Garmin GPS - Nuvi 350 takes too long to aquire satellites

Author

Nuvi 350 takes too long to aquire satellites

Eby

2007-02-12, 10:33 am

I have had my Nuvi 350 for 2 weeks now and I like it very much.
However, when I turn it on, it usually takes a long time to find the
satellites and it just shows the car & question mark on it. Finally it
asks me if I am indoors and again, whether I have moved way too far
from my previous location and finally asks me if the date is such and
such. When I answer all these questions, it still shows me the
question mark. If I turn the unit off and back on, I get it connected
to satellites right within a few seconds. This means I have to turn
the unit on twice each time. Anybody else has had this problem, or a
solution to this problem? Thanks.
-Eby

Kent Friis

2007-02-12, 10:33 am

Den 12 Feb 2007 07:31:01 -0800 skrev Eby:
> I have had my Nuvi 350 for 2 weeks now and I like it very much.
> However, when I turn it on, it usually takes a long time to find the
> satellites and it just shows the car & question mark on it. Finally it
> asks me if I am indoors and again, whether I have moved way too far
> from my previous location and finally asks me if the date is such and
> such. When I answer all these questions, it still shows me the
> question mark. If I turn the unit off and back on, I get it connected
> to satellites right within a few seconds. This means I have to turn
> the unit on twice each time. Anybody else has had this problem, or a
> solution to this problem? Thanks.

Try turning it on outside the car. Some newer cars (especially french
ones, I believe) have a window coating that blocks GPS signals.

Kent
--
"So there I was surrounded by all these scary creatures
They were even scarier than what Microsoft call features"
- C64Mafia: Forbidden Forest (Don't Go Walking Slow).

Fred McKenzie

2007-02-12, 12:33 pm

In article <1171294261.905715.183190@a75g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>,
"Eby" <ebassiri@gmail.com> wrote:

> I have had my Nuvi 350 for 2 weeks now and I like it very much.
> However, when I turn it on, it usually takes a long time to find the
> satellites and it just shows the car & question mark on it. Finally it
> asks me if I am indoors and again, whether I have moved way too far
> from my previous location and finally asks me if the date is such and
> such. When I answer all these questions, it still shows me the
> question mark. If I turn the unit off and back on, I get it connected
> to satellites right within a few seconds. This means I have to turn
> the unit on twice each time. Anybody else has had this problem, or a
> solution to this problem?

Eby-

The only time I've had a problem finding satellites was when indoors
without a clear view of the sky. If the Nuvi has been off for a few
days, it takes a little longer to update its satellite data. If it has
been off for only a few hours and is at the same location where it was
turned off, it usually takes a few seconds.

When you first turn it on and the safety warning has gone away, try
pressing the satellite signal bar in the upper left corner of the
screen. This will let you see if ANY satellites are found (shows
outline of a bar) and if any are locked (solid bar). If you have at
least four solid bars, it should be able to navigate.

Yours is suspicious because of the fact it updates quickly when turned
off and back on. It is possible it has a glitch that was corrected by a
subsequent firmware update. Have you checked the Garmin web site to see
if there is a version newer than what you have? As of today, the latest
is Version 4.30 dated 11/16/06.

If an update doesn't solve the problem, contact Garmin.

Fred

Shorty

2007-02-13, 4:33 am

On Feb 12, 10:15 am, Fred McKenzie <f...@aol.com> wrote:
> In article <1171294261.905715.183...@a75g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>,
>
> "Eby" <ebass...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Eby-
>
> The only time I've had a problem finding satellites was when indoors
> without a clear view of the sky. If the Nuvi has been off for a few
> days, it takes a little longer to update its satellite data. If it has
> been off for only a few hours and is at the same location where it was
> turned off, it usually takes a few seconds.
>
> When you first turn it on and the safety warning has gone away, try
> pressing the satellite signal bar in the upper left corner of the
> screen. This will let you see if ANY satellites are found (shows
> outline of a bar) and if any are locked (solid bar). If you have at
> least four solid bars, it should be able to navigate.
>
> Yours is suspicious because of the fact it updates quickly when turned
> off and back on. It is possible it has a glitch that was corrected by a
> subsequent firmware update. Have you checked the Garmin web site to see
> if there is a version newer than what you have? As of today, the latest
> is Version 4.30 dated 11/16/06.
>
> If an update doesn't solve the problem, contact Garmin.
>
> Fred

I often ave the same problem with the 350.

Bob Bailey

2007-02-13, 4:33 am

Eby wrote:
> I have had my Nuvi 350 for 2 weeks now and I like it very much.
> However, when I turn it on, it usually takes a long time to find the
> satellites and it just shows the car & question mark on it. Finally it
> asks me if I am indoors and again, whether I have moved way too far
> from my previous location and finally asks me if the date is such and
> such. When I answer all these questions, it still shows me the
> question mark. If I turn the unit off and back on, I get it connected
> to satellites right within a few seconds. This means I have to turn
> the unit on twice each time. Anybody else has had this problem, or a
> solution to this problem? Thanks.
> -Eby
>

I find that mine takes longer moving than standing still. ymmv... Bob

Mike Edwards

2007-02-14, 7:33 am

> I find that mine takes longer moving than standing still. ymmv... Bob

Well, it will do. That's because it's trying to establish a position from
multiple satellites which is much harder when the baseline keeps shifting. I
think all GPS receivers are the same in this respect.

Mike.

Bob Bailey

2007-02-14, 10:33 am

Bob Bailey wrote:
> Eby wrote:
>
> I find that mine takes longer moving than standing still. ymmv... Bob

More... This is from Bruce Grubbs, Basic Essentials, Using GPS, p. 31.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...213/ebizmaxcom/

"If you have not used the receiver for several months or have moved
several hundred miles since the last use, it may take five to fifteen
minutes to get a fix. This is because the almanac data showing the
approximate positions of the satellites is out of date. The receiver
updates this information from the satellite transmissions. Most
receivers allow you to enter an approximate position (the nearest city,
for example) to help speed up the process. This option is usually called
initialization or sky search.
"If you have used the GPS receiver recently but not within the last
thirty minutes, it will perform a cold start. This means that the
receiver has to wait for the satellites to broadcast their ephemeris
data, which gives their precise locations. This happens quickly; most
receivers will get a fix within a minute or two from a cold start. A
warm start is the fastest of all. If you have used the receiver in the
last thirty minutes, it will get a fix in fifteen seconds to a minute."

....Bob

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