Garmin Devices - General Discussion

[Lanujang]

Yes, I also using NDS Lite aerofoam cassing. Practical, waterproof and should protects nuvi well, and cheap too.

i saw similar casing, same like this in LYP yesterday. RM15 only.

ps: i also posted what I got for my Nuvi 205W here
http://www.malfreemaps.com/viewtopic.php?p=23018#p23018


thank you

[learnyee]

Not in this case because they are both USB and so have to conform to the USB specs for voltage. In fact, if you measure the USB voltage of different laptops, you will find them all to be slightly different. The difference is very small. Using the USB cable from my laptop, the VMAX is around 4.78 when charging is complete. Using the Motorola V3 USB charger, the VMAX is around 4.88. Really no issue. The faster charging is probably due to a slightly higher amperage allowed through the external charger but I have not measured the charging amperage.

One more thing...

Although I have not measured it, I would not be surprised if the USB voltage of the Garmin-supplied car cigarette-lighter adapter is much higher than the USB voltage of your laptop USB port. The amperage is definitely higher that is why your unit will boot up normally when connected to external power instead of going into PC mode as it would when connected to a PC USB source.

FYI, a Garmin original 230V A/C to USB external charger is nominally rated as 5.0V 1.0A whereas a root USB port on a PC is designed to limit the amperage it will deliver to 500mA or 0.5A. That is why the PC takes a longer time to charge and does not provide enough juice for the GPS to boot-up normally as an external power source does (unless you intentionally force the PC to put out more juice ).

Just to complete the picture, my Motorola V3 230V A/C to USB charger is rated as 5.0V 550mA so it is supposed to deliver a little more juice than the PC.

All said, it is the GPS circuitry that determines how much current to draw for charging and for running normally. You have to supply what it needs to work. Supply too little, it will not work. You can supply more (in amperage rating but not voltage) but the unit decides what it wants and draws.

FYI, I do have some wall plug USB adaptor but by careful look at the output stated, sometimes it doesnt produce 500mA as it stated,especially those cheap one it might ended up just power-up your device but not charging it. Throughout my experience, I would opt for those USB wall adapter with stated output at 1A, and so far, it had not fried any of my GPSr, PDA or HP.

[eric10234]

Not in this case because they are both USB and so have to conform to the USB specs for voltage. In fact, if you measure the USB voltage of different laptops, you will find them all to be slightly different. The difference is very small. Using the USB cable from my laptop, the VMAX is around 4.78 when charging is complete. Using the Motorola V3 USB charger, the VMAX is around 4.88. Really no issue. The faster charging is probably due to a slightly higher amperage allowed through the external charger but I have not measured the charging amperage.

One more thing...

Although I have not measured it, I would not be surprised if the USB voltage of the Garmin-supplied car cigarette-lighter adapter is much higher than the USB voltage of your laptop USB port. The amperage is definitely higher that is why your unit will boot up normally when connected to external power instead of going into PC mode as it would when connected to a PC USB source.

FYI, a Garmin original 230V A/C to USB external charger is nominally rated as 5.0V 1.0A whereas a root USB port on a PC is designed to limit the amperage it will deliver to 500mA or 0.5A. That is why the PC takes a longer time to charge and does not provide enough juice for the GPS to boot-up normally as an external power source does (unless you intentionally force the PC to put out more juice ).

Just to complete the picture, my Motorola V3 230V A/C to USB charger is rated as 5.0V 550mA so it is supposed to deliver a little more juice than the PC.

All said, it is the GPS circuitry that determines how much current to draw for charging and for running normally. You have to supply what it needs to work. Supply too little, it will not work. You can supply more (in amperage rating but not voltage) but the unit decides what it wants and draws.

FYI, I do have some wall plug USB adaptor but by careful look at the output stated, sometimes it doesnt produce 500mA as it stated,especially those cheap one it might ended up just power-up your device but not charging it. Throughout my experience, I would opt for those USB wall adapter with stated output at 1A, and so far, it had not fried any of my GPSr, PDA or HP.

Bros,

Bro Jason, maybe I misunderstood so correct me if I'm wrong. Are what you saying that the Garmin provided car charger providing more Amperage compared to USB ports and that's the reason that causes the GPS to boot up instead of going into PC mode? Also, you mention that USB is limited to 0.5A. However, I've tested with my Blackberry wall charger (rated at 5.0V 0.5A output) and here's what happens:

1. GPS powered off.
2. Plug in wall charger and turn the power on.
3. GPS goes into PC mode loading screen (with the PC picture) for about 20-30 seconds.
4. GPS boots up into navigation mode.
5. Unplug/turn off charger.
6. GPS asks if you want to turn it off as it has lost external power.

I believe that it is not merely the Amperage (though that may be part of it) that decides whether to just remain in PC mode or boot up. Probably after a wait time and it detects that it is connected only to a charger and not a PC, it will boot up.

