Garmin Gps

[billd766]

Just a small note of caution regarding Garmin.

Unless the service policy has changed, should you Garmin require a new internal battery or it becomes faulty it will probably have to go to Taiwan (not Thailand) for a repair and service.

My Garmin GPS lll has an internal battery which tells me that it is flat and when I spoke to ESRI a couple of years ago they said that I needed to send it to them so that they could check the fault (it is obvious what the problem is) and then the would send it to Taiwan for repair and upgrade.

Is should run off the cigarette lighter connector. My 2610 Street Pilot doesn't even have any batteries. My hand held eTrex runs off two AA batteries.

I thought the older Garmin GPS III ran off AA batteries too.

It does run off AA batteries as you say BUT unfortunately any waypoints you store or anything that you put in will not survive as it is the internal memory battery which has failed.

I took the back cover off but there was no sign of a replaceable battery and as I rarely use it now I really cannot be bothered to send it to BKK and then onwards to Taiwan and back again.

The internal Battery failed in both my C320 and C510 after about 18 months.

It was fairly simple to find out which battery they used (both happen to be the same) and how to replace them using google.

After that a trip to Fortune to buy the battery (from memory B200) and then 30m mins of disassembly/soldering/reassembly and they were as good as new.

If your not confident of doing it yourself any half competent electrician should be able to do it for a minor fee.

Cheers

Ah

I didnt know that.

I will take your advice and try it as I will be in BKK next week for a couple of days

Thanks for the tip

[sumrit]

I've just bought a Garmin 250W (it's the 200W with European maps as well) whilst on holiday in the UK FOR £140 (about 9000 baht). Gadgetrend can supply the Thai maps for 7000 baht so for 16000 baht I get full coverage in Thailand and I can use it when I visit the UK.

[citizen33]

I've just bought a Garmin 250W (it's the 200W with European maps as well) whilst on holiday in the UK FOR £140 (about 9000 baht). Gadgetrend can supply the Thai maps for 7000 baht so for 16000 baht I get full coverage in Thailand and I can use it when I visit the UK.

If you want an even better bargain, you can obtain the Nuvi 250 (not 'w') for £94 GBP from Dixons online. This includes free postage. The Dixons' in-store price is about £20 higher, The unit has full Europe maps. I have bought one and have now also obtained the Garmin NT SE Asia maps on SD card (actually mini SD with adapter). This includes the full Thailand NT map plus maps for Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong but not Laos or Cambodia. This map is expensive in both the UK and Thailand, but cheaper in the US. I got mine from Rogue Wave Marine, which is selling it for $120 US plus about $37 international carriage by USPS (be sure to select this option rather than a dearer delivery service). The map is on promotion at present and about $30 under the regular price. I was lucky and wasn't hit by UK customs. The carriage price to Thailand would be the same but I do not know about the customs situation. So my Nuvi plus Europe and SE Asia maps cost about £170 or under 11000 baht.

http://www.roguewavemarine.com/store/home.php?cat=413

Edited June 12, 2008 by citizen33

[LivinLOS]

The maps and the keygen to install them on your devices are readily posted online.. Lots of forums devoted to map sharing.

So make that 94 GBP Plus the data cable and your away.