Garmin Montana 650t Aussie Users

[El Ponkin]

No the sammich box is going, its very sad, I can screw the amps mount straight to the dashboard but I will need to figure out a mount for the UHF, I want to upgrade the UHF to a car type unit but can't afford it for a while.
Andy

[icebergstu]

Well I did my first ride with the Garmin Montana 650t on the weekend and what a waste of time even taking it on the bike.

The first little bump it went over, it just turned off and re-started again.

This went on for the first 5klm of riding so I turned it off and left it off.

Obviously was not ment for dirt bike riding...maybe smooth dirt roads only. I have not done anything to the unit besides mounting it. I have not modified the battery or anything.

Heres the vid.

[boneman660]

Originally Posted by icebergstu

Well I did my first ride with the Garmin Montana 650t on the weekend and what a waste of time even taking it on the bike.

The first little bump it went over, it just turned off and re-started again.

This went on for the first 5klm of riding so I turned it off and left it off.

Obviously was not ment for dirt bike riding...maybe smooth dirt roads only. I have not done anything to the unit besides mounting it. I have not modified the battery or anything.

Heres the vid.

I had the same problem with mine. my solution was to place 4 strips of insulation tape on the back of the battery to hold the connections tight.

Some blokes are using a foam ear plug instead. That will fix it. Boneman

[icebergstu]

Originally Posted by boneman660

I had the same problem with mine. my solution was to place 4 strips of insulation tape on the back of the battery to hold the connections tight.

Some blokes are using a foam ear plug instead. That will fix it. Boneman

So do you put the ear plug/insulation tape on the battery and close the lid so that it pushes the battery into place?

Does this effect the moisture seals?

Stu

[boneman660]

Mate, I called the retailer (GPSOz) & told them about the problem. The guy I was talking to must have looked it up on his computer via the Garmin Knowledge Base. It was a known problem with the Montana, and he suggested that I connect up the power cable (which I still haven't done) or put some tape on the battery.

The seal didn't seem affected, and there has been no dust ingress into the battery compartment. Can't offer any advice on the earplug solution...

Tape solution solved the shorting out problem.

Good luck..

[sierra_victor]

Originally Posted by boneman660

Mate, I called the retailer (GPSOz) & told them about the problem. The guy I was talking to must have looked it up on his computer via the Garmin Knowledge Base. It was a known problem with the Montana, and he suggested that I connect up the power cable (which I still haven't done) or put some tape on the battery.

The seal didn't seem affected, and there has been no dust ingress into the battery compartment. Can't offer any advice on the earplug solution...

Tape solution solved the shorting out problem.

Good luck..

This will work..

Salty.

[icebergstu]

Originally Posted by sierra_victor

This will work..

Salty.

Thanks for the photo.

Has anyone used the AA batteries to power the unit yet? What was the battery life like?

Stu

[El Ponkin]

Got City Navigator mapping so now I have set it up the way I wanted so it is really two machines in one replacing my old Aldi road GPS and Garmin 60 CSX.
I have set up two profiles:

The bike one opens up Oz Topo mapping and the menu has shortcuts to tracks, track manager, compass, tripmeter (with big symbols) and Profile change.
The car one opens up City Navigator mapping in the Nuvi display mode with Menu shortcuts to Where to, mark waypoint, trip meter (standard) and Profile change.

Allows me to navigate on tarmac to the start of a ride in Car profile and then select profile change to Bike profile, select a track file and hit the dirt.

This thing rocks.
Andy

[icebergstu]

Originally Posted by El Ponkin

Got City Navigator mapping so now I have set it up the way I wanted so it is really two machines in one replacing my old Aldi road GPS and Garmin 60 CSX.
I have set up two profiles:

The bike one opens up Oz Topo mapping and the menu has shortcuts to tracks, track manager, compass, tripmeter (with big symbols) and Profile change.
The car one opens up City Navigator mapping in the Nuvi display mode with Menu shortcuts to Where to, mark waypoint, trip meter (standard) and Profile change.

Allows me to navigate on tarmac to the start of a ride in Car profile and then select profile change to Bike profile, select a track file and hit the dirt.

This thing rocks.
Andy

Yeah this is what I have done too.

I have been using a Nuvi for the last few years for the car so know the things back the front. Great to just switch over to (ADV) as I call it and start layin down tracks.

The profliles are excellent!!!

Stu

[El Ponkin]

All fitted now and hard wired to a switched supply, its great just having it fire up with the bike and shutdown when you turn off the bike, First test ride today.



Andy

[Emmbeedee]

Originally Posted by El Ponkin

Allows me to navigate on tarmac to the start of a ride in Car profile and then select profile change to Bike profile, select a track file and hit the dirt.

Don't forget to create shortcuts to those profiles then you can just hit the shortcut, and voila, it's a whole different gps! I have multiple shortcuts to a profile for each mapset, making it easy to switch from a Nuvi like automotive setup to a Topo map with datafields, to an OSM profile, to a Geocaching profile. It's a great gps!

[El Ponkin]

Already set up the profile change shortcuts and yes it is superb changing everything on the fly, mapset and display frikken awesome. Went bush riding today and it didn't miss a beat,
Andy

[boneman660]

Went for a ride to Noosa North Shore on the weekend. Thanks Andy for the gpx files.

Was using the replacement 650t on it's first proper trip. Ended up having to use the tape & earplug trick on the way up to stop it switching off. As we were camping I was unable to recharge it, so switched to AAs on the way home. That's the first time I've had to do that. BUT, it still switched itself off at seemingly random times on the AAs.

Do I have another faulty unit? Do I need to use padding (earplugs) for the AAs as well?

Does hardwiring it in solve the switching off problems?

I really want to like the Montana, when it's working it's great but when it switches itself off in the bush it's a pain in the arse.

Appreciate your help.

Boneman

[stevepsd]

Originally Posted by boneman660

Went for a ride to Noosa North Shore on the weekend. Thanks Andy for the gpx files.

Was using the replacement 650t on it's first proper trip. Ended up having to use the tape & earplug trick on the way up to stop it switching off. As we were camping I was unable to recharge it, so switched to AAs on the way home. That's the first time I've had to do that. BUT, it still switched itself off at seemingly random times on the AAs.

Do I have another faulty unit? Do I need to use padding (earplugs) for the AAs as well?

Does hardwiring it in solve the switching off problems?

I really want to like the Montana, when it's working it's great but when it switches itself off in the bush it's a pain in the arse.

Appreciate your help.

Boneman

Yep you need the earplug trick for either battery......even when using it hardwired.

[boneman660]

Thanks Steve,

So even when I get the unit hardwired in, it will still need the earplugs in the battery compartment?

If that will stop the switching off, that's cool!

There is no chance of the water tightness of the unit being compromised? Affecting Garmin warranty?