Garmin eTrex 20

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Chris a
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Joined: 16 Apr 2018, 1:52pm

Garmin eTrex 20

Post by Chris a »

Has anyone used this for 10 hour touring, battery life seems an issue? Has anyone used an external battery plugged into micro port to run unit? Battery saver mode seems to leave unit dormant, following tracks doesn’t make it burst into life, any sugestions to make this usable would be most welcome, thanks.
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Mick F
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Re: Garmin eTrex 20

Post by Mick F »

Can you not have the screen go to sleep but not the device?
I can do that with my Montana.

It's the screen that drains the power, the brighter, the more drain. Allow it to turn itself off after - say 15secs - and you should be able to get much more run time.

............ or can you not do that with an eTrex?
Mick F. Cornwall
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Paulatic
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Re: Garmin eTrex 20

Post by Paulatic »

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ubert767
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Joined: 4 Aug 2013, 8:16pm

Re: Garmin eTrex 20

Post by ubert767 »

Follow Francis Cooke's advice on how to set up an Etrex 20 (Here - http://www.aukadia.net/gps/ ) and also get yourself a set of Eneloop cells.
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JamesE
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Re: Garmin eTrex 20

Post by JamesE »

I've had two eTrex 20s and they've both been able to run for at least three days' riding - say 25-30 hours - on a single pair of AA batteries. That's with the screen brightness turned down a bit but the screen on at all times. Could you be doing something to cause unusually heavy drain on the battery, or just have a duff unit?
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chris_suffolk
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Re: Garmin eTrex 20

Post by chris_suffolk »

My etrex 20 will easily do 2 days+ on a set of rechargeable AA batteries. Just let the backlight time out, so that you just have an unlit screen (think LCD calculator) - perfectly good enough to follow even in sunlight. By avoiding using the backlight, power consumption drops to almost nothing.

Don't recall doing anything special to set it up this way, but have had it a few years so can't be sure.
Chris a
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Joined: 16 Apr 2018, 1:52pm

Re: Garmin eTrex 20

Post by Chris a »

Thanks for the replies, some I have thought of others I haven't. Bit worried I have a duff unit. I have eneloop pro Mimi's, has anyone tried lithium rechargeables? Is there a good make. I can't seem to get the unit to wake up automatically at a turn, so the screen just stays off! Not much use, would this be the difference between a track and a route?
JamesE
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Location: London

Re: Garmin eTrex 20

Post by JamesE »

If it were me I'd probably do a factory reset and then use the setup advice linked to earlier in the thread, which is excellent. (Both of my eTrexes, I've just followed that advice once and never touched the settings ever again).
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matt2matt2002
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Re: Garmin eTrex 20

Post by matt2matt2002 »

Ive had my Etrex20 for 2+ years.
Used and abused it. Dropped many times.
Gave me good service on the heat of Ethiopia last month.
Ran for 2 days but wasn't using turn by turn.
Battery saver on and screen turned down must have helped.
Factory reset is a big move but given your lasvk.of progress, I'd go for it.
2017 Ethiopia.5 weeks.
2018 Marrakech 2 weeks.
2023 Thailand 8 weeks.
Always on a Thorn Raven/Rohloff hub.
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