Garmin aera 550, aera 510, aera 500 User Manual

™

automotive

owner’s manual

models: 500, 510, 550, 560

© 2009 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries

Garmin International, Inc.
1200 East 151st Street,
Olathe, Kansas 66062, USA
Tel. [phone] or [phone]
Fax [phone]

Garmin (Europe) Ltd.
Liberty House
Hounsdown Business Park,
Southampton, Hampshire, SO40 9LR UK
Tel. [phone] (outside the UK)

Garmin Corporation
No. 68, Jangshu 2nd Road,
Sijhih, Taipei County, Taiwan
Tel. [phone]

Fax [phone]
0808 2380000 (within the UK)
Fax [phone]

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Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Garmin reserves the right to change or improve its products and to make changes in the content without
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information concerning the use and operation of this and other Garmin products.

Garmin®, the Garmin logo, TourGuide®, and MapSource® are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries, registered in the USA and other countries. myGarmin™, aera™,
ecoRoute™, Garmin Lock™, and nüMaps Guarantee™ are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries. These trademarks may not be used without the express permission of
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November 2009 Part Number 190-01117-00 Rev. C Printed in Taiwan

Introduction

Introduction

aera Tips and Shortcuts

•

Manual Conventions

When you are instructed to “touch”

something, use your nger to touch an item

on the screen.

The small arrows (>) used in the text indicate
that you should touch a series of items. For
example, if you see “touch Where To? >

Favorites” you should touch Where To?,

and then touch Favorites.

This manual applies to the automotive mode
for the aera. See the aera Pilot’s Guide and
aera Quick Reference Guide for instructions
and information on the aviation mode.

•

•

Contact Garmin

Contact Garmin if you have any questions
while using your aera. In the USA, go
to www.garmin.com/support, or contact
Garmin USA by phone at [phone] or
[phone].

In the UK, contact Garmin (Europe) Ltd. by
phone at 0808 2380000.

In Europe, go to www.garmin.com

/support and click Contact Support for

in-country support information, or contact
Garmin (Europe) Ltd. by phone at +44 (0)

870.8501241.

myGarmin™

To quickly return to the Menu page, touch
and hold Back.

Touch and to see more choices.
Touch and hold to scroll faster.

Pages appear differently based on your
usage mode and settings.

Go to http://my.garmin.com to access the
latest services for your Garmin products:

•

•

•

Register your Garmin unit.

Subscribe to online services for safety
camera information (see page 34).

Unlock optional maps.

aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual i

Introduction

Table of Contents

Introduction .........................................i

Manual Conventions ................................i

aera Tips and Shortcuts ...........................i

Contact Garmin ........................................i

myGarmin™ .............................................i

aera 500 Series Models ......................iv

Getting Started ....................................1

Installing the Battery ................................2

Charging Your aera ..................................2

Mounting Your aera in an Automobile ......2

Conguring Your aera ..............................3

Acquiring Satellites ..................................3

Changing Modes ......................................3

Using the Menu Page ..............................3

Finding Your Destination ..........................4

Following Your Route ...............................5

Adjusting the Volume ...............................5

Where To? ...........................................6

Finding an Address ..................................6

Searching Near Another Location ............6

Go! Page Options ....................................6

Setting a Home Location ..........................7

Finding a Place by Spelling the Name ....7

Finding Recently Found Places ...............7

ii aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual

Using Favorites ........................................8

Using Photo Navigation ...........................8

Using Extras .............................................8

Using Custom Routes ..............................9

Finding a Place Using the Map ................10

Entering Coordinates ...............................10

Using the Main Pages ........................11

Map Page .................................................11

Turn List Page ..........................................11

Next Turn Page ........................................12

Lane Assist Page .....................................12

Trip Computer Page .................................12

Using Hands-free Calling ...................13

Pairing Your Devices ................................13

Receiving a Call ......................................14

In a Call ...................................................14

Using the Phone Menu ............................14

Receiving XM Signals ........................16

Checking XM Signal Strength ..................16

Listening to XM Radio ..............................16

Weather ...................................................17

Using FM TMC Trafc .........................18

Receiving Trafc Information ...................18

Trafc in Your Area ...................................18

Severity Color Code .................................18

Trafc on Your Route ...............................19

Viewing the Trafc Map ............................19

Viewing Trafc Delays ..............................19

Viewing Offers ..........................................19

Using the Media Players ....................20

Using a Wireless Headset ........................20

Playing Music ...........................................20

Listening to Audible Books .......................21

Managing Files ....................................22

Supported File Types ...............................22

Connecting Your aera to Your Computer .22

Transferring Files .....................................22

Deleting Files ..........................................22

Using the Tools ...................................23

Settings ....................................................23

Where Am I? ............................................23

Help ..........................................................23

Media Player ............................................23

ecoRoute™ ...............................................23

Picture Viewer ..........................................25

Custom Routes ........................................25

My Data ....................................................25

World Clock .............................................26

Language Guide ......................................26

Calculator ................................................27

Unit Converter .........................................27

Introduction

Customizing the aera .........................28

Changing the System Settings .................28

Changing the Navigation Settings ............28

Adjusting the Display Settings .................29

Updating the Time Settings ......................29

Setting the Languages .............................29

Changing the Map Settings ......................30

Changing Weather Settings .....................30

Adding Security ........................................30

Viewing FM TMC Trafc Subscription

Information ............................................31

Changing Bluetooth Technology

Settings .................................................31

Changing the Proximity Points Settings ...32

Restoring All Settings ...............................32

Clearing User Data ..................................32

Appendix .............................................33

Resetting the aera ....................................33

Calibrating the Screen .............................33

Locking Your aera ....................................33

nüMaps Guarantee™ ...............................33

Additional Maps .......................................33

Updating the Software .............................34

Extras and Optional Accessories .............34

Battery Information ..................................35

Maximizing the Battery Life ......................35

Changing the Fuse ...................................36

About GPS Satellite Signals ....................36

Removing the aera and Mount .................36

Caring for Your aera ................................37

Registering Your aera ..............................37

Software License Agreement ...................38

Specications ...........................................39

Troubleshooting .......................................40

Index ....................................................42

aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual iii

aera 500 Series Models

aera 500 Series Models

Features XM® Compatible Lane Assist Speed Limits On

Map Page

500

510

550

560

✓

✓ ✓ ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

FM TMC Trafc
Compatible

NOTE: Go to www.garmin.com or see the packaging contents on your product box for more information.

iv aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual

Getting Started

Power button:
Press and hold to turn the aera on/off.
Press quickly to adjust the volume and the backlight brightness.

Mini-USB

connector

Getting Started

GPS antenna

Headphone/

audio-out jack

(under weather cap)

Microphone

External antenna

connector

(under weather cap)

See the Important Safety and Product Information guide in the product box for

product warnings and other important information.

aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual 1

microSD™

slot

Speaker

Battery

contacts

Serial number
(under the battery)

Release key: Slide and

release to open the

battery cover

Getting Started

Installing the Battery

1. Locate the lithium‑ion battery that came in
the product box.

2. Slide the release key until the battery
cover on the back of the aera opens up.

3. Remove the battery cover.

4. Locate the metal contacts on the end of
the lithium‑ion battery.

5. Insert the battery so that the metal
contacts on the battery line‑up with
the metal contacts inside the battery
compartment.

6. Slide the top of the battery cover into
the groove on the inside of the battery
compartment, and press down.

WARNING: This product contains a lithium-ion battery.
To prevent damage, remove the unit from the vehicle when
exiting or store it out of direct sunlight.

Charging Your aera

Charge your aera for at least 4 hours before
using on battery power.

•

•

•

•

Mounting Your aera in an Automobile

1. Plug the vehicle power cable into the

Connect the vehicle power cable.

Connect the USB cable.

Connect an AC adapter (optional
accessory).

Use a battery charger (optional
accessory).

power connector on the right side of the
cradle.

Release button

Cradle

Vehicle power

cable

2. Remove the clear plastic from the bottom
of the friction mount and shape it to your
dashboard.

3. Place the friction mount on your
dashboard so it is easily accessible.

4. Lift the arm up.

Mount arm

Friction mount

5. Snap the cradle onto the friction mount
arm.

6. Fit the bottom of your aera into the cradle.

2 aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual

Getting Started

Acquiring Satellites

1. Go outdoors to an open area, out of

2. Turn on your aera.

Acquiring satellite signals may take a few
minutes. The bars indicate GPS signal.

7. Tilt the aera back until it snaps into place.

8. Plug the other end of the vehicle power
cable into a power outlet in your vehicle.

Conguring Your aera

Your unit should turn on automatically if it
is plugged in and your vehicle is running.
To manually turn on your aera, press
the Power key. Follow the on-screen
instructions.

When one bar is green, the aera has acquired
satellite signals. Now you can select a
destination and navigate to it.

Changing Modes

Your aera offers two modes for
transportation: automotive and aviation.

1. Touch a mode icon.

2. Touch Yes.

garages, and away from tall buildings.

Automotive

Aviation

Using the Menu Page

➋

➌

➐

➍

➒➑

➎

➓

➊

➏

➊

GPS signal.

➋

Bluetooth® technology status.

➌

Touch to select automobile or aviation

mode.

➍

Battery status.

➎

Current time. Touch to change settings.

➏

Touch to nd a destination.

➐

Touch to view the map.

