Author Topic: External Battery Pack Garmin 500  (Read 12169 times)

zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #25 on: 06 February, 2016, 12:23:28 am »
I think that my previous post regarding a borrowed 500 'just working' must be wrong.
It must have been a 200, which possibly works differently.
USB dumb charging standards were evolving around that time.

The 500 looks like it needs stuff done in the cable, and I didn't use a special cable.

yes, a 200 works with a normal usb cable and also can accept and navigate using gpx files (500 does neither, but works better as a data logger)

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #26 on: 09 February, 2016, 06:12:37 pm »
I've ordered a couple of items from Ebay costing a total of £2 which should do the job without the need for soldering.

Mini USB Male to USB A female OTG adapter cable

and

Male to Male USB cable
 

Well for the cost of £1.98 (+the cost of a USB battery pack of your choice) that's worked a treat  :thumbsup:

On connection of the OTG adapter cable a small square empty box appears on screen for a few seconds before disappearing. This reappears every time you disconnect and reconnect the OTG adapter cable whether a battery is connected to it or not.

When connecting a battery a small beep is heard and it seems that the back light lights and stays on irrespective of your Garmin display settings.

Removal of the battery results in a warning displayed on the screen saying 'External Power Lost - Press Enter' then the display dims according to your Garmin display settings (after 15 secs for mine).

I've connected and reconnected several times and recording continues - Garmin % charge increasing as well. Just tested indoors at the moment but no reason why it wouldn't work on the bike just the same and as jhob found following Joe's blog

http://www.joewein.net/blog/2013/03/04/garmin-edge-usb-power-hack/

Points to note

If you've got the supplied Garmin Mount 1/4 turn mount on the stem then you'll need to move it to get access to the socket on your Garmin.

Be careful that you're not putting any stress on the attached OTG Aadapter cable when it's in the back of the Garmin (clear of other cables etc).

Be wary that mile upon mile of vibration from the bike may have some detrimental effect on the Garmin Socket when the cable is plugged in to it. Try and reduce this if you can by supporting the cable or only charging on the bike as a last resort. (Only extensive use will find whether in fact this is an issue or not) - The OTG adapter cable I link to has a smaller connector than that used by Joe and the USB connection is at the end of a short 4 inch lead which should also help as well.

Finally thanks to jhob for finding the correct info on this subject.  :thumbsup:


zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #27 on: 10 February, 2016, 11:46:42 pm »
great stuff, i'm wondering if there is a way to make an otg cable out of this type of cable, with the right angle plugs on both ends?

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #28 on: 15 February, 2016, 12:34:44 pm »
Been reading this thread with interest as I have exactly the same need as the OP (see you at the 24, rob!) - I'm hoping to be able to use and track my HR and power for the duration using my 500.
As a slight hijack, does anyone know if there are issues with the 500's ability to record/store the data on very long activities? I have heard things about the 800 (I think?) crashing after a certain number of miles, but have no idea if this problem exists with the 500 too.
Thanks!

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #29 on: 15 February, 2016, 06:14:50 pm »
I've never used it to log a long ride in one go.

I've always stopped and reset the Garmin 500 at café stops. At the time that would have been because I would be charging it up as I didn't have the ability to 'charge on the go' at the time.

Even now I'd be tempted to do this and join the files later on a pc the theory being that it would be a shame to lose the whole data for the ride rather than just a part of it.

This is useful for joining fit files amongst other things

https://www.fitfiletools.com/#/top

For info, I have used a fit file fixer once before on damaged data that wouldn't upload to Strava for some reason

http://garmin.kiesewetter.nl/

rob

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #30 on: 16 February, 2016, 03:08:47 pm »
I only got my 500 in the Autumn and the longest ride so far has been 7hrs, but the recording was fine and there was plenty of charge left.   I'd happily use it on a 12hr without any modification.   I don't collect power data but do track HR against speed.

I'll try one of the cable connectors above and source a battery pack.   I can then test on some longer training rides to see how it gets on.

