Showing posts with label used batteries for sale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label used batteries for sale. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Schumacher SE-8050 Manual Charger With Tester

Schumacher SE-8050 Manual Charger With Testergreat product. mine got banged up bad. i blame shipping. gonna suck it up. dont want to return a 50 lb product.

If I could do it all over again I would have not bought this battery charger. I mainly bought it for the high amperage boost application to start vehicles with weak or dead batteries. What I found is that the machine cranks up the voltage on the 300 amperage settings to alarming levels. I noticed this when my Mid 70's Pontiac Volt gauge got pinned during a boosted start. Turns out 30amp and 60 amp is enough for most starts anyway and the voltage is not crazy at these levels. I also wish I would have bought a automatic charger instead of having to baby sit this thing. It asks for using a hydrometer for calculating charge times(good luck with a sealed battery). I ended up buying a cheapo automatic Menards charger to compliment this charger. The battery load test/charge test seems to work ok. Only two stars from me. Please rate this review if it was helpful.

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I bought this battery charger mainly to take with me on camping and RV trips. I have A 6.0 Ltr. diesel that I use as a towing vehicle. and I thought with this 300 amp boost I could jump start my pickup if ever I needed to. And yes while out on a trip, my pickup wouldn't stat one very cold morning. ( Low Batteries )I hooked up the charger to my batteries,pluged into the campground current, put it on boost and she started right up. I keep it in my RV now.

Read Best Reviews of Schumacher SE-8050 Manual Charger With Tester Here

It' came out of the box damaged because it so heavy the bottom has a bulge in it. The end caps for the wheels were missing and had to go to home depot for the parts. Once assembled, it looks fine. I've not had the chance to use it yet so I just hope it works. I just hope the company will stand behind the product if it fails to charge or operate as intended. They need to find a better packaging system to protect their product for transport.

Regards,

Tim Terlecky

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This is just a replacement, probably never have to use it on a car but its good to have in any case.

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Friday, January 24, 2014

Husky Liners Custom Fit Second Seat Floor Liner for Select Jeep Commander/Grand Cherokee WK Models

Husky Liners Custom Fit Second Seat Floor Liner for Select Jeep Commander/Grand Cherokee WK ModelsAfter buying our new Jeep, this was the first purchase I made along with the matching front Husky floor mats and rear cargo tray. The material is super thick and durable and it's essential if you live in a rainy town like Portland. The mats fit perfectly on the rear floor with no sliding around an there is a small lip that will hold any water in. These cover so much more of the carpet than the stock floor mats it's pretty much a no brainer if you want to keep your car looking nice.

The best part about these rear mats is that they cover the center hump in the floor where people put their feet if you have someone sitting in the middle. No other floor mats I found did this. Also, these cover all the little nooks and crannies on the floor where food and dirt likes to drop but you can't vaccuum it up! This is really key if you have small children who make a mess. I can't sany a single bad thing about them and really Jeep should put these in their cars stock.

Also, I like how they have the diamond plating stamped into the mats that stick out a little but the grooves aren't so deep you can't clean them with a rag. That was my complaint about the stock OEM rubber Jeep mats is the groovs were like an inch thick so it was pretty much impossible to clean the floor mats without a pressure washer. These wipe right up. Amazon also had the best price on this of anywhere I found, especially with the free shipping.

Floor Liners are awesome. Fit perfect in my Jeep Grand Cherokee and work very well especially living at the beach.

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Monday, December 2, 2013

iGo Charge Anywhere for iPod, iPhone, iPad, and other USB Devices

iGo Charge Anywhere for iPod, iPhone, iPad, and other USB DevicesI have been using the Igo charger for several weeks now, primarily to charge my phone when I am not near an electrical outlet. In general, I have found that it works reasonably well, but you can get higher capacity chargers that are more compact for a much better price.

Here are the pros and cons I observed during use:

PROS:

Attractive: The Igo charger has a diamond pattern on the top, making is snazzier than most chargers that I have seen.