➑

Touch to make a call when connected to

a compatible mobile phone.

➒

Touch to adjust the volume.

➓

Touch to use the tools such as settings,
Where Am I?, and Help.

aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual 3

Getting Started

Finding Your Destination

The Where To? menu provides several different categories for you to use when searching for addresses, cities, and other locations. The detailed
map loaded in your aera contains millions of points of interest, such as restaurants, hotels, and auto services.

1. Touch Where To?.

4. Select a destination.

4 aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual

2. Select a category. 3. Select a subcategory.

5. Touch

Go!. 6. Follow the navigation

instructions.

Getting Started

Following Your Route

Your route is marked with a magenta line.
As you travel, your aera guides you to your
destination with voice prompts, arrows
on the map, and directions at the top of

Adding a Via Point

You can add a stop (Via Point) to your route.
The aera gives you directions to the stop and

then to your nal destination.

1. With a route active, touch Menu > Where

the map. On some models, The upper-left
corner indicates the distance to your next
maneuver and the lane you should be in for
the maneuver.

2. Search for the extra stop.

3. Touch Go!.

4. Touch Add As a Via Point to add this

If you depart from the original route, your
aera recalculates the route and provides new
directions.

A speed limit icon could appear as you travel
on major roadways. See page iv.

If you want to add more than one stop to the
route, edit the current route. See page 9.

Taking a Detour

If a road on your route is closed, you can
take a detour.

1. With a route active, touch Menu.

2. Touch Detour.

The aera attempts to get you back on your
original route as quickly as possible. If
the route you are currently taking is the
only reasonable option, the aera might not
calculate a detour.

To?.

stop before your destination.

Stopping the Route

1. With a route active, touch Menu.

2. Touch Stop.

Adjusting the Volume

From the Menu page, touch Volume. Touch

and to adjust the master volume.

Touch Mute to mute all audio.

To adjust the volume levels for the voice
prompts, the media player, and the phone,
touch Mixer. Adjust the levels as needed.
Touch Restore to return the volume settings
to the original levels.

To switch the audio between your aera and
a Bluetooth audio device, such as Bluetooth
headphones, touch Audio Output. This
feature is only available when your aera is
paired with a Bluetooth audio device. See

page 20.

TIP

: Press and release the power button to
quickly access the volume and brightness
settings.

aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual 5

Where To?

Where To?

The Where To? menu provides several
different categories you can use to search for
locations. To learn how to perform a standard
search, see page 4.

Finding an Address

The steps to nd an address can vary

depending on the maps that are loaded on
your aera. Not all map data provides postal
code searching.

1. Touch Where To? > Address.

2. Change the state, country, or province, if
necessary.

3. Touch Spell City, enter the city/postal
code, and touch Done. Select the city/
postal code in the list. If you are unsure of
the city, touch Search All.

4. Enter the number of the address, and
touch Done.

5. Enter the street name, and touch Done.

6. Select the correct street in the list, if
necessary.

7. Select the correct city in the list, if

8. Touch the address, if necessary.

Searching Near Another Location

Your aera automatically searches for places
near your current location.

1. Touch Where To? > Near.

2. Select an option:

3. Touch OK.

necessary.

Where I Am Now

•

A Different City

•

My Current Route

•

My Destination

•

Go! Page Options

Touch an item in the search results list to
view the Go! page.

➊

➌➋

➍

➊

Touch to call this location, if a mobile
phone with Bluetooth wireless
technology is connected. See page 13.

➋

Touch to view the route on a map.

➌

Touch to create a turn-by-turn route to
this location.

➍

Touch to view this location on the map.

➎

Touch to save this location to your
Favorites. See page 8.

➎

6 aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual

Setting a Home Location

You can set a Home location for the place
you return to most often.

1. Touch Where To? > Go Home.

2. Select an option.

Going Home

After you set your Home location, you can
route to it at any time. Touch Where To? >

Go Home.

Changing Your Home Location

To set a new location as your Home location,
use the Tools menu.

1. Touch Tools > My Data >

Set Home Location.

2. Select an option.

Finding a Place by Spelling the Name

If you know the name of the location you
are looking for, you can spell it using the on­screen keyboard. You can also enter letters
contained in the name to narrow the search.

1. Touch Where To? > Points of Interest >

2. Using the on‑screen keyboard, enter

3. Touch Done.

Using the On-Screen Keyboard

When an on-screen keyboard appears, touch
a letter or number to enter it.

Spell Name.

letters in the name.

Where To?

Touch to select words you have

•
recently typed and selected.

Touch Lang. to change the keyboard

•
language mode.

Touch to enter special characters.

•

Finding Recently Found Places

Your aera stores the last 50 of your recent

nds in the Recently Found list. The most-

recently viewed places appear at the top
of the list. Touch Where To? > Recently

Found to view your recently found items.

