| Author | Message | ||
     Babired |
Need some help... I have a Quest 2 with Garmin motorcycle mount and the long power cord that hooks up to the power adapter in the car, this has the speaker for voice directions. I want to hook up the GPS to my Ulysses. Does Buell GPS kit come with a shorter cord (without the speaker) so I can hook it up to the power outlet on the dash of the ULY? Kathy | ||
| Reepicheep |
I am familiar with the Quest, but not the motorcycle adapter. Is it just a cord with bare copper on one end? Or does it have the cigarette lighter adapter? That car adapter does not look weatherproof to me... I would not use it on the bike. I believe the Garmin motorcycle kit includes a 5v regulator... If it does not, you will need one of those as well. Thats a fairly easy to solve problem. | ||
| Gotj |
"I believe the Garmin motorcycle kit includes a 5v regulator... If it does not, you will need one of those" The Garmin kit does not come with a 5v regulator. It's not needed. Where did that idea come from anyway, Reeps? Below is a link to a HD motorcycle mount which has the power cord you describe. My 2610 Garmin motorcycle mount kit came with leads to hard wire it to the bike with the other end being the unit's power plug and a speaker plug. You may have to get a complete Garmin motorcycle mount kit just to get that cord. http://search.ebayexpress.com/ps/_Motorcycle-Parts -Accessories__garmin-motorcycle-mount_W0QQ_nkwZgar minQ20motorcycleQ20mountQQ_fxdZ1QQ_ipgZ90 | ||
| Reepicheep |
Maybe the 2610 can run off of 13.8 volts un-regulated, many Garmins can. The Quest however needs 5v regulated. Hook it up without a regulator, and I believe you will let the magic smoke out. The garmin site for the Quest makes this pretty hard to figure out, when they quote the "voltage range", they are talking about the voltage range the car adapter can handle, not the range the unit itself can use. I cut up my AC adapter and used that connector to go into the RAM mount ($9), and built my own 5v regulator (easy if you are into that sort of thing). I'll be happy to build Kathy one as well, though she might have an old cell phone adapter laying around that would get her up and running sooner. I think the Garmin Quest motorcycle adapter *does* have the 5v regulator built into it, which makes it a little more reasonable for them to charge $70. You get the fussy little adapter, the mounting bracket, and the 5v regulator. If you get the RAM mounts, you have to work out the rest yourself. That being said, I have a Quest hard wired to get power from the 9sx, which is nice, but for the KLR-250 I am just getting another mount to bolt on, and I am not going to bother to power it. It'll go 10 hours+ on a charge, even auto routing, with no problem. Thats longer then my 40 year old butt will ever tolerate a KLR-250 seat... | ||
| Jackbequick |
Short answers: 1 - The Quest and Quest II need a stable, regulated, 5V input. 12V will probably kill the Quest. Check page 2 of the detailed specs here: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/assets/pdfs/spec s/quest2_spec.pdf 2 - Gotj - The item you linked to there is the auto mount for the Quest, it has a DC-DC (12V to 5V) inverter built into it. That is probably why it costs about twice as much as the similar car mount kits for any of the Garmin receivers that can take the full, unregulated, "9-35V" or "12V/24V" input. Garmin does describe the Quests as taking a 12V/24V input in the user's manuals but they fail to point out that, for the Quest, the voltage is dropped and regulated before it gets to the Quest. Jack | ||
| Jackbequick |
Kathy, The mount you describe as having, with the cable with the DC plug/speaker, is probably the auto mount. The motorcycle mount kit has some different parts as seen here: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=1228 Note the "fine print" at the link above, a motorcycle mount kit does not include anything for doing the actual mounting on a motorcycle. The Garmin motorcycle mount kit provides you a different "unit bracket" with a cord with a jack so you can take the audio to a helmet or communications system. And it also has a power cable with bare wire leads (eliminating the speaker) so it can be hardwired into a bike's electrical system. So with the different "unit bracket" and the small plate seen to the right of it, I think the concept is that the unit bracket mounts to that small plate. And that the small plate is the piece you have to get mounted onto a motorcycle with a third party mount. But Garmin provides no further guidance or advice in the user's manuals or anywhere that I have ever heard about for actually getting the Quest and other pieces mounted on a bike. RAM Mounts does sell a complete mount for the Quest. You can see all the RAM Mounts options for mounting the Quest here at this gpscity.com page: http://www.gpscity.com/garmin-mounts/f=quest/p_all It is actually easier to figure out your mounting options from the gpscity page than it is from the RAM Mounts web pages. Note item 2 there, the "RAM Mount Quest Power and Audio Cable". That device is more than a cable, it includes a box with a DC-DC power inverter that converts the bike's 12V input to the 5V input that the Quest needs and that