Easy to use: To recharge the charger, just flip the built-in plug out and plug the charger into the wall. To charge a phone or other device, plug in a USB cable into the single Igo port, plug in the device, then press the button on the top.

Comes with a cable for Apple devices: I didn't test it with any Apple devices, but the charger worked fine with my Android phone.

LEDS indicate remaining charge: Four blue LEDs indicate the amount of battery capacity left in the charger during use.

CONS:

Larger than most chargers. The overall height and width are about the same as many other chargers, but the Igo is much thicker than most other chargers: about 2x the thickness at 24 mm (almost an inch).

Only 3400 mAh: This is one of the smaller capacity chargers you will find. I have seen them that go up to 12000 mAh. The larger the mAh rating, the more charges the charger will provide to your devices.

Relatively expensive: For the mAh rating, this device is pretty expensive, currently offered at about over 1/2 a c-note. The makes the price per mAh about 1.6 cents. Amazon sells other well-rated chargers for as little as .4 cents per mAh. Huge difference in price there.

Bottom Line:

During use, I was typically able to recharge my Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone about 1.2 times from one full charge of the Igo charger. Recharging the Igo charger took about 4.5 hours average. While the charger performed well enough, I find it to be overpriced and oversized for a somewhat anemic total capacity. I recommend that you keep shopping for a better value.

I live mostly off the grid, and sometimes completely away from electrical power, so I appreciate any tool that makes my life easier. The iGo is a fine device for my purposes.

The charger arrived with an approximately 35% charge right out of the box. You can roughly tell how much of a charge you have in the unit by how many blue indicator lights glow. I had three light up. I was able to start charging my own iPhone directly from that with the included USB iPhone cable.

I then unplugged my phone from the iGo. I put the iGo directly into a wall outlet (two prongs) to bring it to a full charge (the prongs fold out from the device's body on the 'belly' end). Red indicator lights show when the battery pack part is charging, and then go off automatically at a full charge. From that time, the iGO is ready to be a portable USB charging device.

From the charge my product arrived with, it took less than two hours to bring the unit to a full charge, with no load. You can also simultaneously charge a USB device AND the battery pack, however.

The iPhone/iPad/iPod port is on the underside, on the short end of the body. The cable to use with this port is included in the box.

There is also a mini-USB port on the right, long side of the body, for charging other items. I really appreciate this kind of thoughtfulness, even though the mini-USB cord is not included. It is very nice to have the option.

One thing I would have liked to see included would be a small cloth bag for the charger and cord, for traveling. I have so many little devices now that I am learning how to sew my own.

The iGo body itself is a little shorter than an iPhone, but twice as thick, and decently weighty for the size (it IS a battery, after all). The front has a black plastic diamond 'quilting' design, and there is a single on/off switch to depress.

HOW I USE IT:

I keep the charger pack in a Ziplock bag in my purse for iPhone charging when out and about. I tend to be a heavy user of my phone, taking and texting a ton of photos, using apps and the internet, and usually draining my phone over the course of a day. This device gives me a little leeway for extra use time when the evening rolls around, and a lot of peace of mind that I won't accidentally be dead in the water. I just plug in the iPhone at a 10% charge and continue what I was doing.

For day hiking and camping, having this thing around gives me a feeling of security too. Since it's not water-resistant, I would need to use a dry bag for this on paddling trips.

RECOMMENDATION:

For ipods, phones and pads, this is a plug and play tool. It's both a wall unit and a portable charger. It's solid and user friendly. You don't even need to read the little instructions sheet that comes with it.

For non-Apple USB devices, the iGo is incredibly versatile. I've charged up my emergency Trac phone, my Flip camera and my Kindle so far, using my own cables.

