GPS Repair

[shemandr]

I have a Garmin 176C GPS which I think needs repair. Garmin says it is no longer repairing this model. I can understand they may have to discontinue support at some point but I don't think its 10 years old yet. At any rate, is there any after market repair facility. It seems a shame to just chuck it.

 

[BobM]

Their entry level chart plotter is about $400 now, so repair likely isn't cost effective. Of course you may feel differrent when you factor in the $500-1000 for the new navpod you might need! OUCH. The 176C was first available on Amazon in Aug 2001 to give you an idea of the vintage.

 

[Paul F]

If it is acting erratic it might be damp inside. I had my handheld attached to the helm for about four years. Earlier this year it started to give bad data, jumping around screens, etc. I took it home, unscrewed the shell and let the circuit board sit in the sun for a few days - about two weeks. Then put it back together with some vaseline to seal the shell again. It now works as it always did. I take it off the helm and put it in the cabin at the end of the day. Give it a try you have nothing to lose.

 

[shemandr]

Its not powering up. A battery corroded a terminal. It broke ( When I was cleaning it). There are still a few things I can do - like test it on the boat with the DC power cord.
I don't want to whine but it is a backup unit. $400 for a new one is a bit much. I do want a backup......

 

[kenn]

Could be easy fix

Its not powering up. A battery corroded a terminal. It broke ( When I was cleaning it). There are still a few things I can do - like test it on the boat with the DC power cord.
I don't want to whine but it is a backup unit. $400 for a new one is a bit much. I do want a backup......

That sort of basic mechanical failure is usually not hard to fix. :dance: If you or a friend aren't up to the task, probably any good marine electronics store has a tech who could fix it in an hour or less.

The hardest part might to get an exact replacement of the failed part, but a competent technician can fabricate some sort of alternate that will keep the unit functioning.

(I used to fix marine electronics part-time, about 15 years ago. If the economy doesn't pick up, I may go back to it...)

 

[shemandr]

I finally got to the boat to test the unit using the 12 volt power cord instead of batteries. The unit powered up. So the switch is OK and the unit works. Its just the battery power that isn't working. Is there an internal fuse for the battery side of the power supply? It will be useful as is to connect to my Laptop with Sea Clear on it. I'll probably need another (I have one for my cockpit RayMarine chartplotter) antenna for it. Can you split a GPS antenna signal?

 

[kenn]

if the unit powered up via direct power-up, then there's probably some simple problem in the path from the battery to the circuitry. It's often to do with the 12 jack (if you have one) which performs the switching between internal and external power.

Most good marine electronics shops should be able to fix this sort of problem in less than an hour.

Can you split a GPS antenna signal?

Not really... but why would you need to? You wouldn't be running 2 GPS units at once.... would you?