Thanks man. Been @%$^ing with this issue all day trying to get ready for a motorcycle trip. Taking a chance on my Montana 680 because the Amazon comments say it will work with that unit. This was after fighting with tech support over my purchased map file status. "if you system throws an error, you need to repurchase your several hundred dollars in maps" How Garmin stays in business, I'll never know. Thanks for posting!
It should work. The Garmin OEM vehicle charger for the Montana 680 is part no. 010-10851-11 which is the older 1-amp style, so the USB cord from Amazon should power it easily with no issues. You may want to consider wrapping the cable for extra heat reisistance so it doesn't get cooked by sun and/or engine heat if it's to be used on a motorcycle.
What I don't understand (and I am not complaining) is that how Garmin and all GPS systems can use the satellite above and not cost us any money to pay monthly for the use of anything - you buy the GPS, that's a one time deal, that's it no data charges, nothing - yet if and when you use your CELL PHONE GPS, you get to incur data charges. WHY? Why can't a phone act as a GPS free of charge when USING APPLE MAPS or GOOGLE MAPS without using DATA, especially if you're out of the country.
@@USA-CANADA1480 Android phones have no issue using a GPS signal without any need for a data connection. Not sure about Apple. The only issue regarding "data charges" is if you are trying to access online maps (that you have not downloaded ahead of time) or accessing other types of "real-time" data such as prices, traffic, etc. There is no charge to access a GPS signal, it is just like a radio signal. It is just there.
I used a regular mini usb plug into my Garmin 54LM. It powered on OK, but it would not find sats. Soon as i plugged in the official Garmin 12v car plug it worked fine. Is that a common problem? I wanted to share the lighter socket with a bluetooth dongle, but that caused the issue. I have another 12v ciggy socket but was just wondering if the generic usb was the issue? Thanks!
@@sat103 So i see a few on Amazon. It has to be power only? No data capabilities? Most seem to have ratings for data, but also say for Garmin, Tom Tom etc....
@@rcary The way the power-only USB cable works is the same way a Garmin charger works by using a pin swap. Power+data regular cable does not have this swap and may cause overload and ruin your Garmin. Power-only has the pin swap and works like it should. I can confirm the power-only cable I use absolutely works properly, enough to where I bought 3 of them because I like it so much.
@sat103 we have that cable here in Amazon UK, but its about $20. There are other power usb cords that claim gps charging, but they all have data transfer too, so I'm guessing that's a no go? What pin interferes with the Garmin? Is the power pin different in the cable you use compared to the generic USB ones?
@@rcary I would not use a data+power cable at all except for connecting to a PC for updates. Yes, the pinout is different in the cable I use compared to a regular cable which is why it works for regular in-car use.
The cable can be used with any USB port for power to charge as long as the connector fits. If you have an old phone charger for the wall that the cable will plug into, that will work.
Can you damage it by plugging a non-garmin USB cable? What a scam this company is in having stupid proprietary USB cables. Why can cell phones work just fine but not these GPS units?
A Garmin-specific (or in this case, Garmin-compatible) cable has the wire pinout changed so it only sends power and nothing else. I did fry a Garmin device I used to have from powering it using a plain USB cable in the car (something burnt up on the circuit board), so yes, it is absolutely possible to damage a Garmin when using a plain USB cable specifically for powering and not connecting to a computer. The cable I used in the video has worked just fine, I still have it and use it, no problems, no overload issues.
*You can get this cable here* amzn.to/3K1wEhY (Amazon affiliated link)
Thanks man. Been @%$^ing with this issue all day trying to get ready for a motorcycle trip. Taking a chance on my Montana 680 because the Amazon comments say it will work with that unit. This was after fighting with tech support over my purchased map file status. "if you system throws an error, you need to repurchase your several hundred dollars in maps" How Garmin stays in business, I'll never know. Thanks for posting!
It should work. The Garmin OEM vehicle charger for the Montana 680 is part no. 010-10851-11 which is the older 1-amp style, so the USB cord from Amazon should power it easily with no issues. You may want to consider wrapping the cable for extra heat reisistance so it doesn't get cooked by sun and/or engine heat if it's to be used on a motorcycle.
What I don't understand (and I am not complaining) is that how Garmin and all GPS systems can use the satellite above and not cost us any money to pay monthly for the use of anything - you buy the GPS, that's a one time deal, that's it no data charges, nothing - yet if and when you use your CELL PHONE GPS, you get to incur data charges. WHY? Why can't a phone act as a GPS free of charge when USING APPLE MAPS or GOOGLE MAPS without using DATA, especially if you're out of the country.
@@USA-CANADA1480You are complaining based off of your explanation
@@USA-CANADA1480 Android phones have no issue using a GPS signal without any need for a data connection. Not sure about Apple. The only issue regarding "data charges" is if you are trying to access online maps (that you have not downloaded ahead of time) or accessing other types of "real-time" data such as prices, traffic, etc. There is no charge to access a GPS signal, it is just like a radio signal. It is just there.
I used a regular mini usb plug into my Garmin 54LM. It powered on OK, but it would not find sats. Soon as i plugged in the official Garmin 12v car plug it worked fine. Is that a common problem? I wanted to share the lighter socket with a bluetooth dongle, but that caused the issue. I have another 12v ciggy socket but was just wondering if the generic usb was the issue? Thanks!
Regular mini USB cable is a computer cable and won't work properly. You need a power-only USB cable, which is the one I use in the video.
@@sat103 So i see a few on Amazon. It has to be power only? No data capabilities? Most seem to have ratings for data, but also say for Garmin, Tom Tom etc....
@@rcary The way the power-only USB cable works is the same way a Garmin charger works by using a pin swap. Power+data regular cable does not have this swap and may cause overload and ruin your Garmin. Power-only has the pin swap and works like it should. I can confirm the power-only cable I use absolutely works properly, enough to where I bought 3 of them because I like it so much.
@sat103 we have that cable here in Amazon UK, but its about $20. There are other power usb cords that claim gps charging, but they all have data transfer too, so I'm guessing that's a no go? What pin interferes with the Garmin? Is the power pin different in the cable you use compared to the generic USB ones?
@@rcary I would not use a data+power cable at all except for connecting to a PC for updates. Yes, the pinout is different in the cable I use compared to a regular cable which is why it works for regular in-car use.
My truck doesent have a cig port. what do i need to charge it at home?
The cable can be used with any USB port for power to charge as long as the connector fits. If you have an old phone charger for the wall that the cable will plug into, that will work.
What model and year of car are you in?
Can you damage it by plugging a non-garmin USB cable? What a scam this company is in having stupid proprietary USB cables. Why can cell phones work just fine but not these GPS units?
A Garmin-specific (or in this case, Garmin-compatible) cable has the wire pinout changed so it only sends power and nothing else. I did fry a Garmin device I used to have from powering it using a plain USB cable in the car (something burnt up on the circuit board), so yes, it is absolutely possible to damage a Garmin when using a plain USB cable specifically for powering and not connecting to a computer. The cable I used in the video has worked just fine, I still have it and use it, no problems, no overload issues.