• Is there a Universal Binary version of MacGPS Pro?
  The current version of MacGPS Pro is a Universal Binary OS X application.
  
  If you are using a Keyspan USB to Serial adaptor on an Intel-processor Macintosh, you will need to download and install the latest Universal Binary Keyspan Driver (version 2.5 or higher). The Power PC-only version (version 2.0 or lower) of the Keyspan Driver will not work on an Intel-processor machine.
  
  
• What about updates to MacGPS Pro?
  We are continually adding features to improve MacGPS Pro. We release multiple updates on a regular basis which are distributed free via email to our registered users. Annually, we release a major upgrade which is available for a small discounted fee to our current customers.
  
  
• Is there a Demo version of MacGPS Pro?
  No demo? That's right! A demo either limits the availability of features or the time to try the program. Who wants a crippled version that doesn't give them a full picture of the software or a demo with a time limit for trying various features that they just can't get to because the clock quits ticking? How frustrating!
  
  Through the years, MacGPS Pro has been continuously developed with many features arising from customer suggestions, so it performs various tasks today. If we provided a demo, it would be impossible to know which facet of the program that you wanted to explore. And we want you to be able to experience any or all of the many features as you desire without the stress of a clock ticking. Take your time and enjoy the benefits! Because we offer a 30 day money-back guarantee, a Mac user has nothing to lose. Also compare our cost with the software companies that offer demos. Demos cost money for development - that expense is passed on to the consumer. James Associates would rather spend time adding new features to MacGPS Pro than develop a demo and charge you more for our program to cover those extra development costs.
  
  
• Isn't the freeware MacGPS the same thing as a Demo version of MacGPS Pro?
  No. MacGPS is free, older software which will perform simple functions between older Macintosh computers and older Garmin receivers. Its functions are very limited compared to MacGPS Pro. It will not work at all on newer Macs or newer Garmin receivers.
  
  
• Will MacGPS Pro work with the Garmin eTrex Vista C receivers which only have a USB connection?
  Yes. These receivers work with MacGPS Pro when connected to a USB port with the Garmin-supplied cable. You must be running Mac OS X 10.3.8 or later.
  
  
• Will MacGPS Pro work with the Garmin GPSMap 60C (internal firmware version 4.00 or later), GPSMap 60CS (internal software version 4.00 or later), the GPSMap 76C (internal software version 4.00 or later), the GPSMap 76CS (internal software version 4.00 or later), and the GPSMap 276C receivers which have a USB connection?
  These receivers have both a USB port and a Serial Port. They work over either the USB Port or the Serial Port. To use the USB Port with Garmin's cable, you must be running Mac OS X 10.3.8 or later. To use the Serial Port, you must purchase a Keyspan USB to Serial adapter and a PC Serial Cable for the GPS. The advantages to using the Serial Port are that it lets you run an earlier version of Mac OS X, an earlier version of Garmin's firmware, and it gives you the option of using either NMEA or PVT mode for real time data. When connected to the Garmin USB port, Real-Time data uses PVT mode only. PVT mode supplies less information than the NMEA mode.
  
  
• Will MacGPS Pro work with the Garmin GPSMap 60CX (internal software version 2.90 or later), GPSMap 60CSX (internal software version 2.90 or later), the GPSMap 76CX (internal software version 2.90 or later), and the GPSMap 76CSX (internal software version 2.90 or later) receivers which have a USB connection?
  These receivers have both a USB port and a Serial Port. They work over either the USB Port or the Serial Port. To use the USB Port with Garmin's cable, you must be running Mac OS X 10.3.8 or later. To use the Serial Port, you must purchase a Keyspan USB to Serial adapter and a PC Serial Cable for the GPS. The advantages to using the Serial Port are that it lets you run an earlier version of Mac OS X, an earlier version of Garmin's internal software, and it gives you the option of using either NMEA or PVT mode for real time data. When connected to the Garmin USB port, Real-Time data uses PVT mode only. PVT mode supplies less information the NMEA mode.
  
  
• Will MacGPS Pro work the Street Pilot receivers?
  MacGPS Pro will transfer Waypoints, Routes and TrackLogs, and collect Real-Time data for some Street Pilot Receivers such as the Street Pilot III. However, MacGPS Pro will not load maps into the Street Pilot receivers. Garmin keeps their map loading protocol secret. We suggest that Mac owners purchase one of the Street Pilots which has maps for the entire country pre-installed.
  
