Serial to USB Adaptor issues

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Level 1

9 points

Serial to USB Adaptor issues

I just came back from a hike and went to upload my track to National Geographic TOPO! software, but it couldn't detect my GPS. I'm using a Garmin Foretrex 101, which is supported. I have the latest OS X update, the latest TOPO!, the latest Google Earth, and the latest GPSBabel+. None of them can see the Foretrex.

I thought maybe it was the cables so I booted up to XP on Boot Camp and tried to run the Garmin Web Update - it worked fine so it isn't the cables.

As I try and manually configure the GPS communication in the TOPO! I select the "with USB to Serial Port adaptor" and my options selectable for the Serial Port are:

/dev/cu.Bluetooth-Modem
/dev/cu.Bluetooth-PDA-Sync

I'm using a Dynex adaptor model DX-UBDB9 and made sure I was running the latest driver that they have on their website. Does anyone have a clue what is going on? I really like the small GPS and don't want to have to buy a larger newer one with a GPS connection.

White MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.7), 4 GB RAM

Posted on Jun 20, 2009 3:45 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

cizko

Level 1

15 points

Jun 21, 2009 12:55 AM in response to kmroxo

Taking a quick look at your devices manual, I found out, that your cable (like almost every other usb-serial-adapter) is based on the prolific chip. I had some comparable issues and found the generic open source driver to be the best solution. This is what you should try:

1. Uninstall your current driver completely (by killing the corresponding kexts and the package receipt).

2. Update your Boot caches and reboot.

3. Download the open source driver here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/osx-pl2303/

4. Install this driver and reboot again

5. You should see a device tty.PL2303-xxxxxx showing up in /dev whenever you connect your cable, where xxxxxx will be subject to change, depending on the usb port id where you plugged it in.

Cheers, cizko

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Answer 2

kmroxo Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 21, 2009 6:44 AM in response to cizko

cizko, thanks I had found that just before you posted based on someone else having problems too. I didn't do your step one though I just installed the new driver. It works now for my my GPS and my mapping program, but not the Garmin WebUpdate.

I honestly don't know what a kext is or how to uninstall it either though.

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Answer 3

cizko

Level 1

15 points

Jun 21, 2009 7:12 AM in response to kmroxo

ggg A "kext" ist a kernel extension. Think of it as a container for additional code (such as hardware drivers) that is not originally part of the systems kernel, but included during boot time to provide additional functionality.
Kexts are usually stored in the folder "/System/Library/Extensions" or sometimes "/Library/Extensions/". You might want to check these folders for the old driver kext and remove it anyway, for it bloats your system's memory footprint and might even destabilize it.

Package receipts on the other hand tell the system which software has been installed so far. These files are located in "/Library/Receipts/" and usually carry the name of the original package's installer. Some receipts come with an additional "bom"-file. These files are to be found in the subfolder "bom" ("/Library/Receipts/bom/"). Just look for a file with the name of your driver and delete it, if any.

So if you kill the kext it would be a good idea to delete the receipt as well. Otherwise the system might "think" that it still has these drivers installed, even though they are not.

Cheers, cizko

BTW: Why not mark your question as "solved" so others can profit from the solution?

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