• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 31 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 31st Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $23,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $23 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Garmin GPS problem

Carta

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2005
Messages
979
Reaction score
192
Location
Pennsylvania
I have 2 Garmins..Model#'s Nuvi 855 and 200... I love'm, but::::::::I'll hop into car,turn on GPS and sometimes it takes 20 mins. or more to find satellite signal.. Other times it takes seconds... Do you have same prob.? Is there a "quick fix"? Thx........Carta
 

wackymother

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2005
Messages
5,705
Reaction score
1,439
Location
NJ
We have a Garmin and sometimes it has this issue, too. Apparently there are surprisingly few satellites in the sky for GPSs to lock on to.

The one useful thing I can tell you is that the GPS will find the satellites faster if you turn the GPS on every day and use it every day. That helps it know where to "look" for the satellite. (But it sounds like you might already be doing this.)

We only use ours once every couple of weeks, but it does perform better if we turn it on every day.
 

humuhumu nukunukuapua'a

TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
84
Reaction score
1
Location
Redmond, WA
Garmin Nuvi support forum

The Makai Guy gave you good advice. A specific Garmin forum that I recommend is gpsreview.net

http://forums.gpsreview.net/

Within the above link, you should choose the "Garmin Nuvi Forum."

All you have to do is register your name (you will NOT receive any spam), and re-post the particulars of your issue. You will probably get good help within 24 hours.

I also own the Garmin 855, and use it only sparingly, like big vacation trips. However, when I am about to use it, I install the battery and let it stay on for perhaps 15 - 30 minutes before "going out the door" to the car. [Remember to leave it on, until you plug it in the car.] My unit ordinarily takes about 5 minutes to locate satellites.

Perhaps your model 200 unit is simply getting too old to be reliable?
 

dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
50,782
Reaction score
22,286
Location
NE Florida
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grande Vista
Marriott Harbour Lake
Sheraton Vistana Villages
Club Wyndham CWA
We have a Garmin-nüvi 1450LMT and notice the same issue. My FIL has an older unit that experiences the long wait to find satellites. Doesn't seem to be a pattern or reason for it.
 

Bucky

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
2,078
Reaction score
1,039
Location
The Carolina’s
Resorts Owned
Marriott Oceanwatch (2)
We own three of these and even in the newer ones this happens sometimes. The best thing I can tell you is to keep the software up to date by going to the Garmin website. Software updates are free and they seem to help. The poster that recommended using it more often may also be on to something. We just came back from Key West and the first time we turned it on in the rental car lot it seemed to take forever to lock onto a satellite and then everyday thereafter it took only seconds to acquire the satellite again.
 

Don

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
1,457
Reaction score
3
Location
Port Charlotte FL formerly Portsmouth VA
I have an older Magellan hand held (no maps) that I used mostly for speed readings while boating. It has the same problem, but not for as long as reported; maybe five minutes.
 

ada903

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2008
Messages
3,594
Reaction score
47
I am on my third Garmin, recently purchased (the expensive thin one, it was like $450 at Costco), and I always had that issue, especially if you only use it once in a while, it takes a long time, sometimes an hour, to find satellites.
 

janej

Tug Review Crew: Rookie
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2005
Messages
1,857
Reaction score
32
Location
Northern Virginia
My old Garmin had the issue. The problem was caused by the dead battery. The unit should know where you are when you start if the battery is alive, so it does not take long to locate a satellite. I found instructions on the internet on how to replace the battery. There are cheap replacement batteries on ebay also. But I messed up and ordered a wrong one. It also involves solder. I eventually gave up and bought new unit. Knowing a rechargeable battery has very limited lifetime, Garmin made the decision to limit the life of the GPS units so you will have to buy one every few years. They do offer a service to replace the battery. It was $75 or $90 for my old unit.
 

JeffW

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
1,699
Reaction score
11
Location
Philadelphia
A couple of things:

First many of the newer Garmins have a plug in battery (perhaps similar to what you may have with a cordless phone). For about $20 you can order a replacement battery, with the special screwdriver to unscrew the back cover, and a tool to help pop it off. It's not like replacing batteries in a remote control, but if you are mildly skilled, it shouldn't be that difficult. It definitely doesn't warrant a $90 factory.

If you don't want to do it yourself, I'd recommend http://www.sharc.net/gps_repair.htm
It's an independent repair facility. I had then replace a broken power switch. Less than 1/3 what Garmin wanted.

Also on many newer Garmins, if you press and hold your finder over the signal strength bars, it will bring up a screen that shows satellite strength. What I've figured out empirically:
- you need at least 4 satellites for it to triangulate
- it needs to lock onto the satellite

A sample screen is shown on this link: http://www.gpsdiscussion.com/garmin-gps/4141-garmin-nuvi-760-satellite-signal-strength-screen.html

On my Nuvi 760, if I look at the screen after powering on, I'll see it trying to locate satellites (the vertical bar is flashing). After it's sync'd with it, it shows solid 4. Once I get 4 satellite signals like that, I get coordinates.

So, looking at the screen can help you figure out:
- are you not seeing enough satellites
- are they taking a long time to sync
- not enough signal strength (think maybe the height of the bar)

Hope this helps.

Jeff
 
Top