I seek a free solution to transfer waypoints from my GPS device to my PC, and into ArcGIS 9.3.
These are my devices: Garmin etrex Legend (it's the glittery blue one, fairly old) and ArcGIS 9.3. I'd like to upload the waypoints into ArcGIS 9.3 but the computer doesn't even recognize the device. The Garmin device software is up to date, and neither Garmin BaseCamp or GPSBabel could locate the device. I have a feeling it's the connector cable, but I'm not entirely familiar with this type of cable (not USB or mini-USB). It plugs into the back of my desktop and the contact point of the plug is large and shaped like a trapezoid with very rounded edges. There are two rows of pins in the "trapezoid", with five on the bottom and four on the top. Actually the pins are in the computer port and the plug is female. The GPS side connection seems to be Garmin's proprietary four pin connector.
So maybe the cable is busted?
Neither the GPS device or my PC give any indication that they are communicating, even though both devices are on.
I saw that Garmin has a Trip and Waypoint Manager, but I'd be really ideal if there is a free solution.
Best Answer
I ended up using GPSi, a toolbar for ArcMap. It also requires that you have MSCOMM32.ocx. To install mscomm32.ocx, I downloaded the ocx file, put it in my system32 folder, opened the run command, then typed "C:\windows\system32\regsvr32.exe c:\windows\system32\mscomm32.ocx" and voila! The install directions for the GPSi toolbar is contained with the script for the toolbar.