The Garmin USB GPS Plugin can be used to connect various Garmin hand-held GPS models with Hydromagic. Most Garmin GPS models also support NMEA0183 output, but very often the data cable for this is sold separately.
Position data from the hand-held is also available via the USB port using Garmin's proprietary 'PVT protocol'. PVT stands for 'P'osition, 'V'elocity and 'T'ime. This Hydromagic plugin is able to connect to the USB device driver and decode the PVT sentences sent by the Garmin GPS.
Although the list may not be complete, as new models come out on a regular bases, it contains some of the models that can be connected using the Garmin USB plugin:
NOTE: By default the GPS18 series will sent NMEA0183 sentences over the USB port. To switch to PVT mode, you will have to use the proprietary $PGRMC1 command. Please refer to the GPS18 users manual for more information.
To load this plugin, open the preferences window by selecting "Preferences..." from the "Options" menu.
In the window that appears, select the "Devices" tab. Next click the "Add..." button.
A list of available plugins will be displayed. In this list, select the "Garmin USB PVT plugin for Hydromagic" plugin and click "OK" to load the plugin. Since this device has its own device driver under Windows, no serial port or speed has to be selected, so the plugin is loaded without showing a configuration dialog first.
To unload the GPS heading plugin, open the preferences window by selecting "Preferences..." from the "Options" menu.
In the window that appears, select the "Devices" tab. Next select the "Garmin USB PVT plugin for Hydromagic" and click the "Remove..." button.
