Which Garmin?

[Ray916MN]

.....

The one downside is that's hard to use with a gloved hand. I'm trying to figure out what to do about that, but for now I'll stop and pull off a glove.

They make gloves with a wire thread woven into the fingertip so capacitance touch screens work with gloved hands to solve this problem. Of course they don't work when the screen is covered with a plastic bag, so whenever you've bagged a smartphone to protect it from the weather it needs to be removed from the bag to control it.

[dpep]

Has anyone tried to power their GPS or smart phone GPS using one of the pocket sized lithium battery packs instead of from the bike battery? I was considering just attaching a device to the top of a tank bag and running a power cable from a small battery pack inside the bag. One should have enough juice to last a day's ride.

I could then just take the bag with me when I was going to be off the bike and not have to connect and disconnect the device each time.
...

[Steve]

Don, the problem with powering a GPS is that you must use the official power cord that usuall has a cigarette lighter-type plug on it. If you don't, it will go into "data" mode and be useless for navigation.

And what would be the purpose of using a separate battery? Besides finding someplace to anchor your GPS, you now need to find a way to anchor the battery, too. Then you need to find a way to charge the battery. Why not just connect the lighter socket to the bike and only worry about anchoring the GPS?

.

[Joe Garfield]

I took a shot at a refurbished 2599 (basically top-line 25xx) from Amazon (certified refurb by Garmin, full warranty). $111 + 2-day shipping. I also picked up a handlebar mount for $10. I couldn't get the anti-glare screen protectors in the same shipment, but at least I'll have it for the ride out to MO, and on the bike if I really feel like it.

Steve, where on the bike should I hook up the 12v power adapter? I think switched power is a good idea.

[Wingsconsin]

Steve, where on the bike should I hook up the 12v power adapter? I think switched power is a good idea.

In my experience it is better to rely on the GPS on/off function.
I have mine on the battery with an inline fuse (see GPS specs for amperage)
Else-wise - every time you stop for fuel or lunch or pictures or a rest the GPS will shut down...
I prefer to have my GPS constant HOT so it stays on unless I turn it off.. good for tracking actual moving time/trip time.
It seems easier to me -- I am a fan of easy..

[Joe Garfield]

In my experience it is better to rely on the GPS on/off function.
I have mine on the battery with an inline fuse (see GPS specs for amperage)
Else-wise - every time you stop for fuel or lunch or pictures or a rest the GPS will shut down...
I prefer to have my GPS constant HOT so it stays on unless I turn it off.. good for tracking actual moving time/trip time.
It seems easier to me -- I am a fan of easy..

Well that makes sense to me, too. I was thinking the GPS battery would last through a stop, but battery life is the primary reason I need a new GPS I was thinking of wiring it to the fuse box where I'd hook up the battery tender, maybe I'll do that for the near term (with extra fuse/switch if necessary).

[Ray916MN]

Well that makes sense to me, too. I was thinking the GPS battery would last through a stop, but battery life is the primary reason I need a new GPS I was thinking of wiring it to the fuse box where I'd hook up the battery tender, maybe I'll do that for the near term (with extra fuse/switch if necessary).

Zumo's come with a car mount and power base with a cigarette lighter plug and another power base with raw leads and a fused power connection. I simply put a SAE plug lead on the raw lead mount to match the battery tender lead already installed on my battery. Simple. Constant on and a double fused connection. The Zumo's only use the USB for sync and have separate power connections from the USB, so they can't go into computer sync mode when powered, unlike the car units I've used.

[Steve]

Steve, where on the bike should I hook up the 12v power adapter? I think switched power is a good idea.

I think switched power is good, too.

In my experience it is better to rely on the GPS on/off function.
I have mine on the battery with an inline fuse (see GPS specs for amperage)
Else-wise - every time you stop for fuel or lunch or pictures or a rest the GPS will shut down...
I prefer to have my GPS constant HOT so it stays on unless I turn it off.. good for tracking actual moving time/trip time.
It seems easier to me -- I am a fan of easy..

.
Almost as easy, ... is switched power.
Unless you get creative with a relay-powered outlet, I would use the SIGNALS fuse. Reason? Assuming you are riding at night, would you rather lose your headlight, your ignition or your brake light/turn signals/horn?

My GPSes have a 30-second countdown timer when they lose power. If you ignore it, it will shut down, but you do have the option to turn it off NOW or stay ON.

If you KNOW it's going to be a short stop, just press the "Stay ON" option, it will stay ON until its battery runs out. Let it time out, it will come on next time you turn the key ON. Boot-up time pretty much co-incides with the time it takes to put on a helmet, so it's not much of a problem.

Different models have different features for tracking travel time, so your mileage may vary.

.

[Sandy]

You can also convert Google Map Routes to GPX files for use with OSMAND as well as most GPS's using a free, no sign up require website called gpsvisualizer.com. Just create your map in Google Maps on a PC/Mac, export as KML/KMZ file (Google Earth file), do the conversion (gpsvisualizer,com), copy text output to an editor (word, wordpad, etc), save as a text file and just rename it to .gpx and once you copy it to your device you're done. Sounds a bit complicated but really, once you've created your map it takes about a minute to do the conversion, maybe a little more the first time. Oh yeah, you can buy conductive thread to sew into your favorite gloves, just google it.

I gotta tell ya, I don't know why anyone would buy a stand alone GPS these days. My Galaxy S6 works great as a GPS. I can plan my routes off line using https://ridewithgps.com, load them into OSMAND+ on the phone, and away I go. I do miss the Galaxy S5 because it is waterproof, but I'll just wrap the S6 in a baggie. Have it mounted to my handlebars with a ram mount.

I'm sure folks with iPhones can have similar experiences.

Plus, I can listen to music from my phone or stream Pandora and/or take/receive calls as necessary (when safe). I do love having the phone paired to the Sena SMH10 for all this too.

The one downside is that's hard to use with a gloved hand. I'm trying to figure out what to do about that, but for now I'll stop and pull off a glove.

[Joe Garfield]

OMG the voice activation is amazing! I didn't think I'd care about it, but it works really well.

[GS1000S]

I've been happy with my Garmin 660 Zumo so far. $350 from Best Buy and I like its features.

[Joe Garfield]

I quickly got annoyed with the one I got. It tries to do too much crap at one time on the screen and it gets pretty distracting and annoying. The glass (capacitive) screen is not the best for use in sun or with gloves, either.

[open1mind]

Before you pull the trigger on a GPS, you might want to read:

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?245050-Goodbye-Garmin-Maybe-the-App-has-finally-arrived&p=2368410#post2368410