9606

I've read misc threads out there and have posted over in Electronics, Gadgets, etc. All I read about is pin 4 & 5 being GND, OTG, and other complicated stuff.
All I want is an Amazon part #(s), or Gomadic, for the cable (and adapter?) to allow my Edge 500 to record and charge (from my hub) simultaneously.
Can one of you electrical engineer cyclist please point me in the right direction.
Many thanks -

unterhausen

I will admit to being confused about the 500 cable, mostly because I have an 800. Hopefully someone will help you with that. Have you tried to do this? My (admittedly faulty) understanding is the charging thing isn't just a cable, it's a firmware issue. Strangely, when I search for this, I get threads about the 800 not charging/recording simultaneously. There was a firmware fix for the 800. In fact, when I plug in a battery it turns it on and starts looking for satellites, which I find annoying

One thing I have to say though, the Garmins don't work that great with hubs unless you climb a lot faster than I do. The solution I have is to charge a battery and use another battery to power the Garmin. I haven't tested that, because if you are on a long enough ride to need more than one battery, there usually is a drop bag to carry them. And you can get a battery that will power an 800 for 20 hours for less than $10. BTW, this is the one I have:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
There are others, this charges via a micro usb port like my phone.

LastKraftWagen

Don't think the Edge 500 will run and charge at the same time. Unless someone has figured a work-around, I was told by Garmin that this wouldn't work, and my 500 with the latest firmware still "shuts down" and logs the last ride to memory. If it will work on yours, or rather you figure out how to get it to work, as stated above you will be better off running your dynamo to a battery and charging your GPS off the battery...Or ride really really fast. Don't know about the Edge units, but my ForeRunner 310XT will drain really quickly if it isn't getting enough power to charge (like if I accidently unplug the charger but leave the cable attached).

Otherwise, there was a BF thread (I'm pretty sure it was herein) discussing gadget charging, either in this forum or the Touring forum. Hopefully the poster with the cool gadget charging setup will chime in. I know there are dynamo hub to USB connectors.

Another option, one I use on multi-day trips, is a small "solar" battery charger. The one I have can be plugged in before hand to fully charge the storage batteries. Mine will fully charge my iPhone from dead twice, and I can usually keep enough charge in both my 500 and 310XT to run for a few days. You could simply top off the Edge at each sleep stop, but again this may reset your trip each time.

Good luck, hope it works.

9606

Sent an email to Gomadic.
They replied very quickly and suggested their SCR-3864. Sounded to good to be true so I sent them a reply making sure they knew what I wanted. Another quick reply by them.
Just ordered it on Amazon.
I love spending money with outfits that have the right stuff and treat you as a valued customer.

unterhausen

let us know if it works.

Steamer

Don't worry. It sure sounds like you are on the right track, and getting the product from them that I did. It works (i.e. allows simultaneous use and charging).

hamster

Don't know about 500, but my 800 can run and charge just fine, using a standard USB cable and an external battery similar to the one linked by unterhausen above.

unterhausen

I know Steamer has charged his 500 while navigating. Unfortunately, when he gets really tired he starts ignoring it when it tells him he's off course. Don't want to talk about how I know this

krobinson103

The modded cable works great. Its not a huge change (one extra wire grounded). Friend has a 500, Its a bit old and the battery is getting tired. Using the cable and a simple $2 aa usb charger the garmin will run... forever.

joewein

The 500 is quite different from the 800 with regards to simultaneous charging. The 800 will happily record while charging provided you have the right firmware. The 500 will only record while charging with a host mode cable (USB OTG cable), such as the Gomadic.

There are a couple of other cables that will work. When I was still using the Edge 500 I made my own charging cable using a mini USB OTG adapter (see blog post here). These days I use a Navi2Coach GPS, for which recording while charging is a software-configurable option, plus you can change the battery while the GPS is running on USB power. This is much more elegant than with the Edge 500.

Steamer

Heh. I was not trusting it because I thought the team captain had revised the route several times the day before the ride, after I had already downloaded the course, and they were false alarms.

The course is good to go for this year, right? By now you should know it well and be able to lead the way.... I'll even leave the Garmin at home.

unterhausen

not sure about that idea, might change the route. And I like the nice, reassuring beep saying I made the right turn

BTW, the part of the route we missed on that edition sucks big time. When we got lost it actually made it better. Have to think about the implications of that

9606

The Gomadic cable worked super. 100+ miles today and no problems. A great item.
One minor beef - both the Edge 500 and the Luxos U usb port open to the bottom so both ends of the cable hang down. Add the (small) weight of the cable sprial case and I wonder if a cable end will come loose after a longer ride and rougher road surface.
I may have to figure a way to attach the case to the headtube.

VN7

I used a Gomadic EBC2-3864 to bail out my 500 in the late hours of a 400K last weekend. At $20 plus 2 AA batteries, it was an excellent investment. If they say they have a cable for your hub generator, that would be worth a try as well.

joewein

My mini USB cable popped out of the Garmin Edge 500 USB on several occasions. Road vibrations do that and it's worse the longer and heavier the cable is.

I solved the problem by attaching 2 thin rubber bands to the cable and looping them around the holder when the Edge is mounted. They provide enough up-force to keep the cable firmly seated in the port.

9606

Thanks Joe, I will try that.

seajaye

glad to hear it worked well. i have a gomadic AA charger for my edge 500, but working on a new dynamo set up, and adding in USB charging would be a nice touch.