I'd recommend the iGo for heavy USB device users who are out and about a lot. If you spend most of your time at home or in an office, this really isn't necessary, except as an emergency charging device in your car, backpack or Go Bag. Just remember to make sure to top off the charger's unit if you hide it away for long periods of time, so you will have that emergency power when you need it.

Altogether, I highly recommend this useful, versatile device.

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This is one of those items that's really straight forward. As the title says, it's a Power Brick. However it also includes power indicator to show you how much power is left in it.

With anything that charges, there are only so many times you can charge it until it begins to hold less and less charges. So unless you know you need a full Charge, it's best to let it go down as low as possible.

It comes with an adapter for Apple products.

HOWEVER you can purchase or use any USB adapters for droids, tablets, etc,

I use it to charge my Droid. The USB adapter I remove from the AC charger and plug it into the iGo. Charging my phone takes over three hours.

I've gotten almost three full charges for my Droid. Then it needs recharging. Recharging from one bar takes just about six hours. I've never been there to get an exact time. Plugs into any standard AC outlet. Two prong.

The bars change colors from when it needs a charge to when it's full and the bars go from one to full.

It's a good product. But know the limitations. When you have no power you will get a a good two charges (and some more) until the "brick" itself need charging. It goes not charge through sunlight or crank.

This is great for a hiking trip or to keep in a bag for an extra phone charge.

Read Best Reviews of iGo Charge Anywhere for iPod, iPhone, iPad, and other USB Devices Here

I bought this to use with my Nexus 4 Phone and Nexus 10 Tablet while on the go. Has worked well. It is convenient to not need to find a wall outlet yet great that it can charge my devices from the wall when I have easy access to an outlet.

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iGo is one of the trusted names in travel electronic accessories and when they launch something new, most people in the travel electronics industry pays attention. This product fulfills a number of "wants" and deals with a number of "dislikes" of those who are frequent travelers. However as everyone has different needs, it is ultimately quite subjective. I've listed a few pros and cons below to help you decide if this is what you need.

Pros:

+ Less to forget. It's your power brick and your spare battery

+ Folding plug. Nothing will get scratched in your bag by pokey plugs, and plugs won;t get bent out of shape during transit.

+ Holds enough juice for 2 full charges of an Iphone 4, 4s and Iphone 5.

+ 4 indicator LED lights show how much power is left in the battery, how much it is charging etc.

+ Button next to the LED indicator lights to turn the indicator lights on.

Cons:

Large for how much power it actually stores, but that may be due to the folding plug.

It's fat (wide) so it takes up the space next to it. Assuming you've plugged it in on the end of your power strip.

You need an easily accessible socket or you'll really be crawling behind and moving furniture to find somewhere to plug this in.

If it's behind furniture, it'll easily be forgotten = you've just lost both your spare battery and your power brick.

There are similarly sized backup batteries widely available that can store more power.

Overall whether this is the backup battery for you depends on whether you value:

a) less bits and bobs so fewer things get lost

b) How much power you need

c) How forgetful you are.

d) folding prongs.

e) if you have easy access to a socket when you need to charge this thing.

Over the past few months, I've used this traveling by air, by boat and by train internationally. It was always easy for my traveling companion(s) to find what they needed out of my electronics bag as there was less to dig through. I did have to use international plug adapters, but not voltage adapters as this is dual voltage. There were a few instances where we had to move some furniture to get to a wall socket but overall it served us well over the course of our 5-month trip.

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Saturday, November 23, 2013

Optima 8040-218-FFP YellowTop Group 35 Deep Cycle Battery

Optima Batteries 8040-218 D35 YellowTop Dual Purpose BatteryThis will be a mixed review of sorts.

I bought an Optima SC35DA Yellow Top directly from Amazon in August of 2009 and it worked fine until March of 2011. The plastic around the negative battery post just split with gas and gel oozing out.

I did not think there was any problem because this Optima battery comes with a three year full replacement warranty.

Now the warranty merry go round started.

