i ordered a stupid cable

Tech crap comes and goes. It's really annoying when you have a whole ton of a specific type of tech crap that either stops being made, or is really expensive to keep working. This one falls into the latter category.

I have a bunch of old Garmin GPS screens. I also have some newer models. The older stuff all uses mini USB, and the newer USB-C.

A problem I encountered is with a very specific charger cord, the Garmin GTM60. The GTM60 is a power cord with FM antenna for HD traffic reporting for Garmin screens that support it. Actually, I have two of those cords, both technically acquired "free". Over the years through buying Garmin screens, two came in at separate times with GTM60 cords. That in itself is kind of funny because in both instances, the cord was literally worth more than the screen itself.

To get full over-the-air HD traffic reporting, the screen either has to have a built-in antenna for it, or if it doesn't, you use the GTM60.

I have the DriveSmart 76, a newer model that uses USB-C. It does have a built-in traffic receiver, but only for the "lesser" RDS traffic reporting with no HD included. How to add in HD? Use the GTM60 cable, except there's a problem. The GTM60 uses mini USB and not USB-C...

...and this is where I had to make a stupid cable purchase just to get that HD traffic reporting back.

I had to buy a little USB-C male to mini USB female adapter cable. The damned thing was 20 bucks. It's Garmin part number 010-13199-01. If you look that up, I guarantee you'll say, "15 to 20 bucks for that?" Yeah, for that.

Could I have gotten away with the generic $7 version? Probably, but I went ahead and acquired the ridiculous $20 Garmin version just to play it safe. That itty bitty cable allows the GTM60 to power the DS76 along with providing it HD traffic reporting data.

What's the advantage of HD traffic reporting over regular RDS? It's basically the closest you can get to the info the Garmin Drive app provides without use of the phone if in an area that has HD coverage. With that adapter and GTM60 connected, now I have full HD traffic reporting receiving ability on the DS76 screen.

Getting HD back was the first reason I got the adapter cable. The second was so I could swap between my mini USB and USB-C screens without swapping charger cords. It's basically the same as using one charger cord for two phones, one with USB-C and the other with older micro USB. Add a small adapter so you get both connector types, and one charger cord can be used instead of two. Better to use a small adapter on a single charger cord instead of fumbling about with two full length cords, right? Right. That's basically what the adapter I bought does for my Garmin screens. For my Garmins, the adapter allows one charger cord to power and charge all the screens I have.

I label this as "really expensive" because 20 bucks paid for an adapter cord so small (it's literally just slightly longer than my index finger) is ridiculous. Even so, I bought it, own it, I got my HD traffic reporting back, and now I have an easy way to swap from older to newer screens and vice versa.