Another GPS question!!

[Woodtourer]

We are currently on tour and using our Garmin 800. We bought this unit in 2013 and it has served us well for many tours. But I think that the "socket" where we attach the USB cord is beginning to wear out.
I have been following some of the posts about different units. But was wondering which one works with the least amount of glitches? The 800 has only "acted up" a few times and a hard reset has solved the issue. I am tempted to consider buying a refurbished one. Or is there away to have the "socket" replaced?
Thanks!!

[Syd]

Worth contacting Garmin and see what they offer in the way of a ‘repair’ service. Effectively you send them your old unit and they send you a new / factory refurb one.

I’ve done it for a couple of units over the years (we have a number of units for various sports) and always been pleasantly surprised at the price they charge.

[Sweep]

Yes, I sent an etrex 20 to them after I stupidly let it bounce off my bike. Excellent fast reasonably priced.

[ossie]

Have you tried another lead ?

I find these go first.

[Woodtourer]

Yes , I tried 3 different ones. The socket seems a bit wonky.

[Bez]

Have you seen this thread and the one which is linked from it?

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=101647.0

If you don't want to repair it (or even if you do and don't want to be without a unit for a while) it's probably with buying one off eBay, you can get them cheaply enough (I just sold my Touring for around £80). Then you can either sell your current one as a repair job, or repair it yourself and sell either one afterwards. Either way I would guess it might work out cheaper than Garmin's repair/replacement offer.

[pq]

It is, unfortunately only a matter of time before the USB ports on Garmin GPS units corrode and stop working. You can keep them going by spraying stuff in them, but ultimately they die. It's an irritating design fault - these days they could use bluetooth and there would be no corrosion problems. Apart from sending it to Garmin as above, you can also sometimes get the parts on ebay from people who dismantle old GPS units.

[Bez]

It's an irritating design fault - these days they could use bluetooth and there would be no corrosion problems.

How do you recharge over Bluetooth?

[Mick F]

Batteries.
Remove them to recharge. I use AA Eneloops.
Very good point though. Many (most) GPS units have built-in Li batteries.

Our toothbrush charges without contacts. It sits on a stand and charges through induction and I think some mobile phones are like that too.

[mjr]

It's an irritating design fault - these days they could use bluetooth and there would be no corrosion problems.

How do you recharge over Bluetooth?

Qi wireless charging would seem to make sense for bike computers and lights, but I've not seen any with it built-in yet.

[andrew_s]

Yes , I tried 3 different ones. The socket seems a bit wonky.

The mini-USB ports that Garmin use aren't really suited to having cables waggled about in them, as is likely to be the case if you use a power bank to extend the battery life.
You can reduce the chances of problems by using an angled plug with the cable supported close to the plug with an elastic band or something so it doesn't move on hitting bumps etc.
(There's also the problem of water getting in and causing corrosion)

I think that wireless charging from a power bank is a fair way off.

I use an Etrex, pwered by AA batteries, so the port is used for data transfer only.

[Woodtourer]

I keep hearing about the eTrek. I see there are a number of models. Which one is a good choice for touring?

[bigjim]

My Garmin Etrex Legend is ancient and it's been thrown down the road a few times, but it still soldiers on with no problems. A couple of spare AA batteries in your bag and no need to recharge for a couple of days.

[willem jongman]

I am a great fan of the Etrex 30 (now 30x). It is cheap, light and does not use much battery power. On my last trip, using high quality rechargeables, I managed about six days on a pair of batteries. The down side is that it is a bit slow, and that the screen is small. For my purpose of just following tracks that I put on it first it is fine. A larger screen and/or a touchscreen will consume more electricity which is a no no for me. For a trip of no more than a few weeks I only need to take a couple of spare batteries, and avoid the hassle of taking a charger, asking the campsite's reception, or bringing a unit like the Forumslader.

[bigjim]

I take an older version of one of these on tour. Paid a £1 for it. It does the job.