I called Amazon and I was told to call Optima, Optima told me they would not warranty the battery because Amazon is not an authorized reseller, so back to Amazon, then back to Optima and so on.

The final result is that Amazon wound up giving me a full refund of the purchase price of the battery. I would rather of had a new battery but I got tired of the BS and aggravation and then I did what others did, I went to a local discount store and bought a cheap battery.

What is the point of spending $174.00 on what is supposed to be the best battery only to have it fail very early in its life cycle and then have to argue over getting it replaced?

The Optima battery worked for less than two years. So why spend the money on one when you can buy a Wal-Mart special for less than half the price, get it replaced locally or just throw it out and buy a new one.

I do have to thank Amazon for finally giving me the refund but there was too much aggravation involved. From all of the complaints I have read about the lack of a warranty when the Optima Battery is bought from Amazon, you would think Amazon would stop selling it.

This is exactly why I gave it only one star.

I can only recommend that no one should by any Optima Battery Product from Amazon unless they are fully aware that there is no warranty at all.

Wow! I am both relieved and impressed. I just purchased two of these batteries. After reading previous horror stories about damaged/no packaging I have to admit I was hesitant. I have had other problems with Amazon.com in the past. I just couldn't resist the price here, and with free shipping it sealed the deal. I guess whoever does the shipping here got the message about poor/damaged packaging. Mine were both delivered undamaged by UPS(this is an extraordinary occasion), and to my surprise the boxes were designed like tanks. Extra thick cardboard boxes with an entire lining of corrugated cardboard reinforcement all the way around the battery. The batteries inside were in perfect condition!!! A+ job here by Amazon.com!!! BTW shipping was also lighting fast....I ordered on Sat and batteries arrived on Tues.

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Battery works well and was delivered in great packaging, not a scratch on it. Looks like they finally got the message.

Read Best Reviews of Optima 8040-218-FFP YellowTop Group 35 Deep Cycle Battery Here

If I could give zero stars I would... I know its cheaper here, but this battery just died after 6 months of normal use. Amazon will not stand behind this product and will not accept returns. Optima will also not warranty from an unauthorized seller. Funny, they left that off the listing for this battery. I learned my lesson, so hopefully everyone reading this will learn theirs too without the loss of $$. Unacceptable business practice in my opinion. FAIL.

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I bought this because my 2004 honda pilot factory battery was on its last leg. I always have prefered optima batteries because the yellow and blue top versions Optima Batteries 8052-161 D31M BlueTop Dual Purpose Battery can be DEEP discharged without damage. In a conventional flooded acid battery after 10 dead events you are going to the parts store because you have ruined your battery. Same goes to a lesser extent with the optima red top they are strictly a starting battery.

In my case I leave accessories on 24x7 like my escort radar detector. It's to ensure that the gps data is up to date and to keep the microwave components warm so when I leave in the early morning they are on frequency and yield accurate measurements.

The yellow top is a cross between the deep cycle marine blue top and the starting red top. It has plenty of CCA's to turn over the engine the next day, plus it is not damaged by being drained. I do keep my yellow top "topped off" with a ctek charger CTEK Multi US 7002 12V Battery Charger whenever possible, but the battery holds its own even without ac charging.

Yes, Optima cells are expensive, and that is their one and only downside. Mine came with adapters to make it fit my vehicle like a factory cell. I get more years out of an optima vs. an interstate by quite a bit, so there is a value proposition as well. Just not being stranded from headlights left on is a great feature!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

BatteryMINDer Model 12117: 12 Volt 1.33 Amp (12V 1.33A) Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator

BatteryMINDer Model 12117: 12 Volt 1.33 Amp Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator...if you own deep cycle batteries. I bought one of these in 2001 as an experiment to desulphate eight 6 volt 225 amp hour deep cycle batteries.

