Garmin Montana

Got my new 650 from EMS for $439 and it came with a $15 coupon. They go fast so watch for what you want.
Should be deals on black Friday and cyber Monday from everyone.

Why are they selling so darn cheap? New improved model coming out after the holidays is my guess. New battery compartment that does not require an ear plug. I'm sure there are more things than that which must be fixed on V2.

That's actually the price they were this time last year. I think it has more to do with black Friday and EMS being competitive.
But seeing that I waited a year to buy one and got mine last week, a new model should be out any day now!

I did check ems.com. The 600 is $499.99 right now. I'm going to keep an eye on the site though.

There's no problem running directly to the battery. There is no current draw when the Montana is off or out of the cradle. I happen to have mine connected to a switched circuit only because it was convenient.
I did something similar to your SAE connector arrangement using one of our (3BR Powersports) Baryl connectors between the cradle and the dash.I shortened up the cable a bunch between the cradle and the "Y" and again between the Y and the plug. I left the audio cable full length. The Baryl connector is more weather resistant than the SAE but if it is up on the dash it probably doesn't make any difference.


You can see how short the cable is between the Y and plug in this view.

My Garmin rugged mount is wired directly to the battery. When my bike's ignition is switched off with the key, the rugged mount is still powered.

I measured 8 ma draw from the rugged mount when my Montana is in the rugged mount and is turned off and my bike's ignition is switched off.
I measured no draw from the rugged mount when my Montana was removed from the rugged mount.

I use non-rechargeable lithium AA batteries in my Montana for those rare instances when I want to use my Montana and it is not in the rugged mount nor connected to my iMac.

You just have to be more careful when you scroll, but if you do drop a pin, the most recent versions of the software for the Montana allow you to remove the pin by clicking the little X in the right side of the pin detail information area.

Here's an example:

I've just updated to 4.60 and now when I power down my unit in the (Still Powered) rugged mount, the screen image gets corrupted. I can repeat this issue. Anyone else able to repeat this bug?

How so? Can you snap a quick photo of the corrupted screen?

Checked a few sites this morning to see if any sales have started and ems.com had it for $399. . Ordered and on its way!

yeah, I think they've had that price going for a while, great deal. I'm waiting until black friday or about, hoping to get the best deal.

Nope, we all hate that too. But you can get rid of it by clicking the X in the upper right corner. It happens to me mostly when trying to zoom and many of us have begged the Beta team to make the zoom buttons slightly bigger. They should also make it a double click to activate the waypoint drop pin!

If you mean this↴ It's been reported.



Cheers,

Of course, you can always just ignore the "drop pin" and go about your scrolling. Once you are finished, just press the "return" button and the pin will go away.

Cheers,

Aarrgh - my bad. Of course the Montana draws current even when it is off since it is charging the battery.

I went ahead and ordered one also.
It looks like everyone goes with the rugged mount?
I'm going to try and standardize on just the Montana. I've had a 60CSx on the 650, and a 2730 on the 1200.
I'm not tech enough to keep up with both. (I really can't keep up with either.) :huh
Is there a "getting started with a Montana" thread somewhere? This is like 5 million pages..
Thanks,
Jeff

Go here:

http://garminmontanagpsr.wikispaces.com/

There's a Montana FAQ linked on Embeedee's sig.
The rugged mount is the way to go.
Not sure about everyone else but on gpscity.com someone posted pics and a ram mount parts list using the 1.5" balled larger ram parts. I went with this and it seems like the way to go. It's very stable and easy to lock down. Lots of options for mounting depending on your bike and where you want it.

I got the 2013 NT map DVD and Amps mount from gps4us.com since gpscity was out of mounts. Seems there's an issue with the torx locking screw on some mounts and they were recalled, so confirm availability on that.

Honestly I'm not sure you need the garmin maps. The OSM maps are free, routable and seem to be more detailed. I'm a noob but am using these maps so maybe I'm missing why the garmin maps are better.

What I REALLY want are the Mapquest OSM terrain (not topo) maps but I haven't found a download for them yet or if a downloadable version exists.

Thanks,
I had found the Montana FAQ. Good info. I have lots to learn.
Is the Amp Ball different from the standard Ram Ball mount? I've already got Ram Mounts on both bikes. I was hoping to just get two of the Rugged Mounts and would be good to go..
Looks like I'll order the screen cover/film also.
Thx

the AMP mount is a four screw mount so you'll need one of those with a 1" ball to use with your existing RAM mounts.
The rugged mount comes with 3 Garmin screen protectors.

Good time for me to ask, what is everyone's preference on screen protectors?
I know Drytbike Dan likes the Zagg. I grabbed some of those but am wondering if people like the Garmin protectors too.
Seems like the Zagg are not anti-glare or smudge proof, is that a big deal?


I have lots to learn too but it's pretty much all in this thread somewhere!