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Tue May 06, 2008 10:15 am

Going to shows now that it is spring, I'm planning on bringing my GPS so I wont get lost anymore - I hope.

However someone told me that putting in a GPS ( Garmin - nothing too fancy) will mess it up.

That surprised me as I was wondering if it would have enough power coming off a 6 volt instead of a 12 volt (- what it usually sees) to run it (prob would say battery is low...)

Now I dont want to mess up the GPS as they are a pretty penny, but would like to use it.

Some of the drives I take to shows ( up and back) are beyond its battery life.

Has anyone used one in a 6 volt?
if not ( which would be surprising, ) how would it hurt the GPS

Thanks

Matt

Tue May 06, 2008 8:10 pm

I'm not sure if it would hurt the GPS unit, but the power cord itself might be another thing, as it's designed to run off of 12-14VDC.

You could always get a power inverter to just run wherever you are plugging your power cable in. Radio Shack and other companies used to sell them in the past. They were typically fairly low amperage rated, but would be fine for your GPS. There's usually some for sale in the classifieds, I just checked and there's some now, look at these searches:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?...sort_order

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?...ton=Search

New inverters are expensive (and the deliver a lot more power than the ones made back in the 70s did) here's a link to a company that makes them:

http://www.powerstream.com/dc6-12.htm

Tue May 06, 2008 8:12 pm

Hi,

Your GPS is most likely NOT a 12 volt unit, I'm guessing two 1.5 volt batteries maybe?? Get a voltage convertor that converts from 6 volts to say 3 volts or whatever yours requires.

Many cell phones now have GPS plans with them.

OR,

Going somewhere and maybe making a wrong turn here or there is all part of the adventure of going somewhere. The memories of the trip are not the perfect turns you made and the state roads you saw but the little back roads you stumbled upon with the great diner or drive-in in that little sleepy town.
Relax, leave the GPS at home, take a map and enjoy the trip. I'm beginning to think that soon the motoring public will need their GPS to go Grocery shopping or to the gas station!

I am historically a little slow to embrace new technology.
Automotive Air Conditioning: "who needs AC in a car!?! Don't even have it in the house, roll the windows down and enjoy the smells and feel of wherever you happen to be!" Hmmm, only car without AC is my 57 bug.
Computers: "who needs a computer in their home?? Just silly!" I now own 3, one a laptop.
Compact Disc and DVD's: "Oh why switch? I have all of my music and movies on tape, what's the point of these little records?!?" I now have multiple players and the abilities to create these little records.
Cell Phones: "Why would you want a phone with you all of the time?!? And the added expense! There's a phone booth on every street corner!"
I now have 2 in use and a 3rd and 4th just not being activated at this time. A Phone Booth on EVERY corner?!?! Really? what corner?? I haven't seen a phone booth for quite awhile!
MP3, MP4: "I have all my music and video on CD"s and DVD's! Don't see the point of switching! They're EXPENSIVE!!" You know, I have multiple digital format audio and video devices including cameras.
That brings us up to GPS. Today I say "WHY?" What's the point?" Maybe I'm just to proud to be told where to turn, a digital wife / navigator telling you what to do, notice the voices are female that tell you what to do??? I'm sure that's intentional.
Anyway,
Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. North and south are 90 degrees off from that. Moss grows on the North side of trees and rocks. Oh, and every major highway has a North South East West sign on it somewhere.

One of the greatest trips I ever took was with my young wife along the Florida coast (1970's - before Palm Coast and the other zillion housing developments sprung up in the swamps virtually destroying the entire state and the sense of adventure and wonder it once held), getting lost and spending the night with no extra clothes or other necessities of life, stopped by KMart and got some clean underwear and a toothbrush, found a hotel on the beach and enjoyed one of the most memorable nights of our young lives.
The ONLY downside is that it was in a Datsun 110 and not a VW.

Tue May 06, 2008 9:08 pm

I don't know what model Garmin GPS you have, but my Garmin GPS III+ is designed to handle any input voltage from 5 volts to 45 volts! Just wire up the plug and plug it in! I've run mine on 6V, 12V, and even on a 28V aircraft system.

Check the manual for your particular unit to see what it can handle.

