Well, if the kit has the standard "ball mount", I was just wondering why you said it would be impossible to use the 600-series with the kit, it you were willing to pop the 360 mount off of the ball and replace it with a 660 mount.

Of course, looking at the installed pictures, I think the MINI kit puts the 360 too close to the gauges to be able to fit a 660 in its place. I guess I'll just stick with my Kuda mount for now.

 

Does the hardwired mount hookup utilize the car's speaker system in any way? If so how? I assume it does not use the Mini's microphone.

 

you got it in one, the 660 is too wide to fit.

 

nah it doesn't. the only thing the unit taps from the vehicle is power.

 

Any chance you could forward some ideas to Garmin?

Here is what I think about the NUVI. We need two versions of firmware, the dumbed-down that is on there now, and an expert users version where everything on all the screens is configurable.

Other stuff I'd like to see specifically on the NUVI 360...
- Ability to independantly adjust the volume for mp3 playback vs. Navigation prompting
- Large speedometer, like the Zumo
- ability to set the fields on screens, like most older Garmins
- track logs
- off-device route planning and able to maintain a specific route without recalculating
- faster lock onto satellites when opening the antenna

Anyone else have some suggestions? Thanks REC for forwarding to Garmin for us!

 

Really good information. I've been looking to do this since I saw the mount in person. Lucky for me I have a Garmin 360 already. Now about this srf files...

 

Kuda mounts! Lookf for the threads. It is a much better and versatile solution.

This is what I do. I have the Kuda mount and it is hardwired into the the car. I also ran the Aux cable behind the dash to the car's aux port so i can hear mp3 and voice. all music is stored on a SD card and I also have an SD card reader plugged into the USB. Depending on my situation, the card is either in the Garmin or the USB. I disliked the location of the MINI Nuvi. I bought a 780 and love it.

 

I don't know if it's specifically what you are looking for, but my 740 has something like these 2 features.

1. It isn't off-device, but on the seven hundred series models you can pre-plan up to 10 routes and save them for recall at a future time. I use it on club drives: I lay in the exact course I want to take (twisties... not highways, you silly machine!) using a lot of waypoints and save the collection into one of the slots. The morning of the drive, I select the saved file, tell it to take me to the starting point of the drive and head out the door. It will give me the fastest route to the beginning of the drive (where I meet up with the rest of my local club) and then it leads us on the drive on the twisty roads I wanted us to go down. When we are at the end, I hit the 'go home' button and it gives me the fastest route home. I got the 740 because it was widescreen and had this feature. As far as I could tell, any of the Nuvi's under 700 don't have it.

2. It will show a light blue line (you can turn it off, if you want) where you have been... Here's a photo of the screen after doing a charity drive on Texas Motor Speedway

 

agranger,

How do you turn the Blue Line off?

thanks

 

BTW: Kuda is definately the smoothest mount out there, IMHO. I've got the R53 dash version and love it.

Pics of the mount and my power cord mod are here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...0&postcount=87

 

Wow. I just happen to have my unit on my desk with me... a friend asked to borrow it, so I brought it into the office.

1. Power on the unit
2. Click 'agree'
3. Click 'tools' in the lower right hand corner
4. Click 'settings' in the upper left hand corner
5. Click 'map' in the lower center
6. Click on the blue button under 'Trip Log' (it will say 'hide' or 'show', depending on your current setting... probably 'show' as you are asking how to turn 'em off)
7. Click on 'hide' and then click 'OK'.
8. Click 'back', 'back', 'back', 'View Map' to confirm that your blue lines are gone!

 

Had anyone installed their GPS to mute the radio and play through the speakers?

 

I've got an aftermarket bluetooth gadget that ties into a circuit from NewMINIStuff that works beautifully for the bluetooth device.... whenever the circuit sees signal from my bluetooth unit, it cuts out the radio and plays the bluetooth unit's audio over the speakers.