Clearing Recently Found Places

To remove all places from the Recently
Found list, touch Clear > Yes. All items
from the list are removed, but this does not
delete the actual places from your aera.

Touch to add a space.

•

Touch to delete the character.

•

aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual 7

Where To?

Using Favorites

You can save places in your Favorites so you

can quickly nd them and create routes to

them. Your home location is also stored in
Favorites.

Editing Saved Places

1. Touch Where To? > Favorites.

2. Touch the location you want to edit.

3. Touch Edit.

4. Touch an option to edit the location:

Saving Your Current Location

From the Map page, touch . Touch Save

Location to save your current location.

Saving Places You Find

1. After you have found a place you want to

save, touch Save on the Go! page.

2. Touch OK. The place is saved in

Favorites.

Finding Saved Places

1. Touch Where To?.

2. Touch Favorites.

3. Touch a category. Your saved locations
are listed.

Change Name—enter a new name,

•

and touch Done.

Attach Photo—select a picture to

•

assign to the location. To load pictures
on your aera or memory card, see

page 22.

Change Map Symbol—touch a new

•

symbol.

Change Phone Number—enter a

•

phone number, and touch Done.

Change Categories—create and

•

change the category in which this
location is saved.

Delete—touch Yes to remove this item

•
from the Favorites list.

Using Photo Navigation

You can load pictures that include location
information onto your aera and then create
routes to them.

1. Go to http://connect.garmin.com

/photos to download pictures with location

information.

2. Follow the instructions on the Web site to
select and load pictures.

3. Touch Where To? > Favorites > Photos.
Pictures with location information are
listed.

4. Touch a picture.

Using Extras

For information about extras such as safety
camera information and Garmin Travel
Guide, see pages 34–35.

8 aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual

Where To?

Downloading Locations

You can download locations and points of
interest to your aera from various online
sources.

1. Go to www.garmin.com

/communicator to download and install

the Garmin Communicator Plugin on your
computer.

2. Connect your aera to your computer. See

page 22.

3. Find a location on a supported Web site.

4. Follow the instructions on the Web site to
send the location to your aera.

Downloaded locations are saved in your
Favorites on your aera.

Using Custom Routes

7. Touch

Touch Where To? > Custom Routes. Select
the route you want to take, and touch Go!.

Creating a Custom Route

Use your aera to create and save routes
before your next trip. You can save up to 10
routes.

1. Touch Where To? (or Tools) > Custom

Routes > New.

2. Touch Add New Start Point.

3. Find a location for your starting point, and

touch Select.

4. Touch Add New End Point.

5. Find a location for your ending point, and

touch Select.

6. Touch to add another location to your
route. Touch to remove a location.

8. Touch Save to save the route and exit.

Editing Custom Routes

1. Touch Where To? (or Tools) > Custom

2. Select the route you want to edit.

3. Touch Edit.

4. Touch an option to edit the route:

Your changes are automatically saved when
you exit any of the route edit pages.

Next to calculate your route and

view it on the map.

Routes.

Change Name—enter a new name,

•

and touch Done.

Add or Remove Points—add or

•

remove points from the route.

Manually Reorder Points—change

•

the order of points along your route.

Optimally Reorder Points—

•

automatically order the points.

Recalculate—change the route

•

preference to calculate by faster time,
shorter distance, or off road.

Delete—remove this route.

•

aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual 9

Where To?

Finding a Place Using the Map

To nd a location on the map, touch Where

To? > Browse Map or touch anywhere on

the map.

Touch and drag to view different parts of

•
the map.

Touch and to zoom in and out.

•

Touch anywhere on the map. An arrow

•
points to the location.

Touch Save to save this location.

•

Touch Go! to navigate to the location.

•

If the aera is in simulator mode, touch Set

•

Loc. to set your location to the selected

location. (See page 28.)

Touch to switch between a 3-D

•
(three-dimensional) map and a 2-D
(two-dimensional) map.

Touch to rotate the viewing angle in

•
3-D view.

Zoom far out to view a globe. Touch and

•
spin the globe to quickly nd different
areas of the world.

NOTE: You can only see detailed map
information for areas for which you have
maps loaded on your aera.

Entering Coordinates

If you know the geographic coordinates
of your destination, you can use your aera
to navigate to your destination using the
latitude and longitude coordinates (or other
coordinate formats). This can be especially
helpful when geocaching.

1. Touch Where To? > Coordinates.

2. Touch Format to select the correct

coordinate format for the type of map you
are using.

3. Touch a direction eld to select a new

direction.

4. Touch a numeric eld to enter the

coordinates, and touch Done.

10 aera 500 Series Owner’s Manual