New User with Random Questions!!

[opensent]

Hi everyone, I'm a new Garmin 3600 owner, and I've got some random questions I was hoping people could help me with.

First, I'm a new owner in as much as I've got a Garmin 3600 waiting for me 5,000 miles away.

I'm in the process of moving from Armenia to South Africa and will spend 20 days in The United States in between. My PC is being shipped directly to South Africa however...

I'm still in Armenia now, but my 3600 was delivered to the US a few days ago. I'll fly there in a week or two. My first question is this: If I install the South Africa City Select CD on my mom's tired, old PC, activate the map and install it on the 3600, will I have problems later on when I want to load maps from my PC? I know if the PDA is RMAed there will be problems (reactivation codes and such), but has anyone tried putting the map software on various PCs and loading to the same 3600? Is there a problem with this?

Ideally I'd like to walk off the plane in Johannesburg and fire up the GPS and have the SA maps loaded so I can find my way around. My home PC computer probably won't arrive for a few weeks after I do. But if loading the software on a random computer in this US this will cause more problems later on when I want to load it on my PC in SA, I guess I can wait it out.

Next question comming up: All the talk of the poor battery performance and loosing data has me running scared! Is there an option to power the thing off indefinatly and not loose data, or must I run from car to office to home with never more than 3-4 hours between each so I can put it on a power adaptor or docking cradle, or what not? I'm sure I'm reading a lot into some of the messages on the board, but it sounds like this thing will need lots of babying...

Ok, thanks for any help! Lots of good information here and an excellent FAQ, as a new future user, I really appreciate such info.

[apersson850]

You can load the maps from any number of computers. That's no problem.

The battery may last 3-4 hours of continous use, with GPS on. But if you don't use it constantly, the battery will last for several days.

The 3600a has a better battery capacity, that's true, but with that unit, I rarely charge it for the charging's own sake. Using it in the car now and then is usually enough to keep it alive indefinitely. At least if you don't use it much with GPS on battery power.

[opensent]

Thanks for the reply! Sounds like I won't need to worry too much about the battery then. I was going to stock up on accessories while I was home, but I won't go crazy with extra power related stuff I probably won't need.

Thanks again!

[masonb]

Originally posted by opensent
my 3600 was delivered to the US a few days ago
Just a note. South Africa uses 220 volts and the USA 110. Make sure you have the right power supply :)

[apersson850]

The Garmin charger eats just about anything you give to it. So the voltage doesn't matter.

[bamb_i]

Yeah..the charger is rated from 100v to 240v. Though you may need an adaptor to take care of the plug socket size/shape which is no biggie.

[apersson850]

If you buy an iQue in Europe, you get the charger together with adapters for different plugs.
Then Garmin has a travellers set, which include even more plugs.

[AntonyL]

The only thing you need to remember about putting the maps on different computers is to write down the unlock codes that you have from your first comuter and put them into the other computers. To see street level detail in mapsource these codes need to be inserted. Don't use your extra set of codes though!!(you use the same codes in every computer that you have. It is only if you have more than one gps that you need to activate more codes).

Good luck.

[opensent]

Glad to hear the charger accepts all voltages. As for plugs, I've got an amazing number and variety of international plugs already (along with transformers, voltage regulators, converting UPS and other assorted power paraphernalia), so I should be good there. A lot of people here in Armenia have served in Pretoria in the past, so they've provided plenty of SA specific plugs also.

Buying from Europe isn't an option.. at least not while the dollar has tanked. This was the main reason I didn't get a Quest.. 115 meg for the US version wasn't going to cut it and the 243 meg Euro version was a bit pricy after conversion. Plus, the ability to pick your own basemaps in the iQue was VERY attractive. Especially since I know I'll be in a different country in 2-3 years.

Thanks for the heads up about the maps. I'll make sure I record the unlock codes once I install in the US. Talking my Mother through finding them later on would have been a major pain to say the least.

I really appreciate all the information! Thanks everyone!

[apersson850]

Mapsource includes the ability to export all your unlock codes to a file (on a USB memory stick, for example), then import this file into another Mapsource installation. It will then merge with the codes already entered there.

Makes it easy to transfer, and backup, the codes.