T&T: Talking to/from a Garmin

[Jeffrey Siegel]

> So. Based on what I have read so far on this thread I guess 
> I would think it would be best to NOT buy a Garmin GPS...
> 

Nah, I don't think that's the conclusion to draw.

Wiring this stuff up isn't easy or obvious.  Garrett's system had multiple
NMEA listeners and talkers and it would have taken a multiplexer or a switch
to connect everything together properly.  The "electronics shop" that he
went to didn't have the knowledge or ability to do it.  He did the best
thing possible - he stayed with a single vendor to make it all work
together.

Peter's diagram shows one way to do it properly.  He added a couple of
switches to select the data source and the data recipient.  That is an
excellent and reliable way to satisfy connectivity requirements in a complex
system.

Last year I installed a Bluetooth multiplexer.  With that, I can use my
normal, multi-station system and connect a PC wirelessly.  It also allows me
to upload routes from my cell phone with my own software.  This wasn't a
simple installation to come up with however.

We're in the end of the Wild West period of GPS navigation.  It was only 10
years ago that the letters G-P-S really started showing up.  The industry
has been slow to respond with better technology that doesn't require and EE
degree to figure out.  It's all out there today.  In 2016, the issues will
be much different...

================
Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever 53PH
W1ACA/WDB4350
Castine, Maine