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Colorado: Auto Navigation Kit


YBLee

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REI store didn't have the Auto Navigation Kit which includes the mount and 12V Power Adapter for the car. Does anyone know if any 12V USB Power Adapter such as the one that powers the PN-20 will work?

Anyone know what the voltage and current requirements are for the Colorado?

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REI store didn't have the Auto Navigation Kit which includes the mount and 12V Power Adapter for the car. Does anyone know if any 12V USB Power Adapter such as the one that powers the PN-20 will work?

Anyone know what the voltage and current requirements are for the Colorado?

 

The Colorado auto adapter is a 12-volt to USB cable. Its possible another USB cable might work, or not (with possible warranty-voiding spectacularity). Lots of other retailers sell the Garmin car kit -- just get the part number off the Garmin site and Google it. Just be sure to check the shipping cost on the ones that seem like a very good price -- many work out being higher than paying retail.

 

I'm not keen on Garmin's mounts after several failed eMap bicycle and windshield mounts. I've ordered a R.A.M. mount and a Garmin cable for my Colorado so I can move it from car to bike to motorcycle easily. R.A.M. mounts are da bomb. Between two GPSrs, two satellite radio receivers, a tablet PC, a laptop and several scanners, I have yet to see a failure.

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Its possible another USB cable might work
Most likely not. A standard USB cable will put the Colorado into disk drive mode. It needs a specially configured cable so that it knows it should stay in GPS mode.
or not (with possible warranty-voiding spectacularity).
Not likely. USB cables are pretty safe, the worse case would be putting the Colorado into disk drive mode.

 

--Marky

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REI store didn't have the Auto Navigation Kit which includes the mount and 12V Power Adapter for the car. Does anyone know if any 12V USB Power Adapter such as the one that powers the PN-20 will work?

Anyone know what the voltage and current requirements are for the Colorado?

 

The Colorado auto adapter is a 12-volt to USB cable. Its possible another USB cable might work, or not (with possible warranty-voiding spectacularity). Lots of other retailers sell the Garmin car kit -- just get the part number off the Garmin site and Google it. Just be sure to check the shipping cost on the ones that seem like a very good price -- many work out being higher than paying retail.

 

I'm not keen on Garmin's mounts after several failed eMap bicycle and windshield mounts. I've ordered a R.A.M. mount and a Garmin cable for my Colorado so I can move it from car to bike to motorcycle easily. R.A.M. mounts are da bomb. Between two GPSrs, two satellite radio receivers, a tablet PC, a laptop and several scanners, I have yet to see a failure.

 

I also have the RAM mount on order.

 

However, I also have the Garmin model and it's actually pretty darned good. The small suction cup holds the receiver well and the holder for the receiver is primo, it really holds the unit well and is easy to remove.

 

I used it this weekend for some moderate off-road caching and had no problems with the unit bouncing around ( that was a problem that I had with a similar Garmin mount for the 60 series receivers ).

 

Here are some pics that I put up on the Calgary board. I paid $39 for the kit ( gpsnow.com ) ... can't remember what I paid for shipping.

 

I'd recommend this kit. I've used RAM mounts and love them ( except for the 60 series mount, which eventually breaks on me ... but there's a lifetime warranty on them so not a biggie, just a pain to replace ).

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I wondered what was up with R.A.M. and why they listed the mounts as available when their resellers said March or April.

 

I always order my mounts from cyclegadgets.com, and they plainly stated the mounts were on backorder from R.A.M. I checked R.A.M.'s website and it implied they had them in stock, ready to ship -- now I know. I was thinking of ordering one of the small universal phone mounts to use until the Colorado mount is available, but its on backorder as well.

 

Since my carabiner clip thing won't fit the back of my Colorado due to the strap being sewn wrong, I was thinking of butchering it up to make a temporary mount. In the mean time it works pretty well in the cup-holder.

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I wondered what was up with R.A.M. and why they listed the mounts as available when their resellers said March or April.

 

I always order my mounts from cyclegadgets.com, and they plainly stated the mounts were on backorder from R.A.M. I checked R.A.M.'s website and it implied they had them in stock, ready to ship -- now I know. I was thinking of ordering one of the small universal phone mounts to use until the Colorado mount is available, but its on backorder as well.

 

Since my carabiner clip thing won't fit the back of my Colorado due to the strap being sewn wrong, I was thinking of butchering it up to make a temporary mount. In the mean time it works pretty well in the cup-holder.

 

Ram-Mounts reply to me a while back was they would be available mid March.

 

Re the carabiner clip strap being sewn wrong - I assume it was something beyond merely taking the strap off & replacing the right way.....

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A standard USB cable has two wires for data and two wires for power, I have in the past just cut the data lines leaving the power lines.

 

I did however find that the car adapter we bought for my sons PSP (Playstation Portable) cable has already done this for me so I use it. the benefit is that it is a two piece deal. One piece is the cigarette adapter with a USB connector on it. The second is the cable. This way I can just plug it into my laptop if necessary and power it from there, or my home computer while playing around with it.

 

So, yes, you can cut the data lines just be sure they are not shorted!!!

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Re the carabiner clip strap being sewn wrong - I assume it was something beyond merely taking the strap off & replacing the right way.....

 

Its sewn or glued / heat-sealed together, and the joint is on the back where it interferes with sliding the piece on and off. You can work the strap around just enough to see that the clip fits, but I mangled a couple of fingernails trying to get it back off.

 

Were it sewn in a loop, you could work the joint around and out of the way. Unfortunately they made it into a loop and then sewed across it to make a figure 8.

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You folks are GREAT! A wealth of knowledge, can't thank you enough.

So, if I have the two piece power adapter that came with the DeLorme PN-20 meaning, it has the Cable with the USB-A on one end and the "Mini" on the other and it plugs into the 12V power outlet in the car, it should work? I am assuming the power adapeter is a DC to DC down-converter from 12v to 5V. The only question would be current syncing capability. I'll give it a try!

Thx again.

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