May 7, 2008 22:27
Thanks for your help (and patience). I still find it confusing that Garmin provides a USB connection and cable with their handhelds (60, 76 and now Colorado) but the NMEA format data only works with a serial connection. Don't bother to reply as I feel I am wasting your time. I'll just accept this as fact and move on. What does seem clear is that Garmin don't want to make it easy for users to use their handhelds as GPS receivers connected to PCs or Macs running the navigation software. In fact, as someone else said, it probably is most sensible to keep the two platforms separated. For the laptop (below decks) get a simple GPS receiver (connected by USB or BlueTooth) and use the handheld as a stand alone device in the cockpit. Mixing the two platforms seems like more trouble that its worth. Despite these difficulties the Garmin handheld units are still pretty attractive (to me, at least). Thanks again for you help. I'll concentrate now on getting going with MacENC and selecting the most appropriate charts for my macBook.