Thanks


Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #31 on: 16 February, 2016, 10:05:39 pm »
Facing a similar problem a few years ago, I found a normal cable is useless and the Edge 500 goes into charging mode. I tried making my own USB OTG cable following these instructions: http://www.podfeet.com/blog/tutorials-5/make-your-own-charge-only-usb-cable-for-the-novatel-mifi/

It didn't work on my edge 500 though.

In your link which is specific to a Novatel Mifi Mobile Hotspot they are shorting the green and white data wires on the micro USB.

However in Joe Weins blog and the cable I linked to earlier, the connections are as in this diagram for a Standard OTG cable - The difference here is that Sense ID is shorted to GND. These work fine with the Garmin 500.

Standard OTG cable wiring diagram


Karla

  • car(e) free
    • Lost Byway - around the world by bike
Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #32 on: 16 February, 2016, 10:24:43 pm »
I think that my previous post regarding a borrowed 500 'just working' must be wrong.
It must have been a 200, which possibly works differently.
USB dumb charging standards were evolving around that time.

The 500 looks like it needs stuff done in the cable, and I didn't use a special cable.

yes, a 200 works with a normal usb cable and also can accept and navigate using gpx files (500 does neither, but works better as a data logger)

Eh?  You can follow a breadcrumb trail on the 500, do you mean turn-by-turn directions when you say 'navigate'?

I only got my 500 in the Autumn and the longest ride so far has been 7hrs, but the recording was fine and there was plenty of charge left.   I'd happily use it on a 12hr without any modification.   I don't collect power data but do track HR against speed.

I'll try one of the cable connectors above and source a battery pack.   I can then test on some longer training rides to see how it gets on.

Thanks

ISTR my 500 (age 8 months) had a reasonable amount of charge left after 12 hours of showing speed etc, recording HR but not doing any navigating.  Maybe 25%.  Enough to be comfortable but not enough to do a 24. 

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #33 on: 16 February, 2016, 11:35:16 pm »
Well I have splashed out £1.98 on two cables. Preliminary testing would suggest that this is a go'er. My 500 is fine, battery and data collection, for a 200K ride of about 12 hours. I have some longer rides planned so I need to run it longer and collect more. Stopping recording at the cafe sounds like a good idea.

zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #34 on: 22 February, 2016, 11:11:02 am »
I think that my previous post regarding a borrowed 500 'just working' must be wrong.
It must have been a 200, which possibly works differently.
USB dumb charging standards were evolving around that time.

The 500 looks like it needs stuff done in the cable, and I didn't use a special cable.

yes, a 200 works with a normal usb cable and also can accept and navigate using gpx files (500 does neither, but works better as a data logger)

Eh?  You can follow a breadcrumb trail on the 500, do you mean turn-by-turn directions when you say 'navigate'?

in theory you can follow a breadcrumb trail, but in practice it does not work as the breadcrumb disappears from the screen intermittently and the instructions to take a turn pop up too late, once you are crossing the junction/roundabout.. i've experimented with both tcx and crs files without much luck.

rob

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #35 on: 22 June, 2016, 10:05:57 am »
Finally bought the connectors from e-bay and a power supply.

A quick bit of testing in the kitchen looks like it works OK.   Bit annoying that the backlight won't turn off when it's using external power, although it does stay off if you turn the backlight to 'off' in the settings.   This does mean that it never comes on, though, so not ideal for a 24hr.   

I've got a full bike, bits and food test in a couple of weeks so will use it then.

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #36 on: 22 June, 2016, 10:15:16 pm »
Bit annoying that the backlight won't turn off when it's using external power, although it does stay off if you turn the backlight to 'off' in the settings.This does mean that it never comes on, though, so not ideal for a 24hr.   

Unless I'm missing something I can't see this as a problem and saying that the backlight then never comes on is true but a bit misleading, as you would go to the exact same display setting page that you previously used to select backlight 'off' and then switch the backlight back 'on' when you require it during the hours of darkness .

