Cheap GPS device @ Canadian Tire, may be great for warm weather rides.

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Anyone is having a problem with the battery holding a charge? The only way to run mine, is to have it plugged in either through lighter plug or to a computer through USB. It looks like the internal Lithium battery is a toast. I haven't used it that much since I bought it ....
 
Vlad, thanks for making it stupid-easy for us. I finally got around to hacking one unit, and I'll do 2 more.. One is going out as a gift as-is. Since I only wanted to run iGO with updated maps, the hardest part was figuring out that Winzip was a necessity to unzip the archives.
 
mxs said:
Anyone is having a problem with the battery holding a charge? The only way to run mine, is to have it plugged in either through lighter plug or to a computer through USB. It looks like the internal Lithium battery is a toast. I haven't used it that much since I bought it ....
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Looks like you are a good candidate for the first battery transplant :). Find a 3.7V cell phone battery that will fit in the case (see pictures) and start cutting and soldering.
 
Yeah, something will have to be ghettoed as the battery manufacturer doesn't have that particular model number on the site. Vlad, could you measure the dimensions of the battery, while you have your unit open?
 
I just bought the Curtis 359 off of a guy on Kijiji. Got it loaded up with iGO now!! Thanks for the pre-configured setups, Vlad, Splash and everyone who contributed. Saved me a lot of effort!!

Currently, I am using "Splash' full setup (hack, utils, iGO...)" and have "iGO complete" as a backup. Also loaded some mp3s and video. Still have plenty of space on the 8GB SDHC card!

Now, let's see if it gets me where I want to go! :)
 
Has anyone loaded the Garmin software on these units? I would like to load Chilean maps and I can't find any for iGO.. I think I found one for Garmin though.
 
FiReSTaRT said:
Vlad, could you measure the dimensions of the battery, while you have your unit open?
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Unfortunately I can't get to it right now as I'm moving and have trouble finding my underwear, let alone the GPS and tools to open it :):(. Those pictures were taken a long time ago, but all it took to open it was a small phillips screwdriver - it's just four screws.

FiReSTaRT said:
Has anyone loaded the Garmin software on these units? I would like to load Chilean maps and I can't find any for iGO.. I think I found one for Garmin though.
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I've heard that Garmin software is all but useless on these units so I didn't even try, although I have a Garmin GPS and am quite happy with it. If you do proceed, let us know how it went.

BTW, you are all welcome. Working on this little project was most fun that I had with such an activity in years.
 
Ok, I'm running a Ubuntu box. When I set the USB to file storage, I can access both the internal memory and the SDHC. So, theoretically, I could just rename shell.ini, put in one of my own and reboot the unit without bricking it? I don't need to go through a sync package?
 
FiReSTaRT said:
Ok, I'm running a Ubuntu box. When I set the USB to file storage, I can access both the internal memory and the SDHC. So, theoretically, I could just rename shell.ini, put in one of my own and reboot the unit without bricking it? I don't need to go through a sync package?
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You shouldn't need Microsoft Sync if you already have other means of file level access. You are in uncharted territory here though, so be careful. It's been a while and I don't remember all the details...
 
Ok. So it's only needed to access the files. In that case I'll give it a shot as soon as I get an extra SDHC card. Thanks AGAIN :cool:
 
FiReSTaRT said:
Ok, I'm running a Ubuntu box. When I set the USB to file storage, I can access both the internal memory and the SDHC. So, theoretically, I could just rename shell.ini, put in one of my own and reboot the unit without bricking it? I don't need to go through a sync package?
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Yes, you can edit shell.ini. If you do brick it somehow, don't panic, you can unbrick the GPD 359 by following the instructions in the link below.
http://gpd359.wikidot.com/article:unbricking
 
Pure said:
Need USA maps for my igo on this thing.
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Available via torrents.. Hell, I gave one of my spares to my stepmom, with maps and language packs (including voice) for Serbia, just this fall, so USA should be a hell of a lot easier to find :cool:
 
:D

IMG00219-20110328-1841.jpg


Blackberry battery is slightly thicker than OEM, so there's a little gap in the case when screwed, but it's otherwise fine fitment-wise. I guess I could unwrap it to make it thinner, but I don't think I'll bother. It took me a whole ten minutes to rig it :tongue8:

The battery in is a used one that's been sitting in my drawer for the last two years, we'll see how it will hold a charge. The stock 1100mAh one was shot, wouldn't hold for more than ten minutes.

Edit: The old BB battery had juice for over three hours with iGO running and on full brightness. And there's room in that case for at least a 20% bigger battery...
 
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And I have a couple of spare crackberry batteries.. Vlad, you're a bad influence! :D
 
FiReSTaRT said:
And I have a couple of spare crackberry batteries.. Vlad, you're a bad influence! :D
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:D A few more notes on the battery transplant:

- I used the C-S2 Blackberry battery. It can be found dirt cheap, even on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/BlackBerry-Battery-7100i-7105t-Handsets/dp/B000EIU3VY). However, it's not ideal for this application as it's thicker than Curtis' original battery. The case can be screwed back completely, but a gap of about 1mm in the middle will remain. This is even when I removed the sticker and shaved off the plastic corners of the battery.

- A battery about 20% longer (~70mm) and 10% thinner (~5mm) would be ideal. The width can be up to about ~35mm. If anyone comes across a high capacity and quality battery of comparable size (a bit smaller is OK on any dimension) chime in here, especially if it's cheap too.
 
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Slow as **** but it's going. I haven't updated my maps since 09, so it's time to get something fresher.. Thanks for the link
 
Anybody know of a good current gps that is as hackable? I'm on a two week trip down east now with the curtis and it's too unreliable to use. The battery won't hold a charge and the USB port won't hold the cable tightly enough to keep the GPS running all the time. The unit keeps thinking it's unplugged and shuts down.
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