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***EDIT May 9, 2013***

Contacted VDC Electronics yesterday to obtain information on the suitability of the 12117 for use with deep cycle batteries and learned that the model # for which the results in this review were obtained were actually for a Model# 12112, the predecessor to the 12117. The 12117 wasn't introduced until 2006. I had misread the model # on my unit when I wrote the review in 2009. I apologize for the error. That said, the 12112 and the 12117 are virtually the same technology with the 12117 having increase in output of about 30%. That would seem to speak fairly favorably of the results I obtained with the lesser powered unit.

VDC Electronics has confirmed that the 12117 "can be used with deep cycle batteries as a maintainer/desulfator", contrary to what the Amazon specifications might say. However, the 12117 is NOT certified for use with AVIATION batteries. The remainder of the original review continues below.

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The RV park where we were staying used these deep cycle batteries in their golf carts. They were going toss them in the dumpster because they were having to recharge them too often. These batteries were in bad shape as evidenced by the constant 6 amps being drawn after being hooked up to their "super" charger for many hours. Essentially, these batteries were so sulphated that they would not accept any more charge. With many chargers the charge current will drop to "0" as battery resistance increases when fully charged.

I mentioned tossing the batteries in the dumpster might be illegal. If they let me have them to do some tests and possibly recover them, I would dispose of them properly if I had no luck. I had just installed a solar panel system with a 2500 watt inverter on my 5th wheel and had only 1 pair of golf cart batteries that was already at least 2 years old. I needed more reserve battery power and calculated that I would need at least 6 of these batteries for the inverter to be of any real use to me. When using batteries in this manner, it is best to use batteries that are in similar condition and ideally from the same lot. Six new batteries were going to cost about $520 with tax.

I got them back to my rig and baselined the charge they would accept on my 10 amp charger. Indeed, they were not accepting any more charge. I paired these old batteries in series to get four 12 volt configurations and spent the next 4 weeks (1 week per pair) on this desulphator. I continued this process until my charger's ammeter would go to zero when the batteries were full, an indication that they were now in good shape. Ultimately, 2 of the batteries would prove to be unrecoverable, but the other 4 plus the 2 I already owned eventually recovered about 90% of their original amp hour capacity based on some standard tests I ran.

My inverter, combined with these recovered batteries, would run my 15,000 BTU air conditioner for nearly an hour, more than enough time to cool our 5th wheel while preparing and consuming lunch in 106 temps in Ca. deserts. The batteries would be nearly fully recharged by the solar panels and charge line from the tow vehicle by the time we reached our destination for the evening. With loving maintenance and care, they had lasted another 5 years providing countless hours of dry camping service! Finally, in 2006, I replaced them with new ones before an extended camping trip.

This charger/desulphator requires 115 vac and a minimum of 11 volts in the battery before you connect to it. So, if your battery is dead, be sure to bring it up the 11 volt minimum before hooking the unit up or it could overheat and be ruined. Also, most of the cheaper old style battery chargers don't have any voltage regulation. Consequently, the voltage these chargers supply to a fully charged battery can exceed well over 14 volts and will eventually "cook" the electrolyte out if you leave them hooked up. They can also overheat the battery, permanently damaging the thinner plate structure of automotive (starting batteries). The VDC model I bought in 2001 can be left on to maintain the charge in lead acid batteries. Check your operator instructions to be sure.

Shortly after recovering these batteries, I bought another desulphator from an Arizona solar supplier capable of desulphating a 1600 a/h battery bank that operates only off of the battery bank. This constant desulphating process along with proper battery maintenance is probably what helped sustain these batteries for an additonal 5 years. In the absence of a desulphator, deep cycle batteries should be "equalized". The interval depends on usage. I was doing it monthly. The equalization process requires a special charger and can be hard on batteries. Desulphation performs a similar function without the harshness of equalization. Desulphation plus judicial use of equalization can extract maximum life out of your deep cycle batteries. I wouldn't be without either one of these desulphators or a 3 or 4 stage battery charger.