If you didn't want to bother doing this and wanted to not mess with the display settings, I'd suggest a 2600mAh battery pack will charge your Garmin battery from empty to full charge 3 times (Garmin battery capacity is 700mA). Assuming you started with a fully charged Garmin battery as well - each 'full charge' would have to last 6 hrs with the backlight permanently on to cover a 24 hr ride.

One poster here suggests he was easily getting 12hrs with the backlight permanently on a lowish brightness setting, so with a 2600mAh external battery, 48hrs worth of power should be achievable.

Link

This would only be the case if you had the external battery permanently connected which is unneccesary. As you know when not connected the Garmin display backlight would time out automatically according to your display settings.
 
2600mA external battery is about as small capacity as you can get from Ebay what was the mAh capacity of the one you bought?


rob

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #37 on: 23 June, 2016, 04:28:05 pm »
2600mA external battery is about as small capacity as you can get from Ebay what was the mAh capacity of the one you bought?

Thanks for this.   I was trying to limit the amount of time I spend managing my electronics when I should be thinking of something else.   I have always thought that having the backlight on was a Bad Thing as it eats battery, but it looks like it's less of an issue for a 24hr event.   I'll just need to remember to boost the charge into the GPS every now and again - possibly at feed stops.

I've gone back and looked this up.   I bought a Portapow which, it transpires, is 10,200mAh.   Seems like I'm over covered....thought it was a bit big.

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #38 on: 23 June, 2016, 05:34:25 pm »
I was trying to limit the amount of time I spend managing my electronics when I should be thinking of something else.

I think that this is an important point, it's another thing to think about and the more tired you get the more difficult it is.

I've gone back and looked this up.   I bought a Portapow which, it transpires, is 10,200mAh.   Seems like I'm over covered....thought it was a bit big.

It's better to have that extra capacity - you've got enough to charge your Garmin and a phone several times if required without needing to worry about conserving battery life.

frankly frankie

  • I kid you not
    • Fuchsiaphile
Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #39 on: 29 June, 2016, 10:10:58 am »
No, it's better to have just enough battery for the job in hand, plus a reasonable amount in reserve.  If 2,600 covers it, then it's better to carry that than lug around 10,200.
Or don't people drill out their chainrings and brake levers any more??  ;)
when you're dead you're done, so let the good times roll

rob

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #40 on: 30 June, 2016, 11:45:48 am »
No, it's better to have just enough battery for the job in hand, plus a reasonable amount in reserve.  If 2,600 covers it, then it's better to carry that than lug around 10,200.
Or don't people drill out their chainrings and brake levers any more??  ;)

I suppose so, but the TT bike will be loaded up with a toolkit, 6hrs worth of gels/bars and at least 1 big bidon so a few grammes wont' matter.   The portapow will fit at the bottom of the Alpkit food-pod on the top tube.   I plan to leave it wired in (the GPS is on the tribars so the cable doesn't get in the way) and turn it on at night when there'll be most benefit to having the backlight permanently on.

This should leave me not having to think very much.   I'll test the whole set up out on a long ride tomorrow.

rob

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #41 on: 02 July, 2016, 11:27:00 am »
Field test yesterday.   Fitting in the back of the Garmin is very snug and unlikely to come out.   I'm not sure how weather proof it will be without the cover.   The connection between that cable and the cable to the charger wasn't great and fell out continuously.   It has now been wrapped with insulation tape.   The portapow looks like it turn itself off every now and again.   Might be worth turning it on regularly throughout the race to keep the Garmin topped up.

rob

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #42 on: 19 July, 2016, 09:43:10 pm »
I have just done a last check before the weekend and I've found that the USB connection between the two cables is not great and doesn't maintain a connection for very long even when sat still.   I can't see it handling bouncing around along the road.

I've ordered a spare which I should get Thursday.   I may get a more snug connection with a new one but any suggestions would be more than welcome.

Thanks


Rob

Re: External Battery Pack Garmin 500
« Reply #43 on: 25 January, 2017, 02:22:10 pm »
Still working ok Rob?

I just found this thread and have ordered up the leads linked above.

Thanks for The Knowledge y'all!

[EDIT: Got the cables. It works! Cheers]