Connecting Garmin GPS to ESRI ArcGIS software

This was copied directly from a support ticket I had with ESRI #676246.

*******************
The GPS Toolbar is designed to work with NEMA 'sentences' which are designed to be communicated via serial, or RS-232 communication. Since the Garmin is a USB device, it is not technically supported. However, you can successfully connect to the GPS Toolbar using the following steps:

1. Download and install Garmin's USB driver package:

http://www.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=591

follow the instructions, which require you to connect the powered-on GPS during installation of the drivers.

2. Download and install Garmin's Spanner software (note that it will say that it is intended for a specific Garmin unit, the GPS 18. I have tested it with a GPSmap 76CSx which works perfectly):

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=1627

3. Open Spanner. With your unit connected and powered on (it should show up in Device Manager under 'GARMIN Devices'), you will see your GPS listed under 'Select GPS'. It will assign the unit to a 'Virtual Serial Port'. Make note of this port.

4. On the GPS Toolbar, select the 'GPS' menu and then 'GPS Connection Setup...'. For 'Communication Port:', select the port you obtained from Spanner in the last step.

If you decide to use these steps, please report back your results.

Regards,

John H.

To contact ESRI Support Services (USA only):
Tel: (888)377-4575 Fax: (909)792-0960 E-mail: support@esri.com

===================
For additional support use our 24 Hour Support Services:

ESRI's WWW homepage http://www.esri.com
Online Support Center http://support.esri.com
Knowledge Base http://support.esri.com/search/
Discussion Forums http://support.esri.com/forums/
Scripts & Tools http://arcscripts.esri.com/
E-mail Discussion Lists http://support.esri.com/listserve/
ESRI Developer Network http://edn.esri.com/
===================