Thanks

[JasonLee]

Dear Bro Eric10234,

The answer is both a yes and no.

Yes, you do need a higher amperage to be able to get into the navigation mode. Even from the PC, you can get your GPS to work in the navigation mode using power from the USB port, but first you got to trick the PC to think that what is attached is not a mass storage device (and not limit the current to 500mA). In fact, the PC will not load any drivers so you won't see anything attached to the PC in Windows Explorer. To do that, get into the Diagnostic Mode (touch the battery icon for 10 sec) then attach the PC USB cable to your GPS. Touch the exit button on the GPS screen and the GPS will switch back to the normal screen as you will see in the car, sans the battery icon since you are now on external power.

No, because the Garmin supplied car charger not only supplies more power (1A) but also the USB connector is wired a little differently. The pin 4 is shorted to the pin 5 (earth) through a resistor. Read HERE if you like to know more about the technical details. Perhaps your Blackberry wall charger's USB connector is also wired this way? If the USB connector's pin 4 is not connected, the GPS will get into PC mode and will not boot to navigation mode. Only when the pin 4 is shorted to ground through a 17-22k Ohm resistor will the GPS boot to navigation mode.

[eric10234]

Dear Bro Jason,

Thanks for your reply and the link. Very good info.

[huairen]

Here is a list of supported IMG files for Garmin devices and softwares for reference. The list is not complete and we will update it whenever we have additional information on other models that are not listed here.

Hi,
May i know what the symbols means? Y? X?
(M) means internal memory?

so does it mean i can have gmapbmap, gmapsupp and gmaptz in oregon's internal memory?
and at the same time have gmapbmap, gmapsupp and gmaptz in the micro SD card loaded into the oregon?

[JasonLee]

Hi,
May i know what the symbols means? Y? X?
(M) means internal memory?

so does it mean i can have gmapbmap, gmapsupp and gmaptz in oregon's internal memory?
and at the same time have gmapbmap, gmapsupp and gmaptz in the micro SD card loaded into the oregon?

Hi Bro Huairen,

I think the Y means it is fully supported in both the Main (M) memory and SD Card. X means not supported at all.

The answer to your second question is YES, you can have all 3 in both your main memory and SD card (provided that there are no conflicts between maps). FYI, gmaptz is not a road map but Garmin's time zone map.

Take the case of Nuvi 200 which makes it even clearer.

gmapsupp.img is Y so you can have it in both the Main memory and SD card. Whereas, gmapbmap.img, gmapprom.img and gmapsup2.img are Y(M) meaning they are supported but in the Main memory only. They will not be recognised if you place them in the SD card.

[huairen]

Hi,
May i know what the symbols means? Y? X?
(M) means internal memory?

so does it mean i can have gmapbmap, gmapsupp and gmaptz in oregon's internal memory?
and at the same time have gmapbmap, gmapsupp and gmaptz in the micro SD card loaded into the oregon?

Hi Bro Huairen,

I think the Y means it is fully supported in both the Main (M) memory and SD Card. X means not supported at all.

The answer to your second question is YES, you can have all 3 in both your main memory and SD card (provided that there are no conflicts between maps). FYI, gmaptz is not a road map but Garmin's time zone map.

Take the case of Nuvi 200 which makes it even clearer.

gmapsupp.img is Y so you can have it in both the Main memory and SD card. Whereas, gmapbmap.img, gmapprom.img and gmapsup2.img are Y(M) meaning they are supported but in the Main memory only. They will not be recognised if you place them in the SD card.

thank you..

so does it mean gmapbmap.img and gmaptz.img can be used as normal maps like gmapsupp.img?

[JasonLee]

thank you..

so does it mean gmapbmap.img and gmaptz.img can be used as normal maps like gmapsupp.img?

In a way, gmapbmap.img and gmaptz.img are maps but not the kind of road maps you expect. gmapbmap.img is the basemap which shows you the outlines of land and major highways and cities but no details. gmaptz.img is the world time-zone map. Together, they enhance the usability of the detailed road maps but they CANNOT be used 'as normal maps like gmapsupp.img' because they are not detailed maps like gmapsupp.img. gmapbmap.img may only be useful if you are flying from city to city and using it to give you crude directional guidance.

[huairen]

thank you..

so does it mean gmapbmap.img and gmaptz.img can be used as normal maps like gmapsupp.img?

In a way, gmapbmap.img and gmaptz.img are maps but not the kind of road maps you expect. gmapbmap.img is the basemap which shows you the outlines of land and major highways and cities but no details. gmaptz.img is the world time-zone map. Together, they enhance the usability of the detailed road maps but they CANNOT be used 'as normal maps like gmapsupp.img' because they are not detailed maps like gmapsupp.img. gmapbmap.img may only be useful if you are flying from city to city and using it to give you crude directional guidance.

oh.. so i will still have to combine all the maps into one gmapsupp.img if i want all to be in the gps at one time....
hehzz thank you jasonlee