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so i just got a GPS and in my quest to accessorize i think a hard wired power cable is a good idea. but not for the $25+ they are selling for.




thats representative of whats being sold on ebay.

so why not get a much cheaper car adapter



and just remove the plug from the equation.

that would work right? i dont see why not since the plug is just +12v and ground.. add a fuse and i'm golden.

just wanted to verify my thought on the matter before i bought the stuff and put it together.


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edit:
hmm, actually the hard wire cord specifically says it has circuitry to convert the +12v to 5v for the device, where the car chargers only say they got the chip for overloading and whatever... hmm...


# Converts 10-30vdc input power to 5vdc to power your device.

you might just wanna spend the $ and get the right cable, i googled car chargers and found a bunch that say 12volt in 5volt out, so you can find a cheaper charger that'll do the same thing, the only diff in the original cable is the circuitry is inline so you can hardwire it instead of where you would plug into the lighter.. now a workaround for that would be get the cheaper car charger, you could buy a nother lighter socket and tie into the cars lighter socket wiring, basially giving you 2 lighters and hide the one behind the dash, or in the cubby hole, but seems like alot more work, when it would be easier to just get the cable..

i hardwired my radar detector to my car, took the adapter cut it off and spliced it to my cig adapater wires, and ran the wire up through the top dash vent and it worked fine for a long time, it did crap out on me though after about a year or so since i would leave the detector on and when i go to start the car i think the voltage spike when starting killed it.. but it was cheap, i wouldnt wanna risk it like that with a gps..

make life easier. just buy one of these. i got 2 of them delivered to my door for $7.50 and used one for my gps, the other for radar. no cut wires.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl ... er=265-570

Just make sure the voltage at the unit is the 5v that it is supposed to be and you will be fine. Doesn't matter how you get there, so long as it is 5v.

nineball thats definately an option. thanks for the link

racer not sure how i would go about testing the mini usb plug on the other end... even if i could figure out the +/- i couldnt get the volt meter prongs into it! lol

any kind of conductor attached to the prongs will work. don't worry about getting zapped its only 5V, which is considered shock safe.

i don't know how you would figure out the +/- either, but if you get the voltage too high you can fry the unit, so its definitely worth figuring out.

just fyi - for the link i posted, the cable with the writing on it is the negative. only took me one fuse to figure that out

I know what he feels, I think the deal of stuff sticking out that wasnt their before is an issue. I'd personally dish out the extra funds and get the hardwire cable, it'll be worth it vs splicing into wirires. The consequences can be crucial.

umm

you still have to splice into wires with the hard wire cable........ it connects directly to +12v