Can you power a Garmin with a Boost Cable?

[roadpacker]

I'm thinking of going with the standard dynamo hub and Exposure light-- want to know if I can power a Garmin without having to drop the $$$ on a Plug II or III. Can I just route the Garmin straight to the headlamp?


Thanks 

[sfuller]

The short answer is no. You're going to need some sort of circuit to convert the power from the dyno to something the Garmin can use. Many options out there besides The Plug. There are some that you can build yourself with some basic soldering skills and electronics knowledge.

[trebor]

Busch and Muller makes a light that runs off the dynamo AND the light has a USB output. I've never used it so can't say whether or not it would work to power a GPS or not. But you can investigate.

Luxos U is the model.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m-hl.asp

[sfuller]

Busch and Muller makes a light that runs off the dynamo AND the light has a USB output. I've never used it so can't say whether or not it would work to power a GPS or not. But you can investigate.

If nothing else, you can charge an intermediate battery and then use that to charge the GPS.

[roadpacker]

Yeah, a battery seems like the most sensible way. A boost cable may be able to charge a battery, but a switch to turn all the juice from one to the other will be the most effective way of charging. So I'll go with a switch charger instead of a boost cable.