Is there a way to both charge & use a Garmin nüvi 670 or Magellan Roadmate

[James Grady]

I've had a Garmin nüvi 670 & Magellan (I think it's the Roadmate)
portable GPS for a few years, both of which have broken power
adapters, but neither of which can actually run while connected
to the vehicle's USB power.

Specifically, a USB cable, in a car, *CHARGES* both portable
GPS devices; but, while charging, neither device will actually work.

Meanwhile, my Android phone has absolutely no problem both
charging and powering the device via USB cable.

I can only wonder *why* Garmin and Magellan designed their
portable GPS devices to not be useful in the vehicle while
charging ... but, given that the power supplies *always* break
for these things, and given the ubiquity of USB power in a
vehicle nowadays, I must ask the obvious question:

Q: Is there a way to charge & use the Garmin or Magellan
portable USB devices via USB cable? If not, can you provide
insight as to why the USB cable doesn't work as it should?

[Seth]

James Grady formulated the question :
> I've had a Garmin nüvi 670 & Magellan (I think it's the Roadmate)
> portable GPS for a few years, both of which have broken power
> adapters, but neither of which can actually run while connected
> to the vehicle's USB power.
>
> Q: Is there a way to charge & use the Garmin or Magellan
> portable USB devices via USB cable? If not, can you provide
> insight as to why the USB cable doesn't work as it should?

Are you using the accessory power adapter that came with the GPS unit
or are you plugging into a USB port in the car?

When used with a proper accesorry outlet cord every Garmin I have owned
has charged and been useable while plugged in. If you are using a USB
port built into the car, it is probably designed for music storage (USB
stick, iPod, etc...) and looks to the Garmin like a computer
connection. That causes the Garmin to go into mass storage mode for
updating of files.

There is a sequence I have read about to force it to normal operation
mode when plugged in like that but have never tried it. Just get a new
cord and use it as designed. Don't know what you are doing to your
cords but none of mine have ever broken.

[James Grady]

On Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:25:03 -0500, Seth wrote:

> Are you using the accessory power adapter that came with the GPS unit
> or are you plugging into a USB port in the car?

Every accessory power adapter that I have had for a
portable GPS device has broken within a year or two.

So, all I have left, at this point, is the cigarette
lighter USB power adapter and a mini-USB cable (which
works fine for my phone, so why not for the GPS)?

[James Grady]

On Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:25:03 -0500, Seth wrote:

> When used with a proper accesorry outlet cord every Garmin I have owned
> has charged and been useable while plugged in.

Yes. I know.
To be clear, both the Garmin and nüvi devices charge and operate with
the proprietary power cable. They just don't do both for a USB cable.

In fact, for two of my nüvi devices, I even paid the extra $35 to $40
for a second power cable to replace the broken first ones, until I
belatedly realized I'm paying top dollar for proprietary Garmin cables
when a simple $2 USB cable is all I should really need (since the concept
of USB ports is well established in cell phones).

If Garmin/Magellan are to restrict us to proprietary power cords, then
they will ultimately lose all our business, simply because the alternative
(which is a cell phone) does NOT restrict us to proprietary power cords.

But, why on earth do they restrict us to proprietary power connections
anyway? And, since they do, why do they make them break all the time?

Note: EVERY single proprietary Garmin & Magellan power cable I've had has
broken, within a year or two of daily use (usually at the connection
point to the device).

[James Grady]

On Tue, 21 Jan 2014 14:25:03 -0500, Seth wrote:

> There is a sequence I have read about to force it to normal operation
> mode when plugged in like that but have never tried it.

On my nüvi, it immediately goes into USB storage mode (which is
useless on the road) when I plug in the USB cable.

Often, it won't get OUT of USB storage mode when I unplug the USB
cable, so I have to hit the convenient reset button below the
antenna flap.

If there is a way to *USE* the Garmin nüvi while I'm charging it
with the USB cable, I would *love* to hear how!

> Just get a new cord and use it as designed.

Think about this. How much is the nüvi worth today?
Then, how much is the proprietary power cable?
Then, remember you can't use the cigarette lighter for anything else,
since it takes up the entire thing (without a Y adapter anyway).
Then consider that you *already* have USB cables in the car
(since you run and charge the phone and bluetooth devices daily).

After all that, it would make absolutely no sense to buy
an expensive ($45) proprietary power connector, when the car
already has USB for free.

> Don't know what you are doing to your
> cords but none of mine have ever broken.

Trust me on this. They break. All the time. The ball and
socket joints break. The suction cup mechanics break. The
idiotic multi-pin connector that clips to to the back of the
nüvi 670 breaks (the wires pull out due to a poorly designed
strain relief).

In fact, the proprietary connectors stink so badly, it's an
affront to pay $45 for a replacement when every other device
you own works just fine with a $2 USB cable.

[ps56k]

The Garmin auto charger USB cables have been modified
with a resistor across a couple of the pins
to indicate the device is plugged into the Garmin auto charger
and should BOTH charge/power the unit AND operate as the GPS.

A normal USB cable will not have this resistor,
and will therefore will just go into the charge mode + PC data mode.

[James Grady]

On Tue, 21 Jan 2014 16:46:11 -0600, ps56k wrote:

> The Garmin auto charger USB cables have been modified with a resistor
> across a couple of the pins to indicate the device is plugged into the
> Garmin auto charger and should BOTH charge/power the unit AND operate as
> the GPS.

I guess I'll buy the Garmin cable then. Too bad USB doesn't work by
itself.
Thanks!

[r***@gmail.com]

use gps Garmin nuvi plugged into usb

http://rafaelcarioca7.com/?p=30