Is there one USB cable for ALL Garmins?

[+luvvinbird]

Over the years, I've used several different USB cables for my Garmin GPS receivers. I had a bum cable for a 62s and started using the heavier cable that originally came with my 60CSx. That was good for a long while but gave me problems as well, so I started using a cable that came with a Sony camera I have. I've had no trouble with that cable but recently my eTrex30 has decided to not be "seen" by my PC unless forced (holding thumbwheel up). So I went back to using the original cable that came with that device and the connection is now OK between it and my PC. So, for those who are using multiple Garmin models, is there one cable (Garmin or otherwise) that you find works well on all your devices?

[+BigOpe]

Well, the early Garmins, ETrex-H in my case, have a flat slider-type connection at the GPS end, and my understanding is that's not the case with later models.

[robertlipe]

This conversation could quickly degrade into one of pedantry. Etrex H was a serial model, not a USB one. You could argue that there isn't "one USB cable for ALL Garmins" because not all Garmins are USB-capable. Similarly, there are new/current Garmin products (not particularly well suited for Geocaching...) that don't use USB Micro B at all, such as the Forerunner 620 for the Tactix.

 

Assuming it's not a trick question, the huge majority of Garmins that a normal person would use for geocaching that have a USB cable all use an industry standard USB Micro B connector. There's no magic to them; a commodity $.99 cable will be just fine in them. I have probably a hundred or more of these cables in my life and mix them up with my GPSes - and I have a fleet of Garmins - all the time. (I tend to buy scores of cheap cables and not assume they'll be family heirlooms; if I leave a $1 cable in a hotel room or it breaks, there are four more in my pack...)

 

That said, these devices get plugged and unplugged a lot more than, say, a typical external DVD-Rom and the connectors are both exposed to more dirt and gunk and mechanical forces so they are known to often come loose from the circuit board inside. So cables DO break and sockets DO get finicky, but if you have a cable that looks like it should work, it should work.

[+luvvinbird]

This conversation could quickly degrade into one of pedantry. Etrex H was a serial model, not a USB one. You could argue that there isn't "one USB cable for ALL Garmins" because not all Garmins are USB-capable. Similarly, there are new/current Garmin products (not particularly well suited for Geocaching...) that don't use USB Micro B at all, such as the Forerunner 620 for the Tactix.

 

Assuming it's not a trick question, the huge majority of Garmins that a normal person would use for geocaching that have a USB cable all use an industry standard USB Micro B connector. There's no magic to them; a commodity $.99 cable will be just fine in them. I have probably a hundred or more of these cables in my life and mix them up with my GPSes - and I have a fleet of Garmins - all the time. (I tend to buy scores of cheap cables and not assume they'll be family heirlooms; if I leave a $1 cable in a hotel room or it breaks, there are four more in my pack...)

 

That said, these devices get plugged and unplugged a lot more than, say, a typical external DVD-Rom and the connectors are both exposed to more dirt and gunk and mechanical forces so they are known to often come loose from the circuit board inside. So cables DO break and sockets DO get finicky, but if you have a cable that looks like it should work, it should work.

Thank you for your response. No, it's not a trick question. I, too, have several of the basic USB cables which from time to time cause a problem and grabbing another one usually does the trick, as it did for my eTrex 30. My handhelds do use the same cable and I thought perhaps there were better quality cables of that type available at electronic stores, etc.

[+GrateBear]

My experience is that they don't all work for all USB models. I have a Dakota 20 and an Oregon 450. The USB for the Dakota has a "barrel" (for lack of a better description) on the cord, but the Oregon doesn't. The Oregon cable does not work with the Dakota.

[+gelfling6]

The OLDER (read Pre-USB) Garmins used a 4-pin, RS-232C compatible serial link. (Not sure if the cable converted the +/- voltage RS-232 standard to TTL (0/+5) or not?) the newer use what I term a 'Motorola 5-pin USB' (Because the format was used as the recharge cable for the older Motorola cell phones, and was also a popular format for digital cameras. ) Here's a photo descibing the various formats. (including IEEE1394)

 

the B side, the USB-Mini5B, is generic. I think they're changing Cell phones to a different Micro-4B (I like to term it the Samsung 4-pin, as it seemed to start with their equipment & accessories 1st.)

Edited April 14, 2014 by gelfling6

[+ecanderson]

My experience is that they don't all work for all USB models. I have a Dakota 20 and an Oregon 450. The USB for the Dakota has a "barrel" (for lack of a better description) on the cord, but the Oregon doesn't. The Oregon cable does not work with the Dakota.

It should. They are electrically identical. That 'barrel' is just an add-on piece of ferrite to keep the FCC and CE (EU) regulatory folks happy -- without which, you'd be over their radiated EMI limits, and they'd call you Radio Free Garmin.

[+user13371]

I have come across many cheap - really cheap - USB cables that either

 

1) break easily, or

2) have really finicky connections, or

3) seem to work for charging but not data, or

4) seem to work for data but not power.

 

So, with the caveat "make sure you're using a well made cable" - yeah, what everyone else said - they should all wrk.