  
• Can I transfer Garmin's MapSource maps into my GPS receiver using MacGPS Pro?
  Garmin's map transfer protocol is secret and proprietary to them. No third party Macintosh software can use it. Thus, MacGPS Pro cannot transfer Garmin's MapSource maps into Garmin receivers - only Garmin's software has that ability.
  
  On the other hand, MacGPS Pro allows two-way transfer of Waypoints, Routes, and Track Logs with a Mac OS X native application. It is complimentary to Garmin's software. While Garmin's software limits the consumer to Garmin's maps only, MacGPS Pro allows you to use most other maps on your Macintosh screen, including Digital Raster Graphics topo maps.
  
  
• Can I transfer raster maps such as the MacTopos maps that James Associates Inc. sells into my GPS receiver using MacGPS Pro?
  No. GPS receivers use vector-based maps for display on their screens. They have no support for raster maps. USGS DRG (Digital Raster Graphics) maps have too much detailed information for the memory and display capabilities of a hand-held GPS receiver. The best use of DRG maps, and the use which MacGPS Pro provides, is to use the map on your Macintosh screen. You can plan a trip by generating Waypoints and Routes to transfer to your receiver. You can use the map on your Mac screen in real time as you travel with the GPS receiver connected. After your trip, you can transfer Track Logs from the GPS to view where you went on the DRG map.
  
  
• Does MacGPS Pro work with Magellan GPS receivers?
  Users of Magellan receivers that have a serial port can transfer Waypoints, Routes and Track Logs as well as showing the current position and velocity on the map on the Mac screen. MacGPS Pro will not transfer maps into a Magellan mapping GPS receiver. To transfer maps, one must use Magellan's MapSend program, which is Windows-only. MacGPS Pro also supports Magellan Explorist receivers which have a USB port.
  
  
• Does MacGPS Pro work with Bluetooth wireless interface GPS receivers?
  Yes! To use a Bluetooth receiver with MacGPS Pro, you must first set up the Bluetooth receiver to be recognized by the Mac OS X operating system. Follow these steps:
  
  1. Turn on the Bluetooth receiver near the Mac and let it acquire a signal from the GPS satellites.
  2. Open the System Preferences Application.
  3. In the Hardware Section, click on “Bluetooth”.
  4. Select the “Devices” tab.
  5. Click “Set Up New Device”.
  6. The Introduction page for the Bluetooth Setup Assistant is displayed. Click “Continue”.
  7. The “Select Device Type” page appears. Select “Any Device” or “Other Device” and click “Continue”.
  8. Select the proper Bluetooth GPS device.
  9. If you are running Mac OS 10.4 or later, click on “Passkey Options…”, select “Use a specific passkey”, and click “OK”.
  10. Click “Continue”.
  11. The Setup Assistant will ask you for a “Passkey” to pair with your device. Look in the documentation which came with your Bluetooth GPS receiver. It should list the proper Passkey. Enter it and click “Continue”.
  12. Wait a few moments and the “Congratulations” page will come up. Click “Quit”.
  13. If you are running Mac OS 10.3.9 or earlier, skip to step 23.
      
      
  14. Go to Bluetooth in the Hardware Section of System Preferences.
  15. Choose “Devices”.
  16. Select your Bluetooth GPS receiver.
  17. Click “Edit Serial Ports…”.
  18. Click the “+” button.
  19. Be sure that the On box is checked for your Bluetooth receiver, and that the Port type is set to “RS-232”.
  20. Click “Apply”.
  21. Quit System Preferences.
  22. Skip to step 31.
      
      
  23. Open Apple's “Bluetooth Serial Utility” application in the Utilities folder.
  24. The “Bluetooth Serial Ports” page will be displayed. Click “New…”.
  25. Enter the name of your Bluetooth GPS receiver. There are no spaces allowed in the name you use.
  26. Select “Outgoing”.
  27. Click on “Select Device…”.
  28. The “Select Bluetooth Service” page is displayed. Click on the name of the Bluetooth GPS device and then Click on “Serial Port”. Then, click “Select”.
  29. Under the “Port Type” pull down menu, select “RS-232”. Click “OK”.
  30. Quit Bluetooth Serial Utility.
      
      
  31. Open the MacGPS Pro application.
  32. Open the Preferences Dialog Box from the MacGPS Pro menu.
  33. In the right column where you can select the GPS Receiver type, select “Other”.
  34. In the left column where you can select “GPS receiver connected to:”, select the name of the receiver.
  35. Click “OK”.
  36. Open the “Units Choices…” Dialog box from the Edit menu. Choose the datum which is used by your Bluetooth GPS receiver (probably WGS 84). Click “OK”.
  37. Choose “Display Current GPS Readings” from the Real-Time menu. You should see the GPS data successfully displayed.
  
