Need Advice! - Garmin 2820 w/ broken USB

[Avenger]

OK, I'm no Adventure Rider (ST 1100), but this forum appears to have the most knowledgable folks with repects to the Garmin 2820. I purchased a unit off of Ebay back in March and it appeared to work fine. In June I decided to get an XM Radio subscription and when I tried to activate I got a "check XM antenna" error message (the unit recognized that I was plugging and unplugging the antenna) and could not get to the XM screen on the unit. The unit did not come w/ a power convertor so I finally purchased one and when I tried to connect to my home computer I realized that the mini USB jack must be bad because the computer would not recognize the unit. The bluetooth feature appears to work fine. The USB cable does to appear to be looser than it should be but I cannot detect any wiggle from the USB jack itself. It was too late to try for any resolution through Ebay or PayPal. I have a couple of questions:

• Does the unit connect to a PC through a standard USB Type A plug/5 pin mini USB Type B cable or is a Garmin cable required?
• Garmin will do a out-of-warranty repair a 2820 for a flat $170 no matter what is wrong with it and warranty for 90 days. Should I do this or shop for someone who will quote just the USB repair since I am pretty sure that is all thats wrong?
• Has anyone devised or found an adapter plug or pigtail that can be left in the jack to protect the unit jack from the constant plugging and unplugging when switching from GXM30 and USB cable when storing music, etc?

Thanks in advance,
Avenger in Greenwell Springs, LA.

[pbansen]

Sorta depends on how much you paid for it, but I think I'd go for the 'repair by Garmin' option. When I've done this, they sent me a unit that was either brand new or had been refurbed so completely that it was essentially a new unit.

I suspect that taking it to someone else to simply have the USB connector repaired would be an exercise in frustration. For the USB connector to be loose, something must be broken and since the USB connector probably mounts directly to a printed circuit board, probably what is broken is the circuit board, which is not gonna be fixable, except by Garmin.

It's too bad, but the 2820 is a great unit and if you got it for a bargain, another $170 to have an essentially brand new unit is still not a bad deal.

Oh - as far as I know, the computer cable is a standard Type A to Type B as you describe.

Good luck, in any case!

[Avenger]

Thanks pbansen. I probably didn't make myself clear, the USB jack is not loose but the connection of any cable I try is loose in the jack. I paid $290 (shipping incl.) for the 2820, GXM30 and RAM windshield mount. It has 2008 maps. I also bought a new Autocom Active-Rider duo system but have not bought the adapter for the 2820 yet.

[pbansen]

Originally Posted by Avenger

Thanks pbansen. I probably didn't make myself clear, the USB jack is not loose but the connection of any cable I try is loose in the jack. I paid $290 (shipping incl.) for the 2820, GXM30 and RAM windshield mount. It has 2008 maps. I also bought a new Autocom Active-Rider duo system but have not bought the adapter for the 2820 yet.

Ah. What could have happened is that a cable was plugged into the mini-USB jack and it got dropped or bumped by something so the shell of the USB jack is slightly spread and the pins are out of register between the jack and whatever kind of cable is plugged in to it.

Seems most prudent to me to let Garmin repair it. I don't know the going rate for 2820's, but you'll basically end up with a brand new one and between all of the stuff you got, that seems like a good deal to me.

I have a 2730 and a 2720 (and a handful of other, older models) and have been very impressed with Garmin's customer service each time I've had occasion to use it. They do a great job.

[rexbro]

I don't know if the 2820 is the same construction as a 2610 but I was able to repair the USB port on my 2610.
Here is a link to my repair:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419683

[pbansen]

Wow - excellent pictures and description of the project! For the tiny little solder tabs, you might want to find a friend who has a soldering station with variable temperature and some very small tips. With the right tip and temperature, that should be the easiest part of the job.

Pete Bansen
Truckee, California

[Avenger]

Rexbro, that is some cool work! I know someone who might be able to help me on this one. I might even spring for a new USB jack if I can find a place that sells them in packs less than 100. I have an old TT500D that is not running my buddy has been bugging me for. Might have to let it go for this one. He's helped me before. Does anyone know where the USB board shown in the pictures might be purchased? Would Garmin sell to an individual?

Avenger
Greenwell Springs, LA

[pbansen]

Originally Posted by Avenger

Rexbro, that is some cool work! I know someone who might be able to help me on this one. I might even spring for a new USB jack if I can find a place that sells them in packs less than 100. I have an old TT500D that is not running my buddy has been bugging me for. Might have to let it go for this one. He's helped me before. Does anyone know where the USB board shown in the pictures might be purchased? Would Garmin sell to an individual?

You mean just buy the assembled USB board and swap it out? That might solve the problem, but I doubt that Garmin would sell that component loose. If you're brave enough to open the unit and take a look around like Rexbro did, you may be able to determine if the USB port has a broken solder connection between the socket shell and the circuit board - that seems the most likely failure mode, based on Rexbro's pictures. That should be pretty simple to resolder with reasonable care and a small tip. If not, you can always button the thing back up and send it to Garmin almong with $170...

[rexbro]

Take it apart and see if you can fix it yourself before spending the cash for Garmin to do it. Unit is already out of warranty so you have nothing to lose by trying.

[Avenger]

Thanks for the encouragement Rexbro. I think I might just do that. Garmin will not sell parts to individuals but I did locate a company called PDASmart in Austin, TX who quoted me $55 plus shipping based on my description by email. They have pretty low customer rating though but you also have to consider how many people take the time to write a favorable review compared to number of disgruntled customers who will post. I probably take my chances first and do some exploring.

Avenger
Greenwell Springs, LA
'91 Honda ST 1100
'78 Yamaha XS 650 std.

[Avenger]

Well, I just fixed it! Easiest case I ever opened. I removed the USB board (similar construction to 2610) and found the solder joints to look OK visually. I then inspected the "feet" on the back of the board and found one slightly out of parallel w/ the others. I alligned them all and canted them upward ever so slightly. I also tightened the friction on the USB receiver by bending the three fingers in slightly. I then reassembled and was able to connect to PC. I then tried the GXM30 and it connected too, although it was too late to work out the activation kinks w/ XM Support. Will do tomorrow. Thanks Rexbro and Pete. I would guess that there are other Streetpilot 2xxx's out there that could probably benefit from the same procedure. It also a shame that the boards can't be purchased outright. Probably could fix a lot of units w/ those.

Avenger
Greenwell Springs, LA

[rexbro]

Sounds like it was an easy repair and saved yourself $170 too!