FM Transmitter strength fix

All this thread doesn't solve the issue at all, you should try to resolve it through Garmin tech. support. It seams, it is restricted by regulation, but then, there is a question why they provide the feature, that cannot be used?

I'm a new user and this makes my day.

Good news man, thanks!

Thanks!

...it only works until rebooted, there are times that I can be on the road all day, and will not find it too daunting of a task to do a pre-setup for the days drive by going into the diag menu and resetting it each time.

Of course, the 5-15 minute trip around town almost doesnt warrant fiddling with the media player anyways!

I will make a note to do so the next trip and see what happens.

Thanks for the tip, no matter what dissenting opinions are out there! It must have meant something for many of us, as there are 4 pages to this posting so far!!!

~Vanman

Bump!

Anything new on this?

Why would you expect anything new on a feature that's been discontinued for a few years? They stopped adding this feature with the 4 digit models.

I agree there is not likely to be anything new in regard to this subject. However, I've used the FM transmitter for over 4 years when driving on long work trips. It can be a pain sometimes in areas where I have to change the station but I live and work in Northern California and there are long stretches where the feature works just fine with no fiddling at all. It's definitely saved my sanity to be able to listen to audio books through the stereo in the older car I use for work trips.

When I lost my first nüvi 760 I replaced it with another of the same model. I recently purchased a backup on eBay in case the one I currently use dies. I have another 4.5 years to go before I can retire and it's worth it to me to spend a few bucks for a working nüvi 760 so I will be sure to NOT lose this function.

The ability to play books from audible.com and also books in .mp3 format and to send them through the stereo either via the FM transmitter (in the old car) or by using the headphone port on the nüvi and running it into a dedicated audio-in port (on the new car) is something I value greatly. I love the way the nüvi will pause the book, give me driving directions, and then restart the book a second or two before the place it was interrupted so nothing is missed.

Agreed, it is a great feature. Still have problems in FM dense area though, but that's what the stereo cord is for

THAT's WHY... A. H! [Box Car]

NEED You even ASS'k???

No Kidding!!!

Funny how this was open again is in the active forum topics... Close this.

Few topics on this board are ever closed. It's to the benefit of all that come here, and need to ask questions.

As a newbie, if some of the topics had been closed, I would not have found much of the info. I needed, having it available was great, Thanks.

Now as far as the original topic...
"For whatever it's worth, I raised mine from the default 100db to the max of 115db..."

I'm an Radio communications engineer, some I told this site about, read the OP and asked me about "115dB", please humor me, as a "purist" I was shaking .

dB's can be used in different ways, with various other letters defining that term.
The value "dB" by itself, is a term relating only to a change in power, "3dB" is twice the power as before, 10dB is 10 times the power.

In one of the posts, someone showed .5, 1.0 and 2.0mw options for the FM power output.

If the original power was only .5 mw (.05 watts), a 3dB increase means the power is now .1 watt (1/10th of a watt), a 10dB increase would make the output .500 watts (1/2 watt).

A "115dB" increase of .5mw is over 2 billion watts.

I looked around the web and online user's manuals, no luck, finding the actual power output in watts.
If anyone knows the actual FM output power, I'd appreciate knowing it.

Regards,

I would also like the output of my 885 and 765, in watts.. I know the 775 is set up for europe and outputs the max capable wattage of these units.. Does anyone know the output in watts?

Too bad it doesn't stick after a reboot

I'd be happy to even have the FM option

I'm so happy with the 50LM, I'm considering giving it to my son when he leaves for college in a month and spending some of his college $$ on a high-end GPS for myself.

Point 5 milliwatts (.0005 W) raised 3dB would be 1 mw or .001W 100 mw would be 0.1 W. You slipped a decimal point or two.

Don't expect to get this option with a new "high-end" GPS. The entire feature was discontinued in newer GPS units. They don't even include an audio output jack to run the things through the stereo at all.

What's up with the name calling?

Geo/ATL

shame it doesn't hold...

If I use my GPS, I use the built in speakers. If I want FM, I want it free to listen to music, or the news.

I typed it once and it didn't look right, so I put the calculator away and did it by hand and still screwed-up.

I stand corrected sort of the Glife was not necessary

--There is the validity.

Perhaps this is a question best answered by JM or Angela but my understanding of a closed thread is that new postings are not permitted but the conversation remains. If there are other conditions such as disappearing from menus and searches, then that needs to be brought out.

I have weak signal on 670 in my area when FM transmitter is used. I will give a try.

Here it is, the thread is still working, AND helping people. This is good!

--And sometimes the ongoing (residual) feedback is worth as much as the original core of the thread.

Since mW is a measure of power and Db is a measure of sound, didn't think you can convert between the two, but the internet say otherwise. Found a site that does along with the formula should you really be interested (yawn) (http://rapidtables.com/convert/power/mW_to_dBm.htm/) actually converts to DbW (decibel-milliwatts):
nW dBm
2.0 3.01
1.0 0
0.5 -3.01

Hope this helps...

dB can be used to describe many physical quantities, not just sound levels:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel

Agreed.... Db is a measurement of change...
Change in sound; Change in RF Power; Change in gain of receiver, etc.

Biggest confusing issue I have with Db measurements... is if you just say 'a 6Db increase'.... You really don't have anything to refer to... or what measurements were involved...

Db and DB and db I believe refer to different levels, and since I can't remember what is what, I'm probably as much as fault as the next guy of confusing statements...

6Db may be twice as much... or maybe it's 6DB, or 6db.....

Someone who knows for certain please correct us all! !

It's dB as in deciBells. The measurement is named for Alexander Graham Bell and it is a measurement which compares one value to another. As it is logarithmic. a 3 dB change is by a factor of 2 meaning the power is either doubled or halved. The term is nor,ally written in one of two ways, dB being the "correct" way but db is acceptable. When someone says a signal increases by 3 dB they are saying the power doubled.

We all remember "loud" TV commercials where they swore up and down the volume never changed but you were blasted anyway. Some of those volumes were 6 to 9 dB above the normal program level meaning the volume was 4 to 8 times louder than the preceding program. The Congress forced the FCC to change that and now the volume in a TV commercial has to be within a couple of dB of the normal program material. Do you notice 3 dB? Yes, and no. It depends on what's being measured. If it is a sound level you have to remember that 1 dB is the smallest amount of change in volume normally detected by a person with normal hearing .

to me.

...because here in SoCal there are too many radio stations so if you find an open channel, it won't be open in 30 miles or so. I just crank the speaker up to 90 or 100% and live with it.

http://tinyurl.com/8wygg7y

Now this is getting more interesting again!

On my 760 you can easily change the signal strength in the setup but, once you leave the setup menus, the signal instantly reverts to the stock setting so it doesn't do any good at all to change it on my unit. Since I live in Northern California (the REAL NC - not San Francisco!) I can find open frequencies to use.