# Garmin Edge 705



## Crank Puller (Jul 23, 2007)

Anyone with this unit having issues with the battery charging status indicator on screen?
Previews on the Web screen-shots show the startup screen with an "hours of battery life remaining" statement (PIC). Garmin documentation shows a battery icon filled with blue to indicate "level of charge" or a blue lightning bolt to indicate "charging".
I am getting a large battery icon filled with either red or green both on startup and when off and plugged into the wall. Mostly its been red though.
Simple enough to deduct that green would indicate a full charge and red means battery level is not full or near spent, right? 
Well, I get this thing out of the box and plug it into the wall with the supplied AC charger and the battery indicator shows a half red battery icon. No Blue Bolt. OK. Garmin recommends charging for a minimum of 3 hours before use so I leave it in the wall for 12 hours and watched as the battery progressed from half red to half green to full green, vague but sweet.
I unplug the unit and play with it for about 5 minutes  scrolling through the menus and stuff and then plug it back up for a top off and the battery icon is full red. Red allready?
A few hours of charging later and the icon is RED. A few more and still red. I have played with the unit in between the battery checks and took it out for an hour spin and eveything else seem to work fine, uploading/downloading all that stuff. I have not seen the green battery in a couple of days with constant charging. What may be up? Is this the typical battery indicator on the 305? Thanks.


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## testtech (Jan 2, 2005)

Are you on the proper display page? That looks like the progress bar for locking into satellites. See if it fills up after a few minutes outside.


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## testtech (Jan 2, 2005)

Where did you buy your 705. I can't find them yet.


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## GEOMAN (May 30, 2006)

testtech said:


> Where did you buy your 705. I can't find them yet.


Probably at REI at full retail...

We're still waiting for our inventory.


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## Crank Puller (Jul 23, 2007)

*Opening Screen*

Yes, that is the opening screen when the unit is in the GPS ON mode. I get the top half of that screen and in place of the "15 hours of battery life remaining" there is a large battery symbol filled with whatever color block. In my case it's green if I have had it plugged in overnight and then red whenever I unplug it and turn the unit back on. 
This is in contrast to both an online preview screenshot (PIC) and in the Garmin reference guide which shows a blue battery or blue lightning bolt.
I did get this online through REI and used a 15% off coupon you can get searching the web. That saved me $98 on the bundle package in addition to a Member Dividend. Ended up being a considerable savings but, overall still a lot of money. I consider it an investment in my health. The feedback in data collected is a big motivator for me. Thats how I talked myself into a new bike as well.:thumbsup:


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## Crank Puller (Jul 23, 2007)

testtech said:


> Are you on the proper display page? That looks like the progress bar for locking into satellites. See if it fills up after a few minutes outside.


I am very impressed with the sattelite reception on the unit. When I first turned it on I was deep seated in a block building with a metal roof (Firehouse). The unit locked on location in about 20 seconds with a strong signal. I cannot talk on my cellphone from that spot. I know there is a difference. This is very promising for heavily wooded mountain biking, which I was a little worried about. My last GPS, a Garmin eTrex Legend has trouble if the face of the unit is not pointed up at blue sky.


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## ToddM (Feb 3, 2004)

I think the garmin 205/305 had battery indicator issues in that if you did not fully discharge the unit before recharging it the battery meter became "confused" in that the level indicated was not accurate. 

When I first got my 705, this was the case, I charged it overnight and the battery indicator still only showed about 50% full, yet the unit ran like 8 hours with full backlight, so it was fully charged. 

Did you do a firmware update yet? I know that had some info on trying to fix the battery meter, I have not paid enough attention to mine lately to see it it's accuracy has improved.


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## Redmon (Jan 12, 2004)

Damn I want one of those! Anyone have pics with it mounted on your bike?


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## CrankHead (Oct 20, 2007)

Make sure you update your software, there's already an update out there. You can download and install it using the Garmin WebUpdater:

Changes made from version 2.00 to 2.10:

* Updated some language translations.
* Fixed problem updating GPS with WebUpdater.
* Corrected some problems with UserProfile file. Wheel size is no longer set to 0 by default. This was causing problems with Training Center.
* Fixed problem handling courses with no distance information.
* Changed battery display on menu bar and GPS page to be red when below %15 full.
* Fixed some problems with power and cadence averaging.
* Added GPS copyright information to poweron screen.


