Gary Lewis

Ok, I found that shows how they work. Pretty simple, so maybe I can get mine to work and use it as the load in testing. Will take that offline for now. Back to our regularly-scheduled program...

Now that you mention it, I do have a carbon pile tester - but it doesn't work. Was given to me a couple of years ago when things were hectic and I've not checked it out to see why it doesn't work. Aren't they pretty simple? Like carbon discs that get pushed together with the pressure from the knob to change the overall resistance? If so, what could go wrong?

It is interesting that they imply that a shunt type ammeter will be fine but that a direct reading one won't. I have the shunt that was left over from creating the harness for Big Bro and have been trying to figure out how to test it in a controlled environment. But all I've come up with for a load is a bunch of headlights. Our H6054's are rated at 100W for both bulbs so at 12V they only pull 8.3 amps. I guess I could parallel a bunch of them, but it would take 10 of them to get into what I assume is the danger range of 80 amps. Anyone with a better idea?

Well, you still have two others, so it isn't like you are going AWOL. But keep us posted.

That looks like a WIN! And no one is going to see it, so who cares how it looks if it holds.

12.6 might be ok, but 12.2 isn't - assuming there isn't load on either battery. You might want to check to see if you have much in the way of dark current by placing your DVM in the 200ma mode and placing it between the positive post and the positive cable. However, a number of the systems on Big Blue have fairly high current in startup mode, so I like to connect the DVM before disconnecting the battery cable so there isn't any startup mode.

I don't intend to have another Garmin. Using AllTrails, OnX, or Gaia is easy, so why have the frustration of an antagonistic user interface? Then there's the freezing up. There are two ways to input an address, and one way I put in my barbershop's address the system locks up - but showing the right location on the map. The other way it says that address doesn't exist. Clearly it does as if you Google the shop it gives that address. And if I fire up their app it gives the same address. So the address is right but Garmin doesn't know about it - in spite of the place having been there for years. I learned over 50 years ago that when you encounter a situation you didn't expect in your software that you do NOT halt the app. Apparently the programmers at Garmin haven't learned that lesson. So tomorrow when I go to get my hair cut I'll try OnX in the iPhone with it paired to the Sony head unit. Hopefully I'll get turn-by-turn directions. If so I'm thinking of going with a Magsafe mount like this one, which will put my iPhone exactly where the Garmin has been by using the ball already mounted to the floor. That way we can use OnX for the trails and Google or Apple maps for on-roading.

Yes, glad you found us.

Not sure to understand your question. Even the standard (manual) transmission trucks can have cruise. Right, manuals with manual columns can have speed control, aka cruise. Big Blue does. As for the A/C, did the truck you are installing it on come with A/C? If not you in for a lot of work as the firewalls are different.

I installed a Code Alarm ca1155e alarm system that does the door lock/unlocking and explained how I did it here. And yes, you will need to install relays if your system doesn't have them built in.

I doubt it'll be a public launch. Instead I'm reviewing my "friend" list to see if I want to give it to someone.

Say it isn't so! You are letting "Dual-little" go? So, what are you making space for?

Ok, I know exactly what you mean. How much time I too spent in my life, «I will make this thing work!» How many strikes do I give this thing??? Today I decided I'd program in a route from home to Hinton where we'll pick up the Sugar Creek Loop. That was easy on the Montana - select Route Planner, then Create Route, then Add Point, then Cities and type in Hinton and select the only one that's OK. Yippee, I know what I'm doing? So I decided to make a route to the barbershop I'm headed to tomorrow, just to see that turn-by-turn guidance is working: Route Planner, Add Point, Addresses, and type in the address. The Montana finds the address and you click on the right one if there are multiples. I did and it dropped a pin and then locked up, showing the map with a pin in it, at the right place I might add, but allowing me to do NOTHING else. In fact, I had to remove the battery to get control again. After three more times of exactly the same thing I called Garmin. Trever said they have a ticket open as someone else has had the same problem. But, he gave me a workaround, which I tried later that didn't work as it couldn't find the address. But at least it didn't lock up. While I had him on the phone I asked him about the Hell's Revenge track file that I put on the Explore map but won't sync from Explore to the Montana. I told him that Garmin's maps don't have it, and he didn't seem surprised, but that I'd downloaded it from AllTrails and uploaded it to Google Maps and then downloaded it to Explore - which he thought is a reasonable approach. But since it didn't work he suggested I turn it into a route instead of a track, which I did after the call and it won't sync either. Then he said he'd email me a link to another site that will let me import and then export the file which may fix something in the file. But the email that just came in said there was a link - and there wasn't one.

