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Very Active Member
When I'm ready to spend some serious $$ on something, I like to do a lot of research. I was looking at both the garmin 396/Zumo XT and the Tomtom Rider 550. Reading a lot of forums/youtube video's, the biggest shortcoming of the 396 appeared to be screen visibility. Owners here say it is good. I don't have one, so I don't know. Screen visibility never was a concern on the TT Rider 550. Basically, I decided it was going to be between the Zumo XT or Tomtom Rider 550. Having both 4.3"/5" Garmin auto units, I like how the 4.3" screens fit on my spyder better, but I also know I like the size/ease of reading of the 5". In the case of the Zumo XT, 5.5" display. Tomtoms were once in the $250 range, but now are in the $300 range. At a sale price of $237, the 396 is a great deal. The Zumo XT has come down in price a bit, as it is now around $480 on Amazon. Being familiar with Garmin software and USA support, I spent the higher $$ Friday on the Zumo XT. My eyesight won't get any better and I can certainly see the 5" displays of my auto units better We shall see....
2022 RT Sea To Sky
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Active Member
Originally Posted by Poasttown
I have a question about brightness on the 396. I took mine out for its first ride today and as soon as I left the garage I could not see the screen. I could not get it to brighten even when I went to the brightness option and slid the scale to its highest level. The GPS did have a notation” Use the cable provided with your devise to support full brightness”. Not sure what this means? Could it mean that the unit has to be hard wired to an electrical system?
Poasttown.
How are you powering it? Are you using the power cord that came with it? It may be dimmed down if it doesnt have what it considers full current/voltage. Mine is plenty bright in daylight, much more so than the Nuvi's I had been using before.
2019 BMW C650GT, 2010 Spyder RT-S, 2009 BMW R1200RT,(sold) 2009 Honda Silverwing (Sold), 2009 Kawasaki 500 Vulcan (Sold)
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Evil twin
I was operating it just from the battery which I’m guessing isn’t going to be enough power. I was hoping to just recharge the battery between rides when on trips. I suppose I’m going to splice the GPS power cord to a “charge only” USB connector and then attach to the USB connector in the 2019 F3L glove box. If this doesn’t provide enough power I may run a power cable to the permanent battery tender connector.
Thanks
Poasttown
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