Garmin serial/USB protocol (garmin)
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## Garmin serial/USB protocol (garmin)

This format can...

- read and write waypoints

- read and write tracks

- read and write routes

This format has the following options: snlen, snwhite, deficon, get_posn, power_off, resettime, category, bitscategory .

GPSBabel supports a wide variety of Garmin hardware via serial on most operating systems and USB on Windows, Linux, and OS X.

For serial models, be sure the GPS is set for "Garmin mode" in setup and that nothing else (PDA hotsync programs, gpsd, getty, pppd, etc.) is using the serial port.

Supported Garmin GPS receivers with USB include

Astro | Forerunner 301 | GPSMAP 60CSx | StreetPilot 2620
Edge 205 | Forerunner 305 | GPSMAP 60Cx | StreetPilot 2650
Edge 305 | Foretrex 201 | GPSMAP 76C | StreetPilot 2720
eTrex Legend C | Foretrex 301 | GPSMAP 76CS | StreetPilot 2730
eTrex Legend Cx | GPS 18[1] | GPSMAP 76CSX | StreetPilot 2820
eTrex Legend HCx | GPSMAP 195 | GPSMAP 76Cx | StreetPilot 7200
eTrex Summit Cx | GPSMAP 276C | GPSMAP 96 | StreetPilot 7500
eTrex Summit HC | GPSMAP 295 | GPSMAP 96C | StreetPilot c310
eTrex Venture C | GPSMAP 296C | Quest | StreetPilot c320
eTrex Venture Cx | GPSMAP 378 | Quest II | StreetPilot c330
eTrex Venture HC | GPSMAP 396 | Rhino 520 | StreetPilot c340
eTrex Vista C | GPSMAP 478 | Rhino 530 | StreetPilot i2
eTrex Vista Cx | GPSMAP 496 | Rhino 520 HCx | StreetPilot i3
eTrex Vista HCx | GPSMAP 60C | Rhino 530 HCx | StreetPilot i5
Forerunner 205 | GPSMAP 60CS | StreetPilot 2610 |

the following Bluetooth Garmin products:

GPS 10[1] |  |  |

and most serial Garmin GPS receivers including:

eMap | eTrex H | GPS 12 | Rhino 110
eTrex Camo | Forerunner 201 | GPS 12XL | Rhino 120
eTrex Legend | Foretrex 201 | GPS III | Rhino 130
eTrex Summit | Geko 201 | GPS III+ | StreetPilot III
eTrex Venture | Geko 301 | GPS II | StreetPilot III+
eTrex Vista | GPS 12CX | GPS II+ |
eTrex (Basic Yellow) | GPS 12Map | GPS V |

The following Garmin GPS receivers are supported, but they do not support Garmin communication protocol and don't work with the `garmin` option. To use these receivers, read or write GPX files from the mass storage device as mounted on your computer.

Colorado 300[2] | Nuvi 265T[2] | Nuvi 650FM[2] | Oregon 200[2]
Colorado 400c[2] | Nuvi 265WT[2] | Nuvi 660[2] | Oregon 300[2]
Colorado 400i[2] | Nuvi 260W[2] | Nuvi 670[2] | Oregon 400c[2]
Colorado 400t[2] | Nuvi 270[2] | Nuvi 680[2] | Oregon 400i[2]
Nuvi 200[2] | Nuvi 275T[2] | Nuvi 750[2] | Oregon 400t[2]
Nuvi 205[2] | Nuvi 300[2] | Nuvi 755T[2] | StreetPilot c510[2]
Nuvi 200W[2] | Nuvi 310[2] | Nuvi 760[2] | StreetPilot c530[2]
Nuvi 205W[2] | Nuvi 350[2] | Nuvi 765T[2] | StreetPilot c550[2]
Nuvi 250[2] | Nuvi 370[2] | Nuvi 770[2] | StreetPilot c580[2]
Nuvi 255[2] | Nuvi 500[2] | Nuvi 775T[2] | Road Tech Zumo[2]
Nuvi 250W[2] | Nuvi 550[2] | Nuvi 780[2] | Zumo 450[2]
Nuvi 255W[2] | Nuvi 600[2] | Nuvi 785T[2] | Zumo 500[2]
Nuvi 260[2] | Nuvi 650[2] | Nuvi 880[2] | Zumo 550[2]

None of the GPSBabel developers has access to every model on that list, but we've received reports of success and/or have reasonable expectations that the above models work. If you succeed with a model that is not on that list, please send a message to the gpsbabel-misc mailing list with the details so that we may add it.

Not every feature on every model is supported. For example, while we do extract data such as heart rate and temperature from tracks on the sporting models like Edge and Forerunner, GPSBabel is not a fitness program at its core and does not support features like courses or calorie/fitness zone data.

To communicate with a Garmin GPS serially, use the name of that serial port such as `COM1` or `/dev/cu.serial`.