Excellent! Prayers answered.

Luckily I'm not one of the ones being targeted with SGE as my searches don't have it. But, like the author of that bit, I don't want it. Like him my searches are usually for something specific, like White Dog Hill Restaurant and I need the phone number and address.

Let me count the reasons: I'm stubborn I have more than $800 invested in the Garmin and think it ought to work for that price It gives turn-by-turn guidance through the Sony head unit and we don't have to keep our eyes glued to it It sits in a nice cradle and comes on when you start the truck & is supposed to go off when you turn the key off, but it doesn't always do that. I'm stubborn

Man, this Garmin stuff is awful! I doubt I'll ever have another Garmin device.I subscribed to OnX but downloading files isn't easy. However it is from AllTrails, even though I let my subscription there lapse, so I downloaded Hell's Revenge as a .gpx file. But neither the Garmin Explore app on my iPhone nor Explore via Chrome on the Windows machine would load it up - in spite of them both saying they will. There's a note on the Garmin site that says the latest changes on iOS are the problem, but that's not the whole truth as that wouldn't account for the problem on Windows.So I uploaded the gpx file to Google Maps and then exported it as a kmz file and Explore on Chrome on the Windows machine loaded it. But, still, the Windows machine won't sync with the Montana, so I did the sync from the iPhone. However, probably because it wasn't a gpx file, that doesn't show up in Saved Tracks on the Montana.

Like that isn't going to raise questions.

I've subscribed to OnX and am poking around. But all the trails I'm looking at are there, including the Sugar Creek Loop in SW OK, where we are going on Thursday. The app is easy to use and I think I'm going to like it. However, I am going to try to download the OnX maps for the various trails and load them up to the Garmin. I've just gotten that done for Sugar Creek, although the map didn't come from OnX so that may turn into an issue. But I need to record how I got it to the Garmin: Garmin Explore on tablet: Using Explore via a browser on my tablet I "imported" the file and put it in a new collection. Garmin Explore on iPhone: I can't get Explore on the tablet to then sync to the Montana. But Explore on the iPhone will sync to the Montana, and since the two Explores are apparently are looking at the same file on the cloud if if put it on via the tablet it is there for the iPhone. However, the first sync took 30 minutes and it takes wifi.

Well, I'm finally to the point that I'm dusting off the Garmin Montana with the intent of checking out what trails it has loaded in. But before I got started the thing told me that there were several updates to both the software and the maps that I needed to do. And that's where the trouble started. The problem was that there wasn't enough storage in the device's internal storage to do the updates. However, there was enough storage on the external chip I have installed, so I tried to move some files from internal to external storage. Unfortunately there wasn't enough room to even do that! After a while I was able to delete enough things on the internal storage to move a file, and then another and another, and finally got the updates installed. Then I started looking for the trails we are going to run, and none of them are listed on the Garmin maps. So I downloaded a gpx file and tried to upload it to Garmin's Basecamp app. But they've discontinued Basecamp, so now you have to install Garmin Express. By this time the frustration was running HIGH! So I took a break and went over to facebook where I found a guy on the Oklahoma Back Roads page asking how to get the Sugar Creek Loop map file over to his Garmin. And the responses echoed exactly what I was feeling - "Don't waste your time! The user interface is horrible and it won't have the maps you want when you get there." So I'm about to sign up for OnX Offroad and see if I can download maps for our trails and then upload them to the Garmin. If not I may have a Garmin for sale - cheap.

Let's just help those poor souls who don't know what we are going on about be enlightened:

Probably just as well. You wouldn't want the chromium plated, fully illuminated, genuine accessory shift knob to come right off'n your hand! (Don't try to get into a C.W. McCall battle with me ) Ok, you win. I had to look the last bit up. But I did read about the shift knob, and the cigat ash, and the top row of chickens. But the brake pedal got my attention the most, going all the way to the floor as it did. Hope I got the power steering leak fixed! I think I'll download that song and play it as we go "Truckin' on down the other side."

Just stay out of the feed store! “Went down and around, around and down And we run out of ground at the edge of town Bashed into the side of the feed store Downtown Pagosa Springs” I’ll try to keep that in mind. 👍 We spent the night in Pagosa many decades ago. Tried out their hot springs - and smelled like sulfur for two days. Think we’ll go on over to Durango. Speaking of which, it is probably time to make reservations.

Don't know of Taco John. Maybe that's a regional thing? Anyway, I'm loving retirement! For the most part I get to do what I want to do.

Jim - Glad you got the compression socks. Hope they work. Bill - Praying for a good outcome tomorrow with lots of relief.