A final note: Never let your batteries sit in a discharged condition. As a battery discharges, the sulphate that forms will be easier to return to solution whn prmptly recharged. If you let it sit, the sulphate can harden and be nearly impossible to return to solution.

Excellent Product; does what it's advertised to do. Comes with lugs/rings and alligator(battery) clamps and a long cord. Works like a cell phone charger, just connect it & plug it in. WILL NOT WORK ON A COMPLETELY DEAD BATTERY!! (If the battery is dead, use your bulk charger to boost it for a couple of hours and then connect the maintainer.) Once the maintainer reaches full charge, it goes into conditioner mode (green flashing light)which is desulphating the battery, exentending its life. Worth the $$$.

Buy BatteryMINDer Model 12117: 12 Volt 1.33 Amp (12V 1.33A) Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator Now

This is something that any guy with a garage and a car should have...especially if you have more than one car. I was more than impressed with this little desulphator/charger's ability to revive a battery that would have otherwise been junked. I have an e34M5 that is notorious for slowly killing batteries. After the battery was dead for over a month, I charged with my "big" battery charger as this cannot help batteries that are on the brink of death without being charged with a larger charger, then I put this on it for two weeks and it was nothing short of a miracle.

If you have a car that sits for long periods, you should get one of these little fellas.

Read Best Reviews of BatteryMINDer Model 12117: 12 Volt 1.33 Amp (12V 1.33A) Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator Here

I purchased the Battery Minder Plus to restore my boat battery. I am an electronics engineer and had researched what happens to a lead acid battery that causes it to loose its capacity. Though there are other causes, the most common one is sulphation, a coating that forms on the lead plates that is non-conductive reducing their ability to conduct electricity. My battery was so bad that even after many hours of charging on my charger's highest setting, it couldn't hold enough charge to operate the radio, much less engage the starter. I ordered the Battery Minder Plus (at roughly half the price of a new battery). It arrived this past Monday evening. Five days ago. Before I could begin charging, I had to force the Battery Minder into "Maintenance Mode" to start de-sulphating it. Basically zapping the battery with pulses of power that forces the sulphate to disolve. Eventually the battery began to take and hold a charge. This morning I was able to easily start the boat with only the battery. I'm very impressed. Very happy with the product. The manual that comes with it is a bit disorganized and quite redundant but most of the information you need is in there.

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I had a battery that the local parts store said was bad on their conductance tester, so I hooked it up to this little wonder.

First it started in charge mode then I checked an hour later and it was in desulfation mode. I took it back to the parts store

the next day (about 12 hours later) and he said he didn't understand it but now it was testing GOOD.

Needless to say I bought a second and am seriously thinking about a third and fourth one since I have a farm with lots of different batteries.

Well, now I have a THIRD one.. They are amazing !!!!!!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Magellan GPS Car Kit for Latest iPhone and iPod Touch (AP0301SGXXX)

Magellan GPS Car Kit for Latest iPhone and iPod Touch
  • Compatible with All iOS Devices
  • Built In GPS Receiver
  • Hands Free Bluetooth
  • Accomadates Skins and Cases
  • In Car Chargine

Couple this unit with your IPhone and the software and you have an unbeatable GPS system. I've placed my old gps in mothballs now that I have this unit.

Buy Magellan GPS Car Kit for Latest iPhone and iPod Touch (AP0301SGXXX) Now

All car kits which plug with the holder directly into the cigarette lighter did not stay in place and fell sidewards. So I wanted a car kit with a suction cup so that the entire weight is not in the cigarette lighter. Also I didn't want to plug an external cable to my iPhone each time I enter the car and unplug it each time I leave it.

With this car kit you plug your iPhone onto a Apple connector, you close the lid from the top and this is it. When you leave the car even for 5min you just press a button on the right side, the lid pops up and you can easily remove your phone. Additionally your iPhone connects via Bluetooth to this device so that the speech from the GPS is announced via the internal loudspeaker. You can also use it for taking calls as it has a built in microphone. I have not received a better GPS signal as far as I can say due to the built in GPS receiver. My phone says the same bars with or without this device. However if you have a iPod without internal GPS you can transform it into a Navigation System with that and you also do not have to use the Magellan GPS app but any other one which you prefer.

