436HP and GPS cabling

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NE4W

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I don't own the 436HP yet, but I do own a relic Garmin GPS V which has a NMEA output. I can buy various cables to fit the GPS. Some have serial connectors (PC connect), some are bare wire, etc. What would be the simplest cabling method to hook the two together?
 

kellykeeton

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NE4W

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So the connector on the 396XT is the same as on the 436HP? That's good info, thanks.
 

garys

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I have a serial connector on my GPS cable and a programming cable for my XTscanners which should work with the 436. Do I need just a gender changer or do I need a cross over?
 

garys

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I believe just a gender changer

Thanks. I found one in my pile of miscellaneous junk and will give it a try. I started the Magellan up for the first time in ten years and it worked fine after it initialized.With luck everything will talk and I'll figure out how to used the GPS feature.
 

garai

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This worked for me gps to 436hp

There was a u Tube video posted several years ago of a person connecting his gps to his Home Patrol. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWVdh2Docx8

So I bought a used Garmin etrex vista on ebay ($44), and purchased the Garmin serial port connector (PC interface cable (RS232 serial port connector) ($29). I then connected it to the serial port cable/plug from my Uniden 396xt through a serial gender changer and null adapter. I set the Vista's interface settings to NMEA in and NMEA out, and the baud rate at 4800. I set the baud rate on the 436HP to 4800, and connected the Vista to the HP via the serial port.

Once the Vista gps acquired the satellite data, it was apparently read by the HP, just as it was from my cigarette lighter powered Uniden gps unit. The HP changed sites and transmitters according to my physical position as I drove around exactly as it did with the powered unit. I was also able to walk around with the setup, which, of course, was not dependent on an external power source, other than the AA batteries in the Vista gps.

The downside to this set up is that Garmin does not make a serial output gps unit anymore, nor do the current models support NMEA/ serial output, so you have to find a used unit (there were several old garmin units that would work, according to their specs).

This worked for me. I am guessing that there might be a market for a small battery powered gps "hockey puck" to run with the current run of HP location based scanners. Of course, I expect that they are thinking of including a gps chip in the scanner itself, in some later iteration.

It was fun to try to work this out. Yea for the internet.
 
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I have played with several different devices and had good success, I have an first generation Garmin Etrex hand heals with the serial DB9 cable cabled directly to the Uniden cable for my HP-1, worked fine. The second was an old Lowrance handheld GPS with the serial cable it cabled directly to the Uniden cable, it also worked. The downside was both of these older units was battery life in the GPS was fairly short so you need spare batteries with you. I bought an Garmin Street Pilot 2600 off EBay, it outputs GPS data but not NMEA 183, I ordered a level converter that was designed for APRS with a DB9, that also worked so I can use the Garmin as a conventional automotive GPS and provide data to my HP-1. This week I ordered the Garmin 18x hockey puck GPS with the DB9 connector and cigarette lighter power plug. Just back home from a road trip and it worked just fine as all my devices have.

Note that none of the devices required a gender changer or a null modem to function, just plug and pray.
 
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