Garmin GPS - Need assistance with a problem

Author

Need assistance with a problem

tourman

2007-07-28, 10:33 pm

I am totally new on this newsgroup, but I hope there are some who can
assist me. I have a Quest 2 GPS which has started to give me trouble.
It has been running perfectly for about two years in my car and truck
and on my motorcycle (all with the correct mounts)

Firstly, it is now become very slow to acquire satellites, sometimes
taking a full five minutes. Then when it has connected, it is quick to
lose the satellites with any dip in the road, or when under heavy
cloud. I also notice that the trip mileage on the main screen (the one
that shows the speed you are going) is no longer accurate, possibly
because it keeps losing track of the signals. My totally uneducated
guess is it may be one or more of the following problems.
1- a loose antenna connection
2- possibly it may be missing a software upgrade
3- perhaps there is an actual board problem with the receiver.

Is this something anyone out there has encountered, and if so, how was
it fixed. I guess if I have to send it in for service, I'll have them
change out the battery as well, since these don't last very long as it
is.

If anyone has any ideas, please send me an email to
"rh.campbell@homemetal.com" with Garmin in the subject heading

I appreciate any assistance anyone can give me.

Thank you

Jack Erbes

2007-07-30, 10:33 am

tourman wrote:
> I am totally new on this newsgroup, but I hope there are some who can
> assist me. I have a Quest 2 GPS which has started to give me trouble.
> It has been running perfectly for about two years in my car and truck
> and on my motorcycle (all with the correct mounts)
>

There have been some problems associated with the antenna. That uses
the (MCX?) connector as one of the two pivot points for raising and
storing the antenna.

Since that connector is the RF energy input from the antenna, any
intermittent contact is going to lose signals and if if is corroded or
otherwise deteriorated, it may be losing some of the RF energy there
too. The connector is somewhat exposed to the elements, it may have
gotten dirty.

I don't have a Quest and can't describe the process, but I think you can
release or disengage the pivot point on the non-MCX side, slide (or
gently pry) the antenna out of the MCX connector. I read a description
of this somewhere but cannot remember where it was.

Removing the antenna would let you inspect and maybe clean the
connector. That might help. If you have an external antenna you could
connect that temporarily to see if the problem continues.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

tourman

2007-07-31, 10:33 am

Thanks for the response. I do believe the problem is with the antenna,
and I will try to disconnect and clean the terminals as you suggest. I
have also ordered an external antenna to see if things work ok when
that is plugged in. If it does, that would indicate the problem IS
with the antenna.

If I can't solve it locally, I will probably send it back to Garmin
for refurbishing for $200. That way, I get the latest software which
costs $80 or thereabouts anyway, so not too bad a cost. Garmin doesn't
make it particularily easy to get these things fixed, since I have to
send it to the US since being as there is no service site in Canada.

RHC

On Jul 30, 9:08 am, Jack Erbes <jacker...@adelphia.net> wrote:
> tourman wrote:
>
> There have been some problems associated with the antenna. That uses
> the (MCX?) connector as one of the two pivot points for raising and
> storing the antenna.
>
> Since that connector is the RF energy input from the antenna, any
> intermittent contact is going to lose signals and if if is corroded or
> otherwise deteriorated, it may be losing some of the RF energy there
> too. The connector is somewhat exposed to the elements, it may have
> gotten dirty.
>
> I don't have a Quest and can't describe the process, but I think you can
> release or disengage the pivot point on the non-MCX side, slide (or
> gently pry) the antenna out of the MCX connector. I read a description
> of this somewhere but cannot remember where it was.
>
> Removing the antenna would let you inspect and maybe clean the
> connector. That might help. If you have an external antenna you could
> connect that temporarily to see if the problem continues.
>
> Jack
>
> --
> Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
> (also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

Jack Erbes

2007-07-31, 12:33 pm

tourman wrote:
> Thanks for the response. I do believe the problem is with the antenna,
> and I will try to disconnect and clean the terminals as you suggest. I
> have also ordered an external antenna to see if things work ok when
> that is plugged in. If it does, that would indicate the problem IS
> with the antenna.
>
> If I can't solve it locally, I will probably send it back to Garmin
> for refurbishing for $200. That way, I get the latest software which
> costs $80 or thereabouts anyway, so not too bad a cost. Garmin doesn't
> make it particularily easy to get these things fixed, since I have to
> send it to the US since being as there is no service site in Canada.
>

And it finally crossed my mind as to where I had read about the problem.
I found it again, it was in this post in a motorcycle-related forum:

http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgi...ST7695
70

I forgot how good the post was, it has full details on getting the
antenna off and fixing it.

If you do have to get it fixed, check them out on eBay before you give
your $200 to Garmin:

http://tinyurl.com/ypakgu

You can buy a refurbished Quest II for around $200-$220 and that will
get you a unit that cannot be told from new, all the accessories that go
with it, and a same as new one year warranty.

The Quest II has 2GB of flash memory and comes with all of City
Navigator North America preloaded. If you get a recent refurb, it will
have City Navigator North America V8 on it.

A new version of the mapping was just released and it is now called City
Navigator North America 2008 (not V9) so you may be able to even get one
with that version on it.

I bought a refurbished 2610 this spring and Garmin replaced it last
month because the touch screen quit working.

Good luck with that.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

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