Author Topic: External power for the Edge 705? (Read 14730 times)

Tortoise · « **on:** 25 June, 2010, 09:11:23 am »

What's the latest thinking on the best external power pack/arrangement to extend the battery life on an Edge 705 beyond the internal battery?

I gather you have to be careful to get something that will power it without it shutting off? A power pack that takes AA cells is best? Or one that you have to charge but which will hold two or more Edge recharges in it?

Not too heavy? Weatherproof-able?

I don't ask much do I!

Greenbank · « **Reply #1 on:** 25 June, 2010, 09:35:02 am »

I've got one of these:-

Portable Power Supplies - Portapow USB Battery

Charge it up (by mains or computer) and carry it with you in a little tri-bag on the top tube:

http://www.greenbank.org/misc/IMG_0909.JPG

I used mine on a recent 400 where I took nearly all the time available (26.5h).

7am start, GPS fully charged, no power pack attached
8pm, at the control I connected the power pack and it recharged the GPS whilst powering it, including powering the backlight of the screen for the night stage. I left it on all the way to the finish (9.30am).

Portapow pack sits in the top tube bag with cable dangling out connected to the 705. The retractable cable means that you can put in enough slack for steering not to be a problem, but no chance of the cable dangling down towards the wheels.

At the end the Edge 705 was completely charged, and the unit was still showing 40% charge (2/5 lights). So it would easily have carried on another 13 hours to finish a 600.

The cable to the Edge 705 is also wired in such a way that it doesn't trigger the Edge 705 to go into computer mode, so there's no worry about it doing weird stuff when it is plugged in.

I also bought one of the 2xAAA battery thingies they sell, great as a backup should something go wrong as you can charge up the Edge with batteries purchased along the way.

It also came with the right connector to charge my iPhone, which is a bonus.

It's not waterproof, but there's no reason why you couldn't put it in a ziplock bag in the top tube bag. The connection at the GPS won't be waterproof but I'm not worrying about that too much, it's a pretty snug fit and I could always tape it up with electrical tape to keep the worst out.

Being LiIon it's pretty light too (120g).

Cyklisten · « **Reply #2 on:** 25 June, 2010, 04:21:18 pm »

This is my preferred method:

Minty Boost

Not waterproof but lives happily in a pannier on a long lead.

I start my ride with the Minty Boost connected and loaded with a pair of Maplin 2500maH rechargeables.

For safety I change the rechargeables at 200km intervals though I recently rode 400 with just the one pair and the Edge's internal.

Weight - wise, it isn't much heavier than the rechargeables themselves and and the time is only limited by the number of spares you are prepared to carry. There is also the option of buying ordinary batteries en route.

I ride 300+ rides with this system in place and have only had trouble once when I took the wrong USB cable on a 600 which caused the Edge to go into external HD mode. On this occasion I left the booster unconnected and topped up at breaks.

I purchased mine in kit form from the States. It arrived quickly and was fairly straightforward to build.

thing1 · « **Reply #3 on:** 05 July, 2010, 09:47:07 pm »

I've got a various USB power pack / solar / AA battery supply thingies and loathe to buy any more, but none of the dozens of mini-USB cables I've tried from them will keep the device out of PC connect mode.

Any ideas what the secret is to hacking a cable to do this, or can they be bought on their own without shelling out on another supply?

AndyH · « **Reply #4 on:** 05 July, 2010, 10:02:08 pm »

one of these worked for me to keep my 305 going

]http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=222899&C=MS&U=storage]

It just appeared like the mains charger when the 305 was running. However the cable is a bit short, and that compromised where I mounted it, and one bad pothole later all I had was a cable. However at £2.99 it wasn't the end of the world and I will get another one.

The Portapow looks good though ....

Greenbank · « **Reply #5 on:** 05 July, 2010, 10:11:52 pm »

Quote from: thing1 on 05 July, 2010, 09:47:07 pm

I've got a various USB power pack / solar / AA battery supply thingies and loathe to buy any more, but none of the dozens of mini-USB cables I've tried from them will keep the device out of PC connect mode.

Any ideas what the secret is to hacking a cable to do this, or can they be bought on their own without shelling out on another supply?

See MattH's posts here: Garmin 705 Extending Battery life

The retractable cables I got with the PortaPow work a treat. I can plug my 705 into a computer with one of them and it doesn't go into PC connect mode.

thing1 · « **Reply #6 on:** 05 July, 2010, 10:55:38 pm »

Quote from: Greenbank on 05 July, 2010, 10:11:52 pm

See MattH's posts here: Garmin 705 Extending Battery life

Perfect, thanks. Thought I'd seen it somewhere, but couldn't find it when I needed it.
Maybe I'll start a 705 FAQ....

Quote

The retractable cables I got with the PortaPow work a treat. I can plug my 705 into a computer with one of them and it doesn't go into PC connect mode.