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## Crank Puller (Jul 23, 2007)

*Software Update*

I will give the software update a go. I am running version 2.00 now. Still big red battery on startup/sattelite search at full charge and a small green battery in the menu pages. We'll see how it runs down fully. Thanks for the heads up on the update.
The unit looks big on the bars but, I think I can get used to it. I like the idea of removing the Polar speed sensor and magnet from my front fork/wheel. Kept moving around when I would take the wheel in and out, messing up the signal sometimes.


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## Crank Puller (Jul 23, 2007)

Here are two battery icon images. These two screens are a few seconds apart and after a full charge cycle. I don't know what the full red battery is supposed to be telling me. Maybe it is a software glitch. Let you know how the update goes soon. Oh yea, the screen is in night mode, explaining the black background.


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## Idshooter (Oct 27, 2006)

See If day mode fixes it


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## Crank Puller (Jul 23, 2007)

Tried it. Same same. Thanks though.


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## sikocycles (Oct 10, 2005)

GEOMAN any idea when you will be getting your shipment? Are they all spoken for?


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## Redmon (Jan 12, 2004)

Wow, I could live with that size. Now I need to free up some funds,,,,


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## Onie (Sep 15, 2005)

Brilliant! Nice new toys there! Way to go, guys! :thumbsup:

Could have been also my choice if it fits my riding application! Besides, if i want to get all physical & monitor my progress, 400 has the optional Heart Rate and Cadence sensors of the Edge series plus amongst other features suited for the outdoor nut in me. 

Still holding my breath (pun intended)  since of the waterpro0fing issues... Besides, I'm in no hurry for reasons Garmin would take months and several software revisions before all the bugs would be worked out!


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## paulrad9 (Sep 29, 2005)

ToddM said:


> I think the garmin 205/305 had battery indicator issues in that if you did not fully discharge the unit before recharging it the battery meter became "confused" in that the level indicated was not accurate.


A full discharge on any lithium ion battery, especially a new one, can dramatically shorten its lifespan. The battery gauge should become more accurate after a few cycles on the battery


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## nybike1971 (Oct 6, 2005)

Is the 705 compatible with cadence sensor and heart rate monitor from the 305?


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## ToddM (Feb 3, 2004)

Yes it is compatible with the HRM and cadence/speed sensors, same part numbers.

As to the 400T I played with one with the HR and Cadence sensors, it's okay, but the problem is as of current not only does no garmin or aftermarket software allow you to view the HR or Cadence data, but you also get no real cycling or HR functions on the unit. In that it does not record any min/max HR or Cadence, you get no HR or Cadence zones or time in zones or alarm if you fall below or above limits. As of current it also will not use the speed part of the cadence/speed sensor, so you cannot use it say indoors on the trainer like you can the edge. So unless garmin adds a lot more features to the 400 it's not really useful for cycling, at least any more so than a 60/76 series was, aside you get real time HR data. It's also unsure if the 400 will ever be supported by garmin training software, garmin told me that it would be supported by garmin connect when motionbased is combined with it (evidentially sometime in late may at best guess) but it's unsure how fitness related it will be. Worse yet the unit is near impossible to see under most lighting conditions on the bike, unless it's dark and you can use the backlight or you have direct sunshine on the screen it's pretty well unreadable. The edge 705 crushes the 400 here, it's easy to see and the backlight is super bright. The 400t also needs the ability to navigate a track both ways, right now it can only go one way, that means for an out and back trail you have to upload 2 tracks to the unit, one going each way. Add to that a host of other problems with the 400t and only time will tell.

I don't think you will see garmin add much to the 400t in the way of fitness, they would be shooting their product line in the foot, that's why they make the edge, forerunner, etc. I'd bet it's also the same reason they did not put many navigation features into the edge 705 compared to say the 400 or 60/76. Yes it has mapping and routes, but you get very little control over those functions. A big improvement over the 305 for sure, but still not a robust mapping/navigation feature set. Sadly for consumers anyway, the edge 705 is not much of a navigation tool, but a great bike computer (and it should be for $650) and the 400t is a okay at best as current navigation tool and a very poor bike computer.


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## ToddM (Feb 3, 2004)

paulrad9 said:


> A full discharge on any lithium ion battery, especially a new one, can dramatically shorten its lifespan. The battery gauge should become more accurate after a few cycles on the battery


The unit won't let you do a true full discharge is my guess, I simply meant running the unit till it turns itself off and then recharging it, which is what garmin recommends if you see erratic battery meter levels.


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## Onie (Sep 15, 2005)

Awesome! Thanks for the headsup, Todd! Keep 'em coming!


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## Lt. (Jan 15, 2004)

GEOMAN said:


> Probably at REI at full retail...
> 
> We're still waiting for our inventory.


So am I. :thumbsup:


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