# Garmin Edge 705 Battery Question



## Grim (Aug 18, 2008)

Hello all,

This is my first post here. 

After getting lost in a forrest a couple of times too many I am considerring purchasing a Garmin Edge 705 but will have to do it over the net as no retailer I know of seems to stock it.

I was wondering if anyone could comment on:
- type of battery that it uses i.e. is it a special Garmin battery, is it removable and is it possible to purchase spares?
- how long does the battery last? anywhere near the 15h time quoted by Garmin?
- is the unit on all the time when out and about and is the screen always backlit?

Thanks for your help

Grim


----------



## Resist (Aug 13, 2008)

I just purchased the 705. The battery is not removable (think like an iPod here). The screen backlight is user adjustable.


----------



## Grim (Aug 18, 2008)

Thanks Resist, any ideas how long the battery has been lasting you? 

Is the fact that its not replaceable really a limitation?


----------



## Resist (Aug 13, 2008)

Just got mine a few days ago, but depending on whether you have GPS and backlighting on I'm sure a solid 10 hours is realistic. Garmin says 15 hours, but as with all products we know the actual times are less. I am reading though that the battery should last long enough for a full days ride. There are also aftermarket battery extenders you can get if recharging is not an option.


----------



## endurofit (Aug 3, 2005)

*battery extender*

there was a thread on here last week or so for the Energizer 2 GO battery extender. My Garmin has been running low on battery life (it was a refurbished warranty replacement) and was only lasting about 8 hrs max. I plugged in the 2 Energizer lithium batteries and it fully charged my batteries while plugged in over ~3hrs. It was great for the SM100 this past weekend and I'll keep using it for really long days on the bike. Plus I carried a couple of extra batteries since they are extremely light. I duct taped the battery pack to my stem next to the Garmin. Not much on water resistance but I'm sure it could be rigged one way or another.

Brent


----------



## Grim (Aug 18, 2008)

Thanks for the useful replies. Battery extender is a great option. 

I think I will skip the 305 as I really want something that is great with TOPO and OS maps in the UK. While the 705 can use OS maps these are nowhere near as detailed as what is available from Memory Map in the UK.

I may have to settle for a trainer GPS and a mapping one. Looks like there is lack of an all in one product.


----------



## GEOMAN (May 30, 2006)

Grim said:


> Thanks for the useful replies. Battery extender is a great option.
> 
> I think I will skip the 305 as I really want something that is great with TOPO and OS maps in the UK. While the 705 can use OS maps these are nowhere near as detailed as what is available from Memory Map in the UK.
> 
> I may have to settle for a trainer GPS and a mapping one. Looks like there is lack of an all in one product.


I ran the Garmin Vista HCx and the Edge 305 together for many months. It was a fine setup but I've found my 705 to effectively replace both in a single unit. I love the 705, FWIW.


----------



## Grim (Aug 18, 2008)

GEOMAN said:


> I ran the Garmin Vista HCx and the Edge 305 together for many months. It was a fine setup but I've found my 705 to effectively replace both in a single unit. I love the 705, FWIW.


Yeah I can see how the 705 combines those two but it cannot accomodate the very detailed OS maps used in the UK.


----------



## bear (Feb 3, 2004)

Grim said:


> Yeah I can see how the 705 combines those two but it cannot accomodate the very detailed OS maps used in the UK.


why not? the screen is better than my GPSMAP60CSx, and it uses the same maps.

I've so far gotten up to 12 hrs on my Edge 705, with topomap on display, and intermittent use, but not much backlight use (it *was* a daytime ride).


----------



## Mr_Bones (May 1, 2008)

*solar add-on?*

I would think that someone would make a small solar powered trickle charger that would enable you to re-charge if you are out on the trail for more than a couple of days at a time... :thumbsup:

I am pretty sure that they make them for cell phones and laptops...


----------



## Grim (Aug 18, 2008)

bear said:


> why not? the screen is better than my GPSMAP60CSx, and it uses the same maps.
> 
> I've so far gotten up to 12 hrs on my Edge 705, with topomap on display, and intermittent use, but not much backlight use (it *was* a daytime ride).


Well the mapping that I was interested in is very detailed. The only "rugged" device that I've seen is this http://www.satmap.com ... the detail and functionality seems way ahead of the UK Topo maps thats I've seen on the net, although admitedly the maps are pricy.


