For the last 6 weeks, I have not been able to get satalite reception on my Garmin map76. Weather has been clear around galveston Bay, light winds. It has happend before but usually will get reception within two hours. I took it on a trip to Austin, about 175 miles and never got a signal going or coming. Last year I added a 12v outlet in the cockpit locker and connect there, no more batteries. Has anyone else been experiencing trouble with a handheld in their area?
Poor gps reception
- Thread starter Glenn17467
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The last time GPS gave me headaches was just after 9/11. We had to visually spot our jump planes, due to a local phenomenon.
Sorry if no help, but maybe contact Albuquerque/Dallas/Houston and ask?
Sorry if no help, but maybe contact Albuquerque/Dallas/Houston and ask?
I would try to re initialize the GPS or enter an approx lat Lon so it can acquire satellite quicker. Couple of reasons for not acquiring may be poor signal strength so make sure you have clear line of sight to sky,,excessive Electric Magnetic Interference might also prevent from acquiring satellite but it has to be a great deal of EMI in the same receive frequency as GPS 1.2 to 1.5 Ghz. Good luck.
A couple of years ago while coming through west coast of Florida, my Garmin 76 kept getting "lost satellite lock" Became un-useable and un-trustworthy. I switched to an old 72, and did fine. The 76 in a different area much later, became reliable again. Still don't know what happened, or why.
Assuming your unit is in good working order, I would check your USCG Local Notice to Mariners, or look at your USCG district web page, to see if they are reporting any man-made or natural causes for your GPS anomalies. Here on the Chesapeake, the Navy and USCG occasionally "dither" with the GPS signals when they test ASW, anti-satellite, etc., programs they are running. There is often a warning posted in the LNMs prior to such events.
Funny I have a 76 also which coincidentally was been giving me the same problem for the past 2 weeks. It works then it doesn't. Last weekend it worked perfectly on Saturday but would not find satellites on Sunday in the fog. I was down at the boat last night and it was working fine. I cannot rely on it and purchased a new Garmin chart plotter GPSMAP441 two days ago. LOVE IT! If you’re interested I got the best deal at the GPS Store in NC. Great pricing, no tax, fair shipping, 2 day delivery!
If you can find WAAS located in the menu, turn it off and see if that helps. Some of the older Garmin units had a problem when the gov updated WAAS.
I do not think there is any interference since I have tried it while driving 200 miles away. Always clear weather. Garmin rep will be at local West marine tomorrow. I'll check with them. Most likely they will tell me to get a new one. I have had it since 2006 and I always take it with me, do not leave on the boat.
Glenn: I wouldn't be surprised if your unit just won't work anymore because its outdated. I have a Garmin 72; I bought it used on ebay, and loved it. At the end of the season two years ago, it stopped getting information on tides, moon phases, etc. I called Garmin, and they said that the gov signals had slightly changed, so the software from the older units couldn't interpret the data anymore, which is why I was getting error messages. And since Garmin was no longer making the 72, they didn't have a software update available. Now, the unit worked fine so far as I could tell other than the lunar information. But I decided not to take any chances on another slight change in the signals creating real problems with the locational information. I bought a new chartplotter this spring. The 76 is one of their older, lower end units, and I wouldn't be surprised if you wind up in the same boat I was in. I hope you can fix the problem.
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