  
• Does MacGPS Pro work with GPS receivers that connect directly to the Mac USB port?
  MacGPS Pro will work with most Garmin and USGlobalSat receivers that connect directly to a USB port. MacGPS Pro may work with receivers from other manufacturers if they supply Mac OS USB driver software for their receivers.
  
  
• My GPS receiver's serial data interconnect cables don't plug in anywhere on my Macintosh.
  How do I physically connect my GPS receiver to my Macintosh?
  For those with USB-capable Macs, transfers to and from the GPS receiver data port work well through a Keyspan USB to Serial Adapter. The Keyspan adapter requires a Mac OS X driver. We recommend downloading the latest driver from the Keyspan Web Site rather than using the possibly-obsolete driver which came on the CDROM with the device. If you have another brand of UBS to Serial Adapter you would like to use if possible, try using this driver which may work, depending on the specific adapter device.
  James Associates Inc. sells interconnect cables for connecting a Macintosh to some Garmin GPS receivers.
  
  
• Which maps and charts work with MacGPS Pro?
  We have an extensive list in our Digital Map and Marine Chart Library.
  
  
• I am importing USGS 7.5' DRG maps from California. Once imported, I cannot get MacGPS Pro to find latitude and longtitude coordinates. What should I do?
  When the window comes up which lets you pick the Map Projection, it comes up with Transverse Mercator selected as the default when there is no automatic calibration information available, because that is correct for USGS topo maps for most of the USA. However for California maps, you need to select the Albers Conic projection before clicking "OK".
  
  
• How do I see and edit my Waypoints, Routes and Track Logs in a List format?
  MacGPS Pro saves Waypoint, Route and Track Log files in a tab-delimited text format which you can open in any spreadsheet such as Excel or Appleworks. You may then edit the list and save it again as a text file which you can then read back into MacGPS Pro.
  
  If you wish to completely replace the waypoints on your GPS receiver with your edited list, you must erase all of the waypoints on the receiver using the controls on the GPS receiver itself, then transfer back in the ones you had edited on the Mac. Garmin does not offer any way for an external software program to erase waypoints stored inside the unit. Waypoints transferred into the receiver simply add to or (if they have the same name) replace those waypoints already there.
  
  
• Considering a product which claims to be competitive with MacGPS Pro? Be careful! Ask these questions first.
  

  Is it a recently released program with only a minimal feature set?
  
  

  Does it handle both Marine Charts and Topo Maps?
  
  

  When you transfer Waypoints, Routes, and Track Logs, do you see a graphical map of the data, or do you only get a text transfer?
  
  

  When you transfer Waypoints to a file, do you see the names of the icons in English so you can edit them, or do you only get numbers?
  
  

  Can you generate and edit Waypoint, Route and Track Log files for transfer to the GPS receiver by clicking on the Map?
  
  

  Does the map calibration use the actual map projection equations which are valid for maps of any scale, or does it use a polynomial approximation with unknown errors, limiting you to maps covering only a tiny area?
  
  

  Do imported maps lose considerable resolution (look very blurry)? When zooming, do raster maps scale well?
  
  

  Can you convert Waypoints downloaded from USGS internet sites to a Waypoint file you can upload to your GPS receiver?
  
  

  Can you see the satellite positions for any location, date, and time whether or not you have a GPS receiver connected, or do you just see the satellite positions for where you are at the current time, as reported by the GPS receiver?
  
  

  Is the Real-Time position shown on the map correctly, no matter what datum you have the Garmin GPS receiver set to, or is it likely to be off by the difference between datums?
  
  

  MacGPS Pro performs these functions in the clearest, easiest, most complete way for our customers, including graphical maps, editing ease, map validity for any scale, imported map resolution, waypoint conversions, and any-location satellite or Real-time positioning.
  
  MacGPS Pro is YOUR user-friendly software!

Where's the Demo?    James Associates' Return Policy    Which GPS receivers work with MacGPS Pro?

DOWNLOAD: MacGPS Pro 7       Native for OS X 10.2.8 or later                          $49.99       You will be emailed a link to a download site.

CDROM: MacGPS Pro 7       Native for OS X 10.2.8 or later                          $59.99       Exactly the same as the download version.

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