----------



## bear (Feb 3, 2004)

Grim said:


> Well the mapping that I was interested in is very detailed. The only "rugged" device that I've seen is this http://www.satmap.com ... the detail and functionality seems way ahead of the UK Topo maps thats I've seen on the net, although admitedly the maps are pricy.


gotcha.

it's not a device limitation, it's a availability-of-data limitation.

I know what you mean, I want better 1:24,000 scale coverage of USA areas, and they're either not available from Garmin or overly pricey for what they provide.

Thankfully, there's a ground-swell of community-contribution maps that are starting to come about that are completely MapSource and device friendly, all based upon publicly avilable data (US Geologic Survey, etc.). So at least for my wants and needs it seems like I will be okay.

I think I've seen related work coming about for the UK, but I don't track the details as the likelihood of me being there to take advantage of it is sadly low for the forseeable time.


----------



## Maadjurguer (Mar 22, 2008)

I'd love to see a 1:10k or even a 1:7500....the later is just a pipe dream for other than urban areas, but I believe the USGS has a few 10k topos out there...but again, believe they are terribly limited in coverage and obviously not in a vector format for ingest into the Garmin units. Would take a lot of massaging of the data via a GIS to get the sucker into the unit.

While I'm on the subject, a lot of the municipalities around here in the desert SW contract out LIDAR mapping for flood control projects (they're making very high resolution DEM's - 1 ft contours in some places). Since we ride in a lot of the environs which are mapped, it would be wonderful to be able to access this data....since it is payed for by the tax payers. Anyone heard of the sharing of this info?


----------



## Tony (Jan 20, 2004)

So far the battery life exceeds my expectations.

My Edge 705 has lasted 18 hours on the battery with no use of backlight. I only rode about 6 hours during this time, so if there is additional battery drain when using HR and Cadence, that could drop it back to the 15-17 hour rating.


----------



## mrm1 (Apr 22, 2007)

Tony said:


> So far the battery life exceeds my expectations.


Wish I could say the same about my 305. Got it on Wed and did the 3 hr recommended charge (per instructions). It was complete. Road for 15 minutes that night, got up and road another 30 the next day. Downloaded the data to Sport Tracks and left the Edge on the PC until charge complete. Went out today to ride and when powered up it said low battery :skep: .... lasted about 5 minutes and went out.

Did I do something wrong. Or do I have a bad battery?


----------



## GEOMAN (May 30, 2006)

Don't know. Time will tell. I've had the same thing happen to me too but I think it was user error. After loading your data to Sport Tracks and charging via the PC, did you power down your Edge and disconnect?

You may find that it works just fine next time. Frankly, I doubt you have a bad battery.

Just for grins, recharge using the AC charger for a couple of "ride cycles" and see if you can recreate the problem. 

Good luck and let us know how it goes for you.


----------



## mrm1 (Apr 22, 2007)

Thanks GeoMan. Definately either User Error (most likely) or a bad connection to the PC USB. I charged it all night long last night via the power chord. I read on another thread that slocaus noted having a good experience charging the Edge while leaving it turned on. So Tried that. Powered it up this AM at 7:00 and by 12:30 it had only lost 2 bars or 1/2 charge.

So I am thinking I must have left it on and did not realize it. But I guess it could be a bad USB chord, will be checking that soon.

Thanks.


----------



## Tony (Jan 20, 2004)

mrm1 said:


> ...Definately either User Error (most likely) or a bad connection to the PC USB.
> ...


Also make sure to upgrade to the lastest 305 Firmware (Garmin Web Updater). There were some versions of the 705 firmware that had problems with either the charging or the display of battery level... perhaps the 305 was similarly afflicted.


----------



## adoble (Aug 19, 2007)

I've got a 705 how do you know how much battery life is left???


----------



## Tony (Jan 20, 2004)

adoble said:


> I've got a 705 how do you know how much battery life is left???


From any normal screen, press the "menu" button. There is a battery icon displayed in the upper left. The icon is tiny, so it is difficult to tell exactly how much battery life the unit thinks is remaining, but in my experience, there is at least 2 hours left as long as there is any green at all. Once the battery gets to "low" it will have a red icon instead of green and at that point you have 1 hour or less left.


----------



## PissedOffCil (Oct 18, 2007)

I've had similar results as Tony for my battery life. To be honest it simply never seems to end. I' know I plug it often to transfer data to the PC and so it recharges it because I sometime forget to unplug it but even when doing a test and not plugging it in I got close to 18H. I never really use the backlight but most of those rides were with the HR monitor and some with cadence (including a 6H road ride). Battery life isnT' a big issue with this unit.


----------

