Was deciding to post this in the smile thread or here but picked here because it was at the top of the "latest posts" section when I logged in.
Probably about 6 months back my trusty reliable 10+ year old Garmin 510 bit the dust. It would not stay on and when it did it kept saying "loading..." and then would shut off. And of course that day I did a long ride and lost the file. On further inspection the rubberized front cover section which also had the buttons molded in was disintegrating underneath the nice silicone cover for the lap and power buttons. I stopped short of throwing it against a wall back then and its been sitting on my basement work from home desk ever since.
For some reason last night I decided to plug it in and try to power it on, and it was still doing the same thing (duh of course). But then I did a google search and after a few tries and combinations, came up with a web site from 10 years ago that exactly described my issue and how to fix it which consists of:
1. connect to computer/USB
2. hold lap button
3. hold power button
This forces the device into Mass Storage mode and then from the computer, locate and delete all the activity and course files - error/frozen screen is due to one or more of these being corrupt.
I was thinking to myself, there's no way I didn't find this and try it 6 months ago. or did I?
To test this I used a rolled up rubber bands and stuffed into the spots where the buttons were missing, plugged into laptop and then heard the most magical sound when a USB device is connected! Deleted all the files, restarted the Garmin and boom baby its back online!
Now my brain starts running away with ideas on how to fix the buttons - of course search online and find a replacement cover right? Yeah. No. even used they cost $50 or more and the device isnt worth that much. Plus I don't have
@Patrick skills to take this apart and change screens etc... risk damaging it further since really its just the buttons that are missing. Because at that point I should change the battery too but again totally not worth it.
Hmm.. Silicone/Caulk - no might drip into the electronics unless I squeeze some out on a piece of cardboard and then shape it with a knife to fill in the whole
Oh wait - hot glue gun - i can melt some and once it cools a little shape it to fit in the holes.
even better, just cut some pieces off the cold glue stick and wrap it with some tape!
So here's the pictures and the results. It might not be ready for a rainy day any more but at least its functioning properly. I have yet to take it on a test ride but will do a short ride to make sure everything connects, saves and syncs.
Little wins like this sometimes make up for crappy days.