BTW the package contains a suction cup for windows as well as a kit for uneven surfaces. I think this is to avoid damages on your dashboard due to the heavy duty suction cup.

Read Best Reviews of Magellan GPS Car Kit for Latest iPhone and iPod Touch (AP0301SGXXX) Here

Two stars. CBelow average. Not recommended unless willing to spend considerable time to tinker with it to get it to work.

Bought this on sale recently, and overall fit and finish were fine. The issue is that the iTouch (I have a 3rd generation) has repeated issues with charging and finding the GPS satellites. After trying multiple times with it, I did get it to work... but there are some "catches" to getting it to work:

1) It does work with other Apps, but it will need ones that have offline maps, routing calculations, and turn by turn navigation. Otherwise the minute you drive away from a wifi, the map app (like Google Maps) will go blank, or you won't know where you are going. And there are FREE alternatives to the $49.99 Magellan app that meet these requirements, and that would be otherwise needed to use this unit. (Yeah, like I would pay $99 for this adapter and then have to pay another $49.99 for the Magellan app... BWHAHAHAHAHA! ...As if...)

2) You need enough free memory (RAM) on the iTouch to actually get it to work

If you have a lot of other apps running in the background (like facebook), then you need to shutdown/poweroff the iTouch and then restart it, and run nothing else before you start your GPS program. My iTouch (3rd Gen) was very hard to get this to work, because often I was down to 8-9 MB of remaining ram (NOT FLASH) memory to do anything with, even after shortly starting the iTouch from a "power off" condition.

3) Make sure the connector is firmly attached.

The adjustable 30 pin apple iTouch clip works for almost any Apple product, but getting it connected properly is a frustrating series of trial and errors. Multiple times I'd put the iTouch in, only to have it not charge.

4) You have to enable bluetooth to get GPS to work.

Not a big deal, but if you have it off, you will need to turn it on and pair it with the GPS unit. And you have to remove the power cord and recycle it to get the unit to pair with the iTouch.

5) The power cord is kinda klunky, but it works. I was not impressed with the plug in 12V automotive adapter. No indicator/power light/LED, and it seems to be kinda hard to get it seated correctly in my 12V accessory plug socket in my car. Fortunately, I had another one in the car already, and that one seemed to work okie. It's a mini-USB, so any basic power adapter for a USB should work.

Overall, I was borderline on returning it, but think I will keep it. I'm of the mind that I'd just be better off with a full blown dash type GPS Navigation device. I'd also like to get it so I have a Mini-USB battery pack (using rechargable AA cells), so it doesn't loose signal when I turn off the car... but for now, it works. But I can't recommend it for a newbie or even for serious travelers because the 30 pin connector won't connect well and Magellan expects you to shovel out another fifty clams for their app in the Apple Store.

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The GPS receiver was not detected at all. Everything else worked, including the audio out and Bluetooth. This was the second purchase of this car kit with the same results. I'm staying away from these iPod GPS kits from now on.

After using telephone signal based GPS and being left adrift when signals disappeared (usually at the worst of times like at night in a strange city) I put Roadmate software on my iPhone and added this device to attach to my vehicle windshield and use real GPS sourcing. Terrific!! No disappearing phone signals, no lost in the city where high buildings wreak havoc on all things electronic. Maps are updated often and quickly. I wish the adapter had better angle control as it won't lay flat enough for one of my vehicles to keep the screen visible.There is a BUT but it has more to do with the software than this device. When coming off a long interstate run and tasking an exit, it seems as if the software fell asleep and was startled at the intrusion of being called to service because the first thing it usually says is "when possible make a legal U turn" then it comes fully awake and proceeds perfectly.