Repurposing a Garmin Nuvi 265W

[Rx7man]

Hello, I have an old 265W that I'd like to repurpose into a display for an Arduino (over USB/Serial/I2C/SPI, whichever works) I realize there will be a big firmware rewrite in order to do this, and I can do most of that once I get some pointers... Biggest issue I have now is I'd need to know the processor it has, and if its at all possible..

The unit has GPS (evidently) though I don't think I'd be tapping into that, but perhaps the bluetooth capability it has could be handy to interface with a smartphone...

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

I think it may be easier to dis-connect the display from the Nuvi motherboard and use the Arduino to drive the display directly without going via the Nuvi's operating system. The display may have an on-board micro controller, but it's hard to say if that will help or hinder it's use

 

[Rx7man]

I think you may have a point... I am just kinda pushing the limits of the arduino processor as it stands.. formatting for display, etc would probably be too much.. pushing some serial data to be processed on the Nuvi would be fine though.

I took my unit apart... it's an STmicro built Garmin branded main processor... I'll post a picture up here in a while