I mentioned in the post above. So to use a RAM Mount, you need only your Quest receiver, all the other parts would come from RAM. For example, this is a complete handlebar mount if that is the mount you want: http://www.gpscity.com/item-ram-mount-power-and-au dio-cradle-for-garmin-quest/ramb149zqp1.htm Other options are available and you can buy the pieces (cradle, power/audio cable, etc.) in various combinations as seen in the list above, or even as single items, to meet about any mount situation. Cheap? No. Good? Yes, without a doubt! I have RAM mounts for my Garmin 2610 and 76Cx and have not seen anything else that would work as well. Rock solid, quick on and off, simply as good as you can get. The Quest is unusual in that is apparently the only Garmin GPS that has an external DC-DC adapter built into an intermediate mount and needs a 5V input. The fact that nearly all the other Garmin GPS receivers will take a 9-35VDC or 12/24VDC input, and also use similar appearing accessories, seems to create some confusion. Jack | ||
| Gotj |
Jack and Reeps, Thanks for the education on the Quests. Really weird if you ask me but they didn't. From now on I'll stick to 26XX and Zumo stuff. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Fairly full mounting write up here: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/243147.html?1164982165 It sounds worse then it is... I'll be happy to throw together a free 5v regulator you can wire inline for the install Kathy, just PM me a shipping address. I have parts left over from other projects. | ||
| Babired |
wow thanks guys! I can almost compare this to when I did motorcycle chain 101 on my old Seca II a long time ago. Thinking it would be simple. Had no idea about the voltage difference. I have this  and was hoping for a shorter power cord without the speaker, instead of hard wiring it. This is the braket I use, I have used my quest 2 on battery power in this bracket you can get these for 7 bucks  I don't think my Quest 2 is waterproof either. I love using it when I'm traveling. It looks like Jack has the best idea with......... Note item 2 there, the "RAM Mount Quest Power and Audio Cable". That device is more than a cable, it includes a box with a DC-DC power inverter that converts the bike's 12V input to the 5V input that the Quest needs and that I mentioned in the post above. Thank you for your help I'll tell you all what the outcome is. Reep Thanks for the offer on free stuff let me see what can do and I'll get back to you. K | ||
| Jackbequick |
I had not seen Reep's reply when I basically duplicated it above. My bad on that. Gotj - The Quest seems to be the one exception to the rule on Garmins as far as needing 5V power. On every other model I encountered, they will take a 9-35VDC input and sort it all out internally. Kathy - ".. I don't think my Quest 2 is waterproof either..." The Quests *are* waterproof, to the very good IPX7 specs too. You can read all about it on page two of this document: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/assets/pdfs/spec s/quest2_spec.pdf I've never figured it out, is the DC-DC inverter for the Quest built into that "unit bracket" that it snaps into? Or is is it inside the speaker housing on the auto mounts? If the DC-DC inverter is inside the unit bracket, you may be able to just cut the DC plug/speaker off the end of that cable, safe the audio wires to prevent shorts, and wire the power wires into the motorcycle 12V system. That still leaves you looking for a way to get it mounted on the bike but it would save you the cost of the most expensive piece in the RAM setup. I heard that the $7 bracket leaves a lot to be desired for use on bicycles and motorcycles. All plastic and not very ridgid or durable were the reports I read. The RAM mounts are very modular, if the upper part on the setup seen in the following link (the diamond shaped piece with the ball on it) can be attached to the back of your unit bracket (through bolted, screwed on, expoxied on, etc.) then that would be a mount you could use if you find you can cut the cable the mount you have a wire it in. http://www.ram-mount.com/ramwebcompthumb/ramb149za .jpg That is the mount I am using on my FXD. A cradle is attached to the top part and the 2610 or 76Cx snaps in and out of the cradle. I could care less about losing/not having the audible navigation prompts from the Quest. That is a frill, and not that essential to me. Jack (Message edited by jackbequick on December 11, 2007) | ||
| Reepicheep |
I just bought two of the RAM brand mounts (no wiring) from gpscity, already have a third one on the XB9SX. You can see them in the writeup I linked above. They are $9, and work *great*. Much better looking design then the garmin model above. THe bolts line up with the rest of the RAM components if you want to use those, but I just fabricated a simple metal bracket and bolted it to a mirror hole. Having done all the work on my XB9SX to run power to the Quest (for he serious road trips), I am not going to bother with the KLR, I'll just run off battery. I didn't realize how long the Quest batteries were good for until recently. I wouldn't hesitate to drop my Quest in a full bucket of water. I've had it apart, they didn't mess around. |
