Difficulty locating satellites...

[OldFrog75]

(Sorry for the double post but didn't know which was the appropriate forum.)

Went sailing yesterday. We had 3 handheld Garmin GPS's on board - a 72, 76, and 78. The 72 and 78 got immediate satellite connections. My 76, on the other hand, took about 20 minutes with multiple rebooting attempts. Kept getting error message "problem locating satellites". I went through all the set up menus trying to figure out what was wrong but couldn't figure it out. Fortunately it finally came to life after about the 5th attempt.

Anybody know why this happened?

[MarkJ]

My 76 c.f. takes a long time top. I think its quite old technology now.

Expensive unit when bought, too.

[Stumble]

How longhand it been since it last booted up? The 76 is notorious for 'getting lost' and taking forever to recalculate when it has been off for a while. Basically it gets confused about where it should be, and takes a while to figure it out. But I never saw mine have to reboot to do so, it just kept slogging away.

[barnakiel]

Yes. This is normal. Especially if you left yours in the drawer for a couple of weeks. Once it updates the almanac it seems to work flawlessly though.

It is an old model. Get 72H or 73 when your 76 dies.

b.

[DeepFrz]

Wow, these are expensive units.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/cOnT...dhelds-p1.html

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Wow, these are expensive units.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/cOnT...dhelds-p1.html

You mean the watches?

b.

[OldFrog75]

Originally Posted by Stumble

How longhand it been since it last booted up? The 76 is notorious for 'getting lost' and taking forever to recalculate when it has been off for a while. Basically it gets confused about where it should be, and takes a while to figure it out. But I never saw mine have to reboot to do so, it just kept slogging away.

Actually I had it out last Wednesday (3 days prior) for a race with no issues. I did remove the batteries for a few hours to charge them on Friday but nothing I haven't done before. The unit would turn on and the pages were there but the only information available was the "heading", compass, and correct date but incorrect time. I tried a couple of the options during the various error messages phases like 'different date' (even though the date was correct) and 'new location' (just because why not?) so if it was in fact lost and confused maybe one of those straightened it out. I have no idea. I sent an email to Garmin support. Maybe they will bet back to me with an explanation.

Regarding upgrade to a 78, I've played with those helping crew learn how to use them when new and actually prefer the 76 - much more intuitive and easier to use IMO.

[OldFrog75]

Originally Posted by Stumble

How longhand it been since it last booted up? The 76 is notorious for 'getting lost' and taking forever to recalculate when it has been off for a while. Basically it gets confused about where it should be, and takes a while to figure it out. But I never saw mine have to reboot to do so, it just kept slogging away.

Maybe I misspoke. When I say reboot, I really mean turned the thing off and then back on after enough time past I started getting the error messages.

[Stumble]

Sounds like it may be at the end of its life. Eventually they just seem to die.

[barnakiel]

The onboard battery is ... wee, to put it mildly. The unit is pain in the stern to open.

If you like 76, you will like 72H.

73 is a bit like 78. 72H has the better screen, and bigger too.

Cheers,
b.