I played with wiring the audio output from my Garmin into this so it would cut out for the Garmin's instructions as well, but couldn't get it to work correctly (or work at all for that matter). I can't say that I tried exhaustively though... and it seems like the right tool for the job (with my limited knowledge of the subject).

The Garmin speakers are pretty crappy for most purposes... I've heard that the bluetooth features on 'em are pretty worthless because of this (inaudible over road noise and not enough volume), so I got one without bluetooth to save a few $. The FM transmitter works, but you can hear a static hiss (at least I did the way I tried it), and the hiss got on my nerves.

I found that the Brittish male voice played through the Garmin's built-in speaker cuts through my radio and the road noise pretty well... much better than the other voices. Something about the inflection and pronunciation makes it easier to understand. My MCS has a male name and it's Brittish, so it stuck.

 

Yes. I installed the navigation interface from newministuff.com. Here is the link to the item.

http://www.newministuff.com/new/shop...uctshow&id=574

It has a wiring harness that you place inline with the one that connects to the back of the radio as well as a control module. On the control module it has a connection for a 3.5 mm audio jack that connects to the output from the Nuvi. When the Nuvi talks it mutes the front speakers and plays the Nuvi audio.

 

That may have been my problem. I got my interface and bluetooth unit second-hand, so it had already been modded. I didn't have the 3.5mm jack anymore... it must have been removed by the previous owner.

 

Did you find it difficult to get to the radio (on the 2GEN MINI?). vs mine?

 

It was not as bad as I expected. Just had to take my time. Took about 2.5-3 hours to install the factory nuvi bracket and the newministuff.com nav interface. After doing it once I could probably do it in about 1 - 1.5 hours.

 

I just got my MINI home and have had the Kuda Mount https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...55&postcount=1 , nav interface https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...59&postcount=5 and powertakeoff http://www.newministuff.com/new/inde...on=13&diyid=17 for some time (waiting was a bear!).

Is this the same setup that you have?

I can't re-locate some some very good pics and step-by-step instructions on NAM re this wiring and installation. Do you know where it might be located?
Thanks
ThommyG

 

I have the factory oem nuvi mount that goes to the left of the tach and provides power. I also have the nav interface from newministuff.com which routes the nuvi sound through the stereo speakers while muting them.

 

I'm interested in the routing of the power and nav interface cables. The papers provided by newministuff are made for right drive cars. Did your install involve taking out the radio, etc., and if so where did you find the instructions?

 

Yes i had to take out the radio to install the nav interface. The wires are routed behind the dash panels (which have to be remove to get to the back of the radio), so you do not see them at all. The nav interface came with a 3 page illustrated print out on how to take the dash apart to get the radio out. Even though it is for a rh drive car they are the same, the panels are just switched. The instructions were easy to follow.

To install the factory nuvi mount, which just provides the power, you do not have to take out the radio. You just have to remove the panel underneath the steering wheel to get to the wiring where it ties in.

 

So, Garmin has that the Nuvi 360 is a discontinued product. Now that I just got mine... will the new Mini nav be something different?

 

MINI will probably just come out with a similar kit using a MINI-branded nuvi 2xx/5xx.

It would be really nice if they'd make a bracket that would work with the widescreen nuvi, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

When you (or anyone that has done this) bought this navigation interface from newministuff.com you installed it in a 2nd generation radio with no built in factory Nav, correct? (i just want to make sure, get the obvious out of the way that when I order this interface it will work with my non-factory navigation radio, I have a garmin instead)

Also, is it easy to purchase items from newministuff.com if you're in the United States? I have never purchased from this company but after reading many posts they seem very reliable. I may have to use my $ conversion app on the garmin travel kit to see how much damage will be done to my pocket book.

TIA,
Oly

 

Yes, it was installed in a 2nd gen without the factory nav. I have bought a few items from newministuff.com and I have never had any problems with the orders and they have always been quick to arrive.