Question about the Garmin V

[claudenolen]

I decided that Santa should bring me a Garmin V GPS, so I ordered one and put it on his tab.

 

My question is... what are the options regarding providing power to the unit? My understanding is that it operates on four AA batteries, but I believe it can also be hooked up to the motorcycle battery.

 

My goal is to not wire the thing into my bike, and I was wondering if anyone had been successful using rechargeable batteries... and if so, how long they last. Thanks in advance.

[the_moviegoer]

I don't know about rechargeable batteries, but regular batteries last a long time in the daytime (as long as the batteries don't have to illuminate the screen for night viewing).

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

You can adjust the power settings for rechargables vs. alkaline. It can be hooked up to the bike as well.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

It can operate on batteries with no problems. I don't know much about using rechargeables in there but it would certainly be an option. Of course you would have to carry a charger. It is really quite simple to use the DC power from the bike to run the thing. Garmin sells a cord for just that (pn 010-10082-00) and you could wire it into a dash mounted power socket with only a couple of dollars worth of parts.

 

Mine is wired to be always hot as I like to track running time vs down time for average speeds and the like.

[claudenolen]

Thanks for the input (everyone). It's encouraging to know that it will work on batteries without a problem.

 

I hooked up a pigtail to the motorcycle battery a while back so I could keep it on a Battery Tender when it's in the garage. It was quite a hassle, because the battery on my Yammy-Haw is so shoe-horned in. I had just sort of vowed to not dig around in there anymore.

[claudenolen]

UPDATE: I caved in, and ordered that power cable (thanks for the part number). I thought about it, and realized that most motorcycle modifications that are worth having invlove some level of "hassle." And, this is my hobby, after all.