Quick questions about GPS and Empeg

I don't know very much about the GPS projects going on with the Empeg, but something regarding that did just occur to me. I have a Garmin GPS V which i currently have hooked up to the cig lighter. Is there any way I can use the empeg to power the GPS, and then just run the data cable wire behind my dash? I really do hate having the cig lighter tied up all the time, and seeing it is even worse.

It is the same as any other car wiring. The Cigarette lighter supplies 12 volts.

If your Garmin takes 12 volts DC (should be printed on the unit somewhere), then you can wire it directly to the same 12volt wire that your empeg is connected to.

If it doesn't draw too much current, then you might also be able to connect it to the empeg's blue amp-remote wire.

Do you intend to permanently mount it in the car, or do you intend to take it out of the car?

This is what I thought:

I thought the empeg harness had a serial connection that came off of it. I thought that this serial connection provided power as well and that this was how GPS's were hooked up to the empeg for all the projects. I figured I could hook the GPS V up to the empeg using the serial data cable that came with the unit. I'm guessing i'm wrong.

The GPS is in the car most of the time, but i figured that when I needed it for Geocaching or something, I could just unplug the wire from the back of the Garmin. My intention was never to actually hard wire the GPS unit.

I thought the empeg harness had a serial connection that came off of it.

Yes, it does.

I thought that this serial connection provided power as well and that this was how GPS's were hooked up to the empeg for all the projects.

One of the wires on the serial port is the same wire as the empeg's Amp Remote wire. This is not a standard part of a serial connection, it's something the empeg guys added themselves.

Your Garmin GPS unit probably does not have a power input on that pin of the serial port. So if you decide to use it for 12 volt power, you must make sure that:

a. Your Garmin is designed to run off of 12 volts, and

b. you hack the Garmin, or create some kind of a patch cable at the Garmin end of the cable to connect that wire to the Garmin's power input.

When I spoke earlier about using the Amp Remote wire, it applies the same, whether you do it as one of the serial pins or you do it as a loose wire. Either way, same wire, connected to the same electronics on the empeg.