Help me use my Garmin GPS device with my Powerbook

December 22, 2006 6:02 PM

I just bought a Garmin Forerunner 205. I love it, it's neat, wow, awesome. But I use an Apple and the software isn't compatible. Can someone walk me through how I can get my PowerBook to recognize the unit (and download the data) when I plug it in via USB and if there are any programs I can use that are similar to the "Training Center" software included?
posted by tumbleweedjack to technology (7 comments total)

Don't own a Forerunner myself, but some quick searching turned up this Safari plug-in that claims to communicate with Forerunners. Have you tried this out?

http://blog.motionbased.com/2006/03/mac_support_is_.html

I also came across this Mac program (but it seems to only work with the Forerunner 201):
http://www.chimoosoft.com/gpsconnect.html
posted by mikeyk at 6:10 PM on December 22, 2006

The Motionbased plug-in (here is the correct link) mentioned above will work, as will LoadMyTracks and GPSBabel. I like GPSBabel much better.

Garmin have said that Training Center will be available in an OS X version in 2007.

You can run the PC version in Virtual PC or GuestPC just fine.
posted by unSane at 8:03 PM on December 22, 2006

I've been playing with RouteBuddy lately. They have a demo you can download.

Unfortunately I haven't actually seen "Training Center" in action, so I can't tell you how much overlap there is with the functionality.
posted by tkolar at 10:18 PM on December 22, 2006

Routebuddy is frustrating if you are not in the US as you seem to be tied to their proprietary maps.

On the Mac, with a Garmin 60CSx, I use the following:

-- GPSBabel+ to download from the Garmin, into .gpx format usually, or .kml for import into Google Earth

-- MotionBased to store and catalog tracks online

-- Google Earth for casual route planning, exploration, visualisation and so on. It will read tracks etc directly from the Garmin if you upgrade to the 'Plus' version.

-- MacGPSPro with the eTopo Canadian 1:50,000 maps for detailed route planning (I use the Canada Topo maps and

-- Garmin MapSource running in VirtualPC to upload maps to the Garmin (to do this you have to switch the Garmin to USB Mass Storage mode or VPC won't pick it up).
posted by unSane at 6:13 AM on December 23, 2006 [1 favorite]

I third (fourth) that you forget about training center and use motionbased. I use the free MB and do not miss TC.

For what its worth, TC isn't all that great, and there is NOTHING that TC will give you that MB can't. Cant say the same about the opposite.
posted by neilkod at 6:56 AM on December 23, 2006

Well damn, unSane. That saves me about three months of fiddling with Mac GPS programs. I'm not sure whether to thank you for the info or curse you for spoiling the joy of discovery. :-)
posted by tkolar at 10:10 AM on December 23, 2006

For what its worth, TC isn't all that great, and there is NOTHING that TC will give you that MB can't. Cant say the same about the opposite.

Except for one things. I also use my Garmin 305 for winter training on rollers/trainer, and MotionBased will NOT accept anything that does not have GPS data (yet).

So, I still have to use TC to track/store my inside workouts.
posted by dirt at 9:54 AM on December 26, 2006