To communicate via USB use `usb:` as the filename on all OSes. Thus, to read the waypoints from a Garmin USB receiver and write them to a GPX file:

`gpsbabel -i garmin -f usb: -o gpx -F blah.gpx`

If you have multiple units attached via USB, you may provide a unit number, with zero being the implied default. So if you have three USB models on your system, they can be addressed as `usb:0`, `usb:1`, and `usb:2`. To get a list of recognized devices, specifiy a negative number such as:

`gpsbabel -i garmin -f usb:-1`

When reporting problems with the Garmin format, be sure to include the full unit model, firmware version, and be prepared to offer debugging dumps by adding `-D9` to the command line, like:

`gpsbabel -D9 -i garmin -f usb: -o gpx -F blah.gpx`

Custom icons are supported on units that support that. Neither GPSBabel nor your firmware know what is associated with any given slot number. They don't know that the picture you placed in the first slot is a happy face, they only know they're in the lowest numbered slot. GPSBabel names the them consistently with Mapsource, so they are named 'Custom 0' through 'Custom 511'.

For models where the connection on the GPS is a serial interface, be sure the GPS is set for "Garmin mode" in setup and that nothing else (PDA hotsync programs, gpsd, getty, pppd, etc.) is using the serial port.

For models connected via USB, we recommend use of the `usb:` filename. For this to work on Windows, you must install the Garmin driver. For Linux, this will fail if you have the garmin_gps kernel module loaded. See the Operating System Notes for details.

This module also supports realtime tracking which allows realtime position reports from a Garmin GPS receiver over USB or serial.

### Important

The following Garmin units do not follow the standard Garmin communications protocol and are not supported by GPSBabel.

Marine plotters:

GPSMap 420 | GPSMap 450 | GPSMap 530 | GPSMap 545
GPSMap 430 | GPSMap 520 | GPSMap 535 | GPSMap 550
GPSMap 440 | GPSMap 525 | GPSMap 540 | GPSMap 555

The PDA products

iQue 3000
iQue 3200
iQue 3600
iQue M3
iQue M4
iQue M5

### `snlen` option

Length of generated shortnames.

This option overrides the internal logic to figure out how many characters an addressed Garmin GPS will support when using the '-s' smartname option. This should be necessary only if you have a receiver type that GPSBabel doesn't know about or if you want to "dumb down" one unit to match another, such as wanting waypoint names in a StreetPilot 2720 (which supports 20 character names) to exactly match those in a 60CS (which supports 10).

### `snwhite` option

Allow whitespace synth. shortnames.

This options controls whether spaces are allowed in generated smart names when using the '-s' option.

### `deficon` option

Default icon name.

This option specifies the icon or waypoint type to write for each waypoint on output.

If this option is specified, its value will be used for all waypoints, not just those that do not already have descriptions. That is, this option overrides any icon description that might be in the input file.

Value specified may be a number from the Garmin Protocol Spec or a name as described in the Appendix B, Garmin Icons.

This option has no effect on input.

### `get_posn` option

Return current position as a waypoint.

This options gets the current longtitude and latitude from the attached GPS device and returns it as a single waypoint for further processing. For example, to return the current position from a USB Garmin to a KML file:

`gpsbabel -i garmin,get_posn -f usb: -o kml -F myposition.kml`

### `power_off` option

Command unit to power itself down.

This command forces an immediate powerdown of the addressed Garmin receiver. It is ignored on hardware that does not support this command. Obviously, further processing once you have sent a "power off" command to a unit that supports it is rather futile, so place this option carefully in your command.

`gpsbabel -o garmin,power_off -F /dev/ttyS0`

### `resettime` option

Sync GPS time to computer time.

This option is experimental and was added to solve a very specific problem. Certain Garmin units (the original black and white Vista is known to have this) will sometimes scramble their clock crazy far into the future (like 2066). When this happens, the GPS itself may or may not work and later conversations with GPSBabel may fail as the time overflows the documented range. The use of `resettime` brings the GPS's internal clock back close enough to reality that the GPS itself can then "fix" it when it has next a lock.

### `category` option

Category number to use for written waypoints.

This numeric option will force waypoints to be written with that category number when sending to a Garmin receiver that has category support. It is ignored on receivers without that capability.

### `bitscategory` option

Bitmap of categories.

This option is closely related to the 'category' option. While category allows you to choose a single category that waypoints should appear in, this options allows you to specify a bitmask to be used for the category. Options may be specified in either decimal or hex.

Example 3.7. Example for garmin bitcategory option to put all waypoints in categories 1 and 16.

The following two commands are equivalent. They place a the point in both the first and last of the sixteen available categories. `gpsbabel -i gpx -f PocketQuery.gpx -o garmin,bitcategory=32769 -F usb:` `gpsbabel -i gpx -f PocketQuery.gpx -o garmin,bitcategory=0x8001 -F usb:`

[1] This model does not support transfer of waypoints, tracks, or routes, but may be used with the realtime tracking feature.

[2] This unit uses GPX format, not Garmin protocol. Therefore one should communicate with it by reading and writing GPX files instead of using this format. Members of this class of products do not support realtime positioning protocol.

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