While a wrong turn might lead to a bit of adventure, I was _very_ happy when my GPS indicated that I had taken the wrong fork of a dirt road in Utah. Without the magic box I would have probably gone 15 miles on bad twisty dirt road before I realized that something was amiss. Then I would have had to retrace my steps.

Wed May 07, 2008 2:51 am

GeorgeL wrote: I don't know what model Garmin GPS you have, but my Garmin GPS III+ is designed to handle any input voltage from 5 volts to 45 volts! Just wire up the plug and plug it in! I've run mine on 6V, 12V, and even on a 28V aircraft system.

Check the manual for your particular unit to see what it can handle.

I know my cheap Garmin 200W's says 12VDC for the power adapter, no other spec in the book.

However, as it IS one of those mini or micro USB type plugs, it's probably regulated at 5VDC. So, maybe that 12V adapter would still function on 6V. If not you might be able to make your own power adapter and cable.

Quote: While a wrong turn might lead to a bit of adventure, I was _very_ happy when my GPS indicated that I had taken the wrong fork of a dirt road in Utah. Without the magic box I would have probably gone 15 miles on bad twisty dirt road before I realized that something was amiss. Then I would have had to retrace my steps

Yeah GPS units are OK, but I mostly use the ones I have for speed and trip statistics. I was driving last week and took a back highway (state highway) instead of the US route, the thing reconfigured the route immediately of course, but it then told me to turn. I looked and saw a little two-rut trail following an irrigation ditch. I supposed I could have driven it, as it did meet back up with the State Highway a few miles ahead, but I know it wouldn't have saved me any time! I dunno, I've collected maps and atlases for years now, I guess I'm used to having "hard copy" with me rather then having it on a screen.

-Andy

Wed May 07, 2008 5:28 am

I got the Garmin 60cx for my 6v beetle. Uses two AA batteries. It's not as bright as I would like and doesn't have voice prompts, and on battery power it is a bit slow to recalculate. Otherwise it works very nicely, has a removable micro-SD card so that you can load in maps of the US, Europe, etc., and I can also use it on bicycle tours as it is waterproof. As long as I carry a couple of spare AA batteries I am set.

Wed May 07, 2008 9:53 am

That's a handheld right? You should have gotten the Vista HCX - I got one recently and it's super fast to lock in satellites and recalculate. Its a lot faster than my old Vista CX was. Screen is pretty bright too, but that kills batteries. It even has a lock on right now in metal trailer with flourescent lights going. And the AA batteries last a good long time. I havent' tried it yet but I think I can use the same mini-USB cable that my 200W car unit has to power it up too. But that's a handheld unit, not a car unit. I think all Garmin car units have a built in lithium ion battery anymore.
-Andy

Wed May 07, 2008 1:12 pm

Yes, it's a handheld. I've reading about the differences between the two and it seems the two are fairly close in performance and screen clarity but differ in some specific performance aspects and in how menus are accessed. I know the 60cx was a top pick last year. The HCX may be the new "top pick" this year.

Wed May 07, 2008 2:37 pm

Thanks for the comments,

I'll check my Garmins' batteries, I still think at the least the 6 volt will not be "strong enough" . Batteries should tell me.

And good idea about the inverter

Thanks

Matt

Wed May 07, 2008 9:47 pm

Be careful , It might only get you 1/2 way to your destination

Thu May 08, 2008 5:58 am

GeorgeL wrote: I don't know what model Garmin GPS you have, but my Garmin GPS III+ is designed to handle any input voltage from 5 volts to 45 volts! Just wire up the plug and plug it in!

Agreed. I run my Garmin Nuvi on my 57 356 and it charges it just fine.

Thu May 08, 2008 7:52 am

Yeah, I'd just try it. Like I said above, the charging cable is rated at 12V, but that was before I thought about the 5VDC USB spec. I went and looked at the sticker on my adapter cord and it says 10V-30V input and 5VDC output, So now I'm thinking it would work OK. I just got out my adjustable power supply, and hooked my nuvi 200W's charger up to it. The "power on" light was solid at 7VDC, it started to fade a little at 6VDC. But since the 6V battery and charging system ratings are like 6.4 and 7V, I think it would work fine. So forget my first post above where I speculated it might not work. I should have just done this test in the first place!

Andy