Hello,I'm planning to buy a Garmin 296 GPS for my real world flying but I'd like to also have it set up to work with flightsim so I can learn the unit inside out on the ground instead of when I should be watching for traffic.Anyways I've seen several people mention they can get their Garmin 296 to work with GPSOut, but almost all use the serial cable connection to do it. I've also seen others mention they can get it to work via the USB cable hookup.I'd much rather use the USB cable as A ) the GPS can use external power when on USB unlike with Serial, I'd rather not use up battery cycles on flightsim and B ) my computer doesn't have a serial port, and between the proprietary Garmin cable I'd need for serial plus a serial to USB adapter it would be $100.It seems the only thing I need to figure out to get it to work via USB is to figure out the USB Port # for the Garmin, which apparently can be fairly cryptic - certainly not Com1 Com2 etc. Does anyone know how to figure out what the port number is? Better yet does anyone have a Garmin 296 working with GPSout via USB?Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

davidvYour ONLY solution will be to use GPSout (fs9) or FSUIPC (FSX), now the cable you need is a combo serial/power plus a power adapter (no more batteries) , if you do not have a serial port, you will need a converter as well. I use that at the office with ELITE, FSX, FS9, and xPlane and it works perfectly. Parts neededGPS Cable: ( 45.00) http://www.gca.aero/detail/6208/Miscellano...ighter_Adapter/Power adapter: ( 24.99) https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=11190USB Converter: ( 12.99) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/se...C7BBTkwCjCECjCEYou will need to set the gps in aviation in and start the sim mode:

Here is a gps in action:http://www.baron58.com/Videos/ehrd-ehbk_0003.wmv

Here is a gps in action:http://www.baron58.com/Videos/ehrd-ehbk_0003.wmv

Zag je filmpje net. Fraaie graphics op je scherm man. Wat voor PC-config heb je? Hoopte trouwens meer info te vinden hoe ik mijn Garmin 196 met FSX kon laten praten. Helaas is dat nog niet gelukt. Morgen verder proberen.Vlieg zelf met een PiperArrow III vanaf EHRD maar wil die Garmin eerst goed testen middels FSX voor ik hem mee de lucht in neem.Grt,Jur

Zag je filmpje net. Fraaie graphics op je scherm man. Wat voor PC-config heb je? Hoopte trouwens meer info te vinden hoe ik mijn Garmin 196 met FSX kon laten praten. Helaas is dat nog niet gelukt. Morgen verder proberen.Vlieg zelf met een PiperArrow III vanaf EHRD maar wil die Garmin eerst goed testen middels FSX voor ik hem mee de lucht in neem.Grt,Jur

Hi Jur,Could you please translate your message into English?Thx!

As a help to Jur, Dutch to English;"Just saw your video, Beautiful graphics on your screen. What PC config do you have?Also hoped to find more info how my Garmin 196 was able to talk to FSX. Unfortunately, that has not succeeded. Try tomorrow.Fly yourself with a Piper Arrow III EHRD from Garmin but will that first good test for FSX by him into the air I take".

Hi davidv,With the understanding that I don't know the Garmin unit, but I deal with a lot of USB stuff, you wouldn't normally worry about it. When you plug the Garmin in, it would create a USB device. PnP would get notified, run through INF files until it found a match, load the driver it found listed there, and you would talk to the driver. The port is not your concern, it's something that MS and the USB Hub people deal with.The only time it's normally a problem is when you've got two identical devices, in which case it's difficult to tell which is which since you talk to the same driver. Some devices have a serial number built in that the system can read and determine from that. The manufacturer can probably give you more details.Anyway, Win95 programs talked to ports, but since Win98 USB and nearly all the different types of devices that have shown up since then, it's not something that you concern yourself with at the application level. The system knows where it is, if you send a signal to it, the system will get it there for you.Best regards,- BobThe StickWorkshttp://www.stickworks.com