As the titles are can this bed done? I've had the 705 for a few years and it's never let me down. I'm off to France in June touring and it'll be used every day for two weeks, so is it possible to use it whilst being charged with a solar charger or similar?
Thank you
Using a Garmin705 whilst being charged
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Squibnocket
- Posts: 120
- Joined: 24 May 2010, 9:56pm
- Location: Leek, Staffordshire
Re: Using a Garmin705 whilst being charged
In short, Yes.
The longer version...
Early firmware for the 605 & 705 didn't allow for charging on the go. That was changed with an update somewhere along the way. If you have kept your 705 updated then yes you can charge it & use it at the same time. If you haven't, then you probably can provided it isn't running early firmware.
Do bear in mind that, with the variability of the output of a solar panel, if it stops charging there will be a "lost power" pop-up that will need to be dismissed each time it appears (on later devices the message disappears after a few seconds).
A more reliable off grid solution might be a power bank to provide power, or two - one powering the 705 & the other being charged from the solar panel. If you don't need power for anything else then a moderate capacity one, say 5000mAh, would give several days of power for a 705 from full.
And if the sun doesn't shine enough there is always the possibility of charging power banks, as well as the Garmin, via the mains from time to time.
The longer version...
Early firmware for the 605 & 705 didn't allow for charging on the go. That was changed with an update somewhere along the way. If you have kept your 705 updated then yes you can charge it & use it at the same time. If you haven't, then you probably can provided it isn't running early firmware.
Do bear in mind that, with the variability of the output of a solar panel, if it stops charging there will be a "lost power" pop-up that will need to be dismissed each time it appears (on later devices the message disappears after a few seconds).
A more reliable off grid solution might be a power bank to provide power, or two - one powering the 705 & the other being charged from the solar panel. If you don't need power for anything else then a moderate capacity one, say 5000mAh, would give several days of power for a 705 from full.
And if the sun doesn't shine enough there is always the possibility of charging power banks, as well as the Garmin, via the mains from time to time.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
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Squibnocket
- Posts: 120
- Joined: 24 May 2010, 9:56pm
- Location: Leek, Staffordshire
Re: Using a Garmin705 whilst being charged
RickH wrote:In short, Yes.
The longer version...
Early firmware for the 605 & 705 didn't allow for charging on the go. That was changed with an update somewhere along the way. If you have kept your 705 updated then yes you can charge it & use it at the same time. If you haven't, then you probably can provided it isn't running early firmware.
Do bear in mind that, with the variability of the output of a solar panel, if it stops charging there will be a "lost power" pop-up that will need to be dismissed each time it appears (on later devices the message disappears after a few seconds).
A more reliable off grid solution might be a power bank to provide power, or two - one powering the 705 & the other being charged from the solar panel. If you don't need power for anything else then a moderate capacity one, say 5000mAh, would give several days of power for a 705 from full.
And if the sun doesn't shine enough there is always the possibility of charging power banks, as well as the Garmin, via the mains from time to time.
Thank you for your information, I have kept it updated so I'll give it a try.
Re: Using a Garmin705 whilst being charged
Another option is to put a new battery in the unit, if it's a few years old as I suspect it is then a new battery will improve operating length and probably be a better battery than factory fresh. It is relatively simple to do, just open the unit with a small torx driver and unplug the old battery but don't use a screwdriver to push the connector home as it shorts out. But that didn't happened to me 