Yes, after posting I read more of the PortaPow website and rather liked what I saw

I've now found the cables on their own too. And they accept Google Checkout. Clicky danger.

simonp · « **Reply #7 on:** 10 July, 2010, 11:17:33 am »

Yesterday I accidentally ordered a 705. Well now I will be able to log power for the whole of the MC1000. Or at least that which I can complete. :/

This thread considered useful.

thing1 · « **Reply #8 on:** 10 July, 2010, 01:01:31 pm »

Yesterday I accidentally ordered the portapow thingy. I was going to just get the retracting cable, but the unit looked much tidier & higher capacity than any of the plethora I already have. With a 2xAA->USB thingy as backup, with should indeed allow full logging (and night-time nav) for mc1k.

simonp · « **Reply #9 on:** 10 July, 2010, 01:12:43 pm »

My only concern is rain. How long does the edge take to charge from 2xAA?

Greenbank · « **Reply #10 on:** 10 July, 2010, 01:48:39 pm »

Quote from: simonp on 10 July, 2010, 01:12:43 pm

My only concern is rain. How long does the edge take to charge from 2xAA?

Dunno, I'll run the batteries in my 705 down and try it.

simonp · « **Reply #11 on:** 10 July, 2010, 01:54:00 pm »

Quote from: Greenbank on 10 July, 2010, 01:48:39 pm

Quote from: simonp on 10 July, 2010, 01:12:43 pm
My only concern is rain. How long does the edge take to charge from 2xAA?

Dunno, I'll run the batteries in my 705 down and try it.

Could take a while (the running it down part, anyway) - ta.

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #12 on:** 10 July, 2010, 03:18:34 pm »

I would advise keeping the 705 fully charged until you are 14 or so hours from the finish. If you let the 705 discharge fully and then try and charge it externally it can refuse to switch back on for a while, which of course is a massive pain in the arse.

MattH · « **Reply #13 on:** 12 July, 2010, 09:03:37 am »

My usual technique is to run on internal batteries during the day, and charge overnight (when I also have the backlight on constantly). If I think about it I'll plug it in whilst at cafe controls. I certainly don't run it until it is complaining or has shut down.

I try to avoid charging in the rain, but it isn't always possible, and hasn't caused me a problem (yet?). My 705 is mounted horizontally in a fairly shielded location on my tribars, which may help.

thing1 · « **Reply #14 on:** 15 July, 2010, 09:00:11 am »

Just confirmed, http://www.portablepowersupplies.co.uk/ is the dog's.
- The mini-USB tip does the magic to power up the garmin whilst riding.
- The micro-USB tip contains a 200 ohm resistor across the data pins, as per the new 'industry standard' USB battery charging spec, which means mobile phones etc. that follow this spec will charge up at > 0.5A. (E.g. my Nexus 1 will happily pull ~0.9A when using such a cable).

Even if you don't actually need the portable power pack, the cables + tips are definitely recommended. (Although, slightly more bulky when connected on the back of the 705 then would be perfect).

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #15 on:** 15 July, 2010, 10:05:34 am »

I've just bought the premium model with the retractable lead. Haven't tried it yet.

Jaded · « **Reply #16 on:** 15 July, 2010, 10:21:04 am »

Had one of those for a while now. Very useful.

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #17 on:** 15 July, 2010, 10:24:02 am »

Quote from: Jaded on 15 July, 2010, 10:21:04 am

Had one of those for a while now. Very useful.

What for?

Jaded · « **Reply #18 on:** 15 July, 2010, 10:28:03 am »

Charging my OLD phone (no real need to now - the iPhone 4 battery is very good. Did mention I have an iPhone 4?

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #19 on:** 15 July, 2010, 11:03:51 am »

Are you going to send it back? Apparently Apple feel a recall is beneath them, despite a multitude of complaints and a recommendation from a leading tech journal not to buy the iPhone 4.

Shame about their share price too...

Jaded · « **Reply #20 on:** 15 July, 2010, 11:17:13 am »

The leading tech journal that carried out a 'test' in an office full of people?

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #21 on:** 15 July, 2010, 11:58:43 am »

Fanboys can only see what their master tells them to.

Could we be witnessing the first example of a technology company morphing into a religious cult?

citoyen · « **Reply #22 on:** 15 July, 2010, 12:10:20 pm »

Quote from: Jaded on 15 July, 2010, 10:28:03 am

Did mention I have an iPhone 4?

Is that the one with the bigger GBs?

d.

Greenbank · « **Reply #23 on:** 15 July, 2010, 12:44:19 pm »

Quote from: Jaded on 15 July, 2010, 11:17:13 am

The leading tech journal that carried out a 'test' in an office full of people?

So it doesn't it work in an office full of people? That's even worse than I thought!

Dinamo · « **Reply #24 on:** 15 July, 2010, 12:53:36 pm »

Quote from: AndyH on 05 July, 2010, 10:02:08 pm

one of these worked for me to keep my 305 going

]http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=222899&C=MS&U=storage]

It just appeared like the mains charger when the 305 was running. However the cable is a bit short, and that compromised where I mounted it, and one bad pothole later all I had was a cable. However at £2.99 it wasn't the end of the world and I will get another one.

The Portapow looks good though ....

Just bought one of these ! For my Edge 205
Seems OK, especially for £2-99 - will secure it well to avoid any pothole problems