Temporary Home GPS connection!

[Zagato]

Finally got my GPS and batteries are coming today. I wanted to play around with it at home. Is it really as simple as connecting it to your + - terminals on the battery. It has an inline 3amp fuse. Sounds silly but I know nothing about electrics and don't want to blow the thing up! I put in an old car wiring loom once but it was simple, already made up, just had to connect it all up!

Says the maximum input is 32Vdc whatever that is, will be using an Enduroline EXV90 battery... I'm sure it will fine but just wanted to check. Your also meant to connect and disconnect the negative lead first I think as on cars.....maybe! I'll just tape the wires on the terminals for now.

 

[sailorman]

yes fused hook up is fine

Finally got my GPS and batteries are coming today. I wanted to play around with it at home. Is it really as simple as connecting it to your + - terminals on the battery. It has an inline 3amp fuse. Sounds silly but I know nothing about electrics and don't want to blow the thing up! I put in an old car wiring loom once but it was simple, already made up, just had to connect it all up!

Says the maximum input is 32Vdc whatever that is, will be using an Enduroline EXV90 battery... I'm sure it will fine but just wanted to check. Your also meant to connect and disconnect the negative lead first I think as on cars.....maybe! I'll just tape the wires on the terminals for now.

 

[Zagato]

Thanks mate, just being overly cautious I've got a little motorbike battery so can plug waypoints in at home I suppose, although it's probably warmer on the boat. I'm off to work, too cold in the house, can't stop shivering even with a coat on, the lengths you go to, to save meoney to fund boats and buy gadgets in the first place!!

 

[VicMallows]

I've got a little motorbike battery !

Are motorbike batteries 12 volt these days? .... they were always 6 volt in my biking days

 

[sailorman]

didnt you have carbide lamps in your day

Are motorbike batteries 12 volt these days? .... they were always 6 volt in my biking days

 

[VicMallows]

didnt you have carbide lamps in your day

Not me personally - even as a child I was always at the cutting edge of technology <grin>. However, yes, they were still in use on bicycles in the 1950's.

In small private (safe) mines in South Wales some miners still preferred carbide lamps to battery lamps into the late 1960's

 

[VicS]

Finally got my GPS and batteries are coming today. I wanted to play around with it at home. Is it really as simple as connecting it to your + - terminals on the battery. It has an inline 3amp fuse. Sounds silly but I know nothing about electrics and don't want to blow the thing up! I put in an old car wiring loom once but it was simple, already made up, just had to connect it all up!

Says the maximum input is 32Vdc whatever that is, will be using an Enduroline EXV90 battery... I'm sure it will fine but just wanted to check. Your also meant to connect and disconnect the negative lead first I think as on cars.....maybe! I'll just tape the wires on the terminals for now.

Any small 12 volt battery will be fine to use to try the GPS at home. "maximum input is 32Vdc " means it can be run off a DC supply upto a maximum 32 volts ... basically the same unit will be suitable for 24 volt systems!

Connect to + and - terminals On cars you connect the positive first and when you disconnect you disconnect the negative first. That's so that if you short a terminal to the body work with the spanner you can do no harm. Not really relevant to connecting your GPS .

Motor cycle battery will be fine if its is a 12 volt, not 6 volt, one.

What model is the GPS ?

 

[lustyd]

Maplin have a 12v transformer plug pretty cheap which is what I use at home.

 

[Zagato]

What model is the GPS ?

It's a Garmin 551s VicS. A friend has a 441s in his Shrimper which I played with a while ago and it looked just the job. I went for the bigger screen as I sit further back than him and it's fine from 5' away, can see everything clearly, the only negative about it which I remember others have said on here is that when you pan out (and not by much) you lose a lot of detail, navigation buoys etc. I will always have a chart beside me so it's not too much of a bother but it could be better!

Thanks for the battery connecting routine. + on - off. I put it straight on to the boat battery at home.