I just bought a XXL 550 I think it is.

I have two questions.

1. The online manual says to not charge it with a usb hub. But to always use
the port right on the computer. I plan on taking it to overseas and not
using it in a car and was planning on charging it just with a usb hub
plugged into the wall. Does anyone know why they dont want you using a hub
and if my method will work ??

2. Since the battery life is not that long eg I think about an hour or less
on batterys, someone has suggested getting an external usb battery so that I
can extend the life if I really need to in a pinch. Does any one have any
experince with this type of set up.

3. Ok Ive come up with another question. Are there any power saving tips
that you can give me to save power. I thought I could turn voice off
particularly if IM just using it as a map or something with an itinerary. I
wondered about turning brightness down. I also wondered if making it night
mode would help, I dont know if the screen uses the same power if black or
white. I just wondered if black was achieved by turning off the pixels thus
saving power.

Thanks.

steve wrote:
> I just bought a XXL 550 I think it is.
>
> I have two questions.
>
> 1. The online manual says to not charge it with a usb hub. But to
> always use the port right on the computer. I plan on taking it to
> overseas and not using it in a car and was planning on charging it
> just with a usb hub plugged into the wall. Does anyone know why they
> dont want you using a hub and if my method will work ??
>
> 2. Since the battery life is not that long eg I think about an hour
> or less on batterys, someone has suggested getting an external usb
> battery so that I can extend the life if I really need to in a pinch.
> Does any one have any experince with this type of set up.
>
> 3. Ok Ive come up with another question. Are there any power saving
> tips that you can give me to save power. I thought I could turn voice
> off particularly if IM just using it as a map or something with an
> itinerary. I wondered about turning brightness down. I also wondered
> if making it night mode would help, I dont know if the screen uses
> the same power if black or white. I just wondered if black was
> achieved by turning off the pixels thus saving power.

I just turn it off when I dont need instructions and turn it on again when I do.

That works very well.

Unfortunetely it doesnt really answer the question.

Thanks.

steve wrote:

> Unfortunetely it doesnt really answer the question.

It did answer the last question, tho that may not be that
feasible with a GPS in a country you havent visited before.

In article <hv3bvh$qs5$(E-Mail Removed)>,
steve <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>1. The online manual says to not charge it with a usb hub. But to always use
>the port right on the computer. I plan on taking it to overseas and not
>using it in a car and was planning on charging it just with a usb hub
>plugged into the wall. Does anyone know why they dont want you using a hub
>and if my method will work ??

This should work. I have a Tomtom 130-S and I never connect it
directly to my computer. If I want to communicate with it, I connect
it to a POWERED USB hub. Otherwise, I connect it to my cell phone
charger. Both connections result in the Tomtom getting charged up.

I suspect that there may be problems with unpowered USB hubs, and that
is what the manual is getting at.

>2. Since the battery life is not that long eg I think about an hour or less
>on batterys, someone has suggested getting an external usb battery so that I
>can extend the life if I really need to in a pinch. Does any one have any
>experince with this type of set up.

I think that I can get between one and two hours of use out of my
Tomtom. I have not used a USB battery, but I have used (successfully)

- A powered USB hub.
- A mains cell phone charger. Several in fact.
- A car cell phone charger. Several in fact.
--
David Arnstein (00)
arnstein+(E-Mail Removed) {{ }}
^^

On Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:35:49 -0400, steve wrote:

> I just bought a XXL 550 I think it is.
>
> I have two questions.
>
> 1. The online manual says to not charge it with a usb hub. But to always use
> the port right on the computer. I plan on taking it to overseas and not
> using it in a car and was planning on charging it just with a usb hub
> plugged into the wall. Does anyone know why they dont want you using a hub
> and if my method will work ??
>
> 2. Since the battery life is not that long eg I think about an hour or less
> on batterys, someone has suggested getting an external usb battery so that I
> can extend the life if I really need to in a pinch. Does any one have any
> experince with this type of set up.
>
> 3. Ok Ive come up with another question. Are there any power saving tips
> that you can give me to save power. I thought I could turn voice off
> particularly if IM just using it as a map or something with an itinerary. I
> wondered about turning brightness down. I also wondered if making it night
> mode would help, I dont know if the screen uses the same power if black or
> white. I just wondered if black was achieved by turning off the pixels thus
> saving power.
>
> Thanks.

You don't seem to know what a USB hub is.

The wall power "transformer" (AKA wallwart) that you're talking about
should work fine.

A USB hub is device that connects to your computer's USB port at one end
and allows several USB devices to connect to it at the other end. It's like
an extension cord.

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

On Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:53:05 +0000 (UTC), David Arnstein wrote:

> In article <hv3bvh$qs5$(E-Mail Removed)>,
> steve <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>1. The online manual says to not charge it with a usb hub. But to always use
>>the port right on the computer. I plan on taking it to overseas and not
>>using it in a car and was planning on charging it just with a usb hub
>>plugged into the wall. Does anyone know why they dont want you using a hub
>>and if my method will work ??
>
> This should work. I have a Tomtom 130-S and I never connect it
> directly to my computer. If I want to communicate with it, I connect
> it to a POWERED USB hub. Otherwise, I connect it to my cell phone
> charger. Both connections result in the Tomtom getting charged up.
>
> I suspect that there may be problems with unpowered USB hubs, and that
> is what the manual is getting at.
>
>>2. Since the battery life is not that long eg I think about an hour or less
>>on batterys, someone has suggested getting an external usb battery so that I
>>can extend the life if I really need to in a pinch. Does any one have any
>>experince with this type of set up.
>
> I think that I can get between one and two hours of use out of my
> Tomtom. I have not used a USB battery, but I have used (successfully)
>
> - A powered USB hub.
> - A mains cell phone charger. Several in fact.
> - A car cell phone charger. Several in fact.

I have had devices that don't work with a hub[1], even a powered one. Other
devices have done fine. It's a crapshoot :-)

[1] For instance, I have my wired keyboard and mouse connected through a
hub. I have to remember to plug them into onboard ports if I plan to use F8
on boot, even when I power the hub. I have tried most of the hubs I own :-)

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

Thanks.