cost less too.
But before I pitch my 12CX in the trash, I've been thinking how nice
it would be if I could hook it up to my laptop, using just the
antenna/receiver parts of the gps (sitting on my dashboard) and a
laptop as a chartplotter (on the front seat). Now there's a screen
size I can use as a chartplotter. And since I already have the
hardware (gps, laptop, serial cable) I'm wondering, does there exist
software to do what I'm thinking? (basically, I want the laptop to do
everything that the GPS would normally do except receive signals) And
if so, who provides it? And how much? And what sort of "gotchas" have
I not considered? (yes, I've considered the laptop on the floor if I
have to slam on brakes)
Anyhow, thanks in advance for any advice/ideas.

Rick