citybabe
Keep Calm and OMG.......CAKES!!
- Location
- Lowestoft Suffolk
I had to take mine out for a little ride before it would lock on to any.
Now it only takes seconds
Now it only takes seconds
Garmin 800 acquiring satellites
- Thread starter jonny jeez
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Alien8
Senior Moment
- Location
- (A little bit north of) Cambridge
Does the 800 tell you how many satellites it has acquired whilst it is searching? Following a factory reset, and with reasonable sky visibility, I would expect it to acquire a few satellites in a minute or two. I think it takes 12.5 minutes for the full data message (the low precision orbital data for the whole constellation) to repeat. Once it has got that, and reasonable estimate of time and initial position, the time to first fix following power on should be a few tens of seconds at most.
GrasB
Veteran
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
... this is exactly the behaviour Garmin lay out in the manual for the Edge 500. If you're traveling a long distance, far enough so it can no longer find any of the satellites it's expecting, it will take the unit several min to work out where it actually is.
OP
OP
jonny jeez
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chislehurst, Kent, UK
it doesn't tell me specifically but when I gave up, I looked at the GPS screen and the "Show sat's" screen and it showed a field of grey sats with two highlighted in green.So I guess it found two.
On the main "acquiring screen" it shows a graph of 4 or 5 bars all climbing in height. At the start the smallest was red, when I gave up the first two were a mustard colour
Crankarm
Guru
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
Why not go out on Chislehurst Common? Lots of empty space there. Or even Biggin Hill?
To re-iterate Garmin GPSs use Hotfix to speed up locking on to statelites when you switch the units on, so if the last statelite fix was hundreds, thousands of miles away from the last fix before it was switched off, it will have to lock on from scratch which will take longer. The GPS stores the last fix in it's memory which can prematurely drain the battery if you leave it in a drawer or on a shelf for several months until you next use it. Even if you take the battery out the last statelite fix will still be stored in the unit's memory.
To re-iterate Garmin GPSs use Hotfix to speed up locking on to statelites when you switch the units on, so if the last statelite fix was hundreds, thousands of miles away from the last fix before it was switched off, it will have to lock on from scratch which will take longer. The GPS stores the last fix in it's memory which can prematurely drain the battery if you leave it in a drawer or on a shelf for several months until you next use it. Even if you take the battery out the last statelite fix will still be stored in the unit's memory.
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
JJ, if as it seems like you are doing (acquiring in the open) it shouldn't take that long I cant recall ow long mine took but it was less than 15mins, when i went to Belgium last month despite being in an entirely new location it took less than 15mins also. Im suspecting a fault with your's; give garmin a call they will probably tell you quickly.
Sillyoldman
Guru
Agree with HlaB. I bought mine in the States and played about with it over there. Took about 20 mins to locate satellites when I got back to the UK. Thereafter it takes less than a minute.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I own a plain old Garmin Etrex and it has been pretty reliable, usually locking on to satellites in a minute or two if I haven't moved far from where I switched it off. I did get it into a state once though where it wouldn't lock on properly no matter how long I left it for. In the end a factory reset sorted it out. It then took 5 or 6 minutes to find the satellites the first time, and after that it was back to its normal 1-2 minutes.
OP
OP
jonny jeez
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chislehurst, Kent, UK
I'm worried this is the case. All my other gps devices (including my blackberry with an gps tracker app) seek and find sats within seconds from worse positions in my neighbourhood (between houses, under trees) so i'm trying hard not to be mighty disappointed with a dedicated unit, costing a good deal more, struggling in this way.
Am planning a trip up to biggin hill tonight, was up in bonnie scotland yesterday on business so didn't have an opportunity to do it last night.
Fingers crossed, i really wanted to christen it this weekend!
CopperCyclist
Veteran
as you mentioned it failing whilst on your garden table, I doubt this is your issue but will mention it just in case...
I recently bought an Edge 800, and twice had it fail on a ride. On the second ride I found out it was due to the placement of my helmet cam. The edge was on my stem, the camera on the handle bars just to the right of it, very slightly overlapping it.
From the satellite strength screen, I could see an instant drop of in the satellite signal as soon as I turned on the camera, with an instant recovery when I turned it back off, so I guess the electrical signal too near it can mess it up. I've had no problems at all since realising this.
I recently bought an Edge 800, and twice had it fail on a ride. On the second ride I found out it was due to the placement of my helmet cam. The edge was on my stem, the camera on the handle bars just to the right of it, very slightly overlapping it.
From the satellite strength screen, I could see an instant drop of in the satellite signal as soon as I turned on the camera, with an instant recovery when I turned it back off, so I guess the electrical signal too near it can mess it up. I've had no problems at all since realising this.
Matthew_T
"Young and Ex-whippet"
- Location
- Prestatyn, North Wales
My Garmin 200 has recently been having problems getting a satellite. It comes up with Acquiring position for about 2 mins and then finally says Position acquired.
Its getting more and more frequent now and I fear that one day it wont get a signal at all.
Its getting more and more frequent now and I fear that one day it wont get a signal at all.
OP
OP
jonny jeez
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chislehurst, Kent, UK
Thanks to all.
I took the unit to a big local rec (normans park for those local) sat it on a handy traffic cone and got comfy.
2 mins later it had acquired and was running smoothly.
Got home, turned her off, back on and she acquired in seconds.
It seems for the first acquisition these units need total uninterrupted sky, not a building within a good 60 metres...to find get over thier jet lag.
In the mean time i should say that handtec, the suppliers who have been excellent throughout the purchasing...have offered to replace if my test in the field tonight failed.
Cant say fairer than that.
J
I took the unit to a big local rec (normans park for those local) sat it on a handy traffic cone and got comfy.
2 mins later it had acquired and was running smoothly.
Got home, turned her off, back on and she acquired in seconds.
It seems for the first acquisition these units need total uninterrupted sky, not a building within a good 60 metres...to find get over thier jet lag.
In the mean time i should say that handtec, the suppliers who have been excellent throughout the purchasing...have offered to replace if my test in the field tonight failed.
Cant say fairer than that.
J