Garmin

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R4R May 2014 12:12pm, 6 May 2014 2,298 posts	R4R Query from me - is the battery in the 305 replaceable? Or is it worth going down the refurb route? My battery only lasts a couple of hours from full charge, so need to do something before walking holiday next month, and trekking holiday in October. On a similar subject, anyone ever used a solar charger? Any recommendations ? October trek will include camping, so no easy access to electricity supply for charging
fitzer May 2014 8:36pm, 6 May 2014 3,168 posts	fitzer I did the refurb last year it cost 75euro Slovenia price and it is still working well. I think they gave a six month guarantee. Goo quick service
jiminy cricket May 2014 9:57pm, 6 May 2014 5,093 posts	jiminy cricket My "refurb" - looked as new - arrived in less than a week. Good service.
Badger May 2014 10:32pm, 6 May 2014 4,254 posts	Badger GTC will use any Garmin maps you install to the computer - I have a Garmin GPS with lifetime maps and those show up. A free alternative is using openstreetmap maps, but I don't remember how that works well enough to give you details, sorry.
flanker May 2014 12:21pm, 7 May 2014 14,933 posts	flanker fitzer - use Fetch for your log. The maps are pretty good Garmin Connect gives similar options. Sporttracks allows the choice of Google, Bing, and many OpenSource maps. Once you downloaded initially it caches them locally so you can use it offline.
Dave D May 2014 4:58pm, 16 May 2014 250 posts	Dave D I've had a few "Low Battery" then switching off when I thought I was fully charged in the last few weeks, Is my 305 on its way out ? Its a shame but is 4/5 years old I guess
Dave D May 2014 5:02pm, 16 May 2014 251 posts	Dave D And of course, the bonus question, If the 305 gives up what do I replace it with ??
Vancouver Jogger May 2014 8:18pm, 16 May 2014 3,921 posts	Vancouver Jogger I had a similar thing a few months ago Dave D - got an app for my iPhone just in case, expecting it to die at any point, but it seems to have sorted itself out. So in answer to your (first) question - maybe / maybe not.
R4R May 2014 9:20pm, 16 May 2014 2,309 posts	R4R DD - do you use autolap by any chance? I do, and I've noticed that when I'm out on the bike, the "Low Battery" comes on within an hour, whereas when I'm running it hardly ever appears, and if I'm out walking it goes hours before appearing, so looks like it's linked somehow. Of course it should last much longer than it does, so I'll be going down the refurb route soon
Dave D May 2014 9:55pm, 16 May 2014 252 posts	Dave D Thanks both, yes I do use auto lap - interesting, wonder if it's linked. I'll keep an eye on it and Hopefully it will keep going a while longer - much like myself. Of course if. Just ran faster I wouldn't need a longer battery life