Aufnahmeleiter, another thing I noticed about your ePlug is that the "0" (TXD or Output) pin, in picture #3, looks a little depressed, in comparison to the other 3 pins. That could lead to a poor contact.

You're not the only one that have that problem. Me too. The dang plug is just too small to maneuver around and to keep the pins squarely aligned. That is one thing I don't like about Pfranc's ePlug. It has the same design like your ePlug. Pc-mobile design is a little better with built-in spring to push the pin up from underneath for insuring a good contacts.

To fix that problem, I put a needle through all 4 ePlug pins like you see in the picture below. That needle will pull the pin "0" out and squarely aligned with the other 3 pins. It also help you during assembling the ePlug (keep your blood pressure down and keep you from smashing the ePlug against the workbench ;) )

Hmm, I see that you have your pin #2 and 3 (which is my pin # 1 and 2 based on 18-pin connector), shown in your picture #3, removed.  That is not good, expecially not your pin #2 (my pin #1), which is the ground pin.  You need to put it back and connect it to the ground wire or just move the pin#1 to the #2 slot (if that is possible).  You need to remove pin#1 (like you did for pin#20) anyway to avoid confusion. 

Also you still pointing to pin#13 and 14 of the 20-pin plug, not the # 14 & 15 for the RXD and TXD pins, respectively.  If that is the case, that could be your connection problem.

Just to be sure that we are comparing apple to apple, here is a chart of your pin numbering = mine = ePlug:
1 = none
2 = 1 = -
3 = 2
4 = 3
5 = 4 = -
6 = 5
7 = 6
8 = 7 = +
9 = 8 = +
10 = 9
11 = 10
12 = 11
13 = 12
14 = 13 = 0
15 = 14 = I
16 = 15
17 = 16
18 = 17
19 = 18 = -
20 = open

I hope that helps.

Here is a guess of why you get this weird "Serial port already opened. Keyboarddrivers?" after reading the OEM spec manual pdf (from the link you posted earlier). I think what happened was that you send NMEA signal from the "0" pin of ePlug to DTR pin in Clie, instead of to RXD. As I read from the Table 3 of the pdf, when the DTR pin is closed (i.e., connected?), then the DTR = L. When that happens, some external devices will wait a command from the Clie before it can be activated. A message may pop up on your screen for you to do something (press a button?). Once you do that, then Clie will send signal through DTR to activate the device. Does it make sense?  If that is the case, then you need to move the pin over to the next larger pin #. 

Oh! That could be the problem: My logical comprehension :D
"The two most outside pins are unused."
Out of this sentence I read out that pin 19&20 would be unused (-> most outside from pin 1).

This would explain the fatal connection problem. Thank you, DanT, I will try it today or tomorrow!

This is all great stuff, folks - I have been running a similar setup for a while now with a set of pc-mobile.net cables, my SJ30 and an older Garmin GPS12, it works a treat with my TomTom Navigator software. In fact, the hardest thing is planning the journey and squeezing maps onto a MS to cover the whole journey.

I'm looking toupgrade to a bluetooth GPS receiver to cut one set of cables and minimise the accessories clamped to my dashboard (GPS, SJ30, Icom Radio Scanner, Panasonic 446 radio, Mobile Phone)!!

I was wondering if anyone knows where I could get some of those cool suction-clamps for the Garmin and Clie that are in the photos.... I think above it was mentioned they were from Radio Shack, but does anybody know where I could get these in the UK? They would be a LOT better than my current solutions...!

Cheers,
James

Hold on....

Check out these bad boys!

http://www.motiontouch.com/products...eplist.asp?d=50

Those are cool "badboys" all right. I want one, except in USD not in BP for the same numbers in the price. Like everything else in Great Brittain, things are expensive. I went to McDonald in Cardiff to get a Big Mac for 2BP. Here in US, it costs only $2. ;)

:cool:  I think you get it this time.

I wish I could speak German ;)

Another problem is the non-standardized units being used all over the place.  That was one reason that the Hubble space telescope went out of focus in the first time it's out in the aerospace.  The lense builder read the designer drawings with the wrong unit (in metric instead of in English unit).  The Brittish went to US introducing this awkward unit.  Then went home and use metric, leaving us with the headache.  That's OK though.  Life will be too boring otherwise. :D 

Maybe that would fix some of the comprehensive problems :)


Five minutes ago I changed (real) pin 12&13 to 13&14, I also squeezed a nail through the ePlug pin as you did. Connection was physically ok, but - how could it be?: Nothing....

Now the Clie adapter is the same as follows:

1 nothing
2 GND
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 -
7 -
8 PWD
9 PWD
10 -
11 -
12 -
13 -
14 <-> ePlug "0"
15 <-> ePlug "1"
16 -
17 -
18 connected to 19 via resistor
19 connected to 18 via resistor
20 nothing

Perhaps it's a stupid question but: Is it necessary to connect ePlug&Clie to the power supply? For my tests I didn't connect the USB plug into the cigarette lighter adapter....

I hope that was just a typo on the pin numbering.&nbsp; Based on the 20-pin arrangement you did connect to pin #14 (RXD) to ePlug pin "0", not pin# 13, right?

The USB need to be connected to the cigaret lighter adapter&nbsp;only when&nbsp;you want to&nbsp;use the USB power supply to&nbsp;your Clie and&nbsp;the&nbsp;eTrex.&nbsp; To&nbsp;get the NMEA signal from eTrex to the Clie you just need the&nbsp;3 wires (RXD, TXD, GND).&nbsp;&nbsp;My guess, you may even only need 2&nbsp;wires, the GND and the wire coming from ePlug pin "0"&nbsp;to Clie pin #14 (RXD, based on 20-pin setup) since the Clie will only be receiving signals, not sending&nbsp;signals back to the eTrex.&nbsp; I'll try this myself next time I get a chance to play with my GPS setup.

If you indeed hooked up the pin #14 (based on 20-pin setup) to the ePlug pin "0" and the connection is good,&nbsp; how about checking the&nbsp;ground wire from the Clie (pin # 2, 5, 19 based on 20-pin setup)&nbsp;to the ePlug pin "-".&nbsp;&nbsp;Are that&nbsp;ground connections OK?&nbsp; Those 3 pins are ground wires that need to be connected to the USB ground and the ePlug ground.

If you just connect&nbsp;the ground wires from the USB and ePlug&nbsp;to the pin #2, you can make a short jumper wires from pin#2 to 5 and 19.&nbsp; Then check with the Ohmmeter whether the pin#2 indeed has good connection to #5 and 19.&nbsp; Pin# 18 should only have a resistor connected to pin# 19.

I'm getting ready for TH55 and put my GPS adapter in ebay, item no.3074045826 and&nbsp;3074050522 if&nbsp;anyone interested.