GPS315 power cable

Roller,I use a Garmin but I am sure they would be the same and in any case it would seem logical to leave the batteries in. When you switch the vehicle off the GPS should know that the main supply has gone and then switch over to battery mode. The Garmin's show a message saying that it will shutdown in 30 secs after the main supply is removed but you can overide with any key on the unit. I would suspect that the Magellan would be the same. So that when you remove it from the vehicle it still works without having to stuff around with batteries.David

Not such a dumb question; the same thought had occurred to me as I have just ordered a combined data/power cable for my Garmin Etrex (they sold me separate data and power cables before I asked how I could connect both at the same time !)
But, yes, it would seem reasonable to leave the baterries in.

I have a related question, the backlight on my Garmin times out after a period which is adjustable up to 2 minutes. But in the dark, with an external power supply, is there any way to get the backlight to stay on?
It would be a pain while driving to have to keep hitting it to get the light back on.
rgds
Welshmun

Roller - I have a Magellan Tracker - batteries can stay in on external power - switches automatically - This model magellan also tells you on one of the screens the current power source - Magellan 315?? It will without doubt switch back to internal battery power when external power diconnected. If you were to take the batteries out and lose external power for any lenght of time (5 minutes?) you are likely to lose all memory (wpts, tks, etc).
Cheers
Greg

Hi roller
Ive used a Magellan 315 with power cable for the past 3 years. Never have I taken the bateries out prior to using the cig lighter socket, and I cant see the need. If your still hesitant email magellan through their website.

Thanks guys, I thought that would probably be the case, but didn't want to fry anything.

Hi Roller, I have the 315 with power/data cable setup. I deliberately leave good batteries in the unit, as it vastly increases the speed in which the GPS re"finds" itself on startup. Regards Slunnie

Roller,

I agree with Slunnie - I leave the batteries in my 315. The unit auto detects external power and switches accordingly.