Problem with a Garmin 60CS

[yvon]

My Garmin 60CS, do not detect more than one satellite. This start only today. What can i do to fix it? Do i have a major problem? Last week i had a problem to put it on.
Thank you to help me.

 

[Peakbagr]

Yvon,

Couple of quick questions...Has it been a while since you've used it outdoors and have you turned off the satellite function while using it extensively indoors? And have you last used it a long way from where you'd like to use it now?

When I got my first GPS, I turned it on indoors, let if look for and find satellites thru the window. After doing this many times over the first year, it took much longer to find satellites outdoors at trailheads. And sometimes I'd have to turn it on and off at trailheads over and over for it to locate itself.
Someone on VFTT recommended I take it outside in the yard, a place with an unobstructed view of the sky and leave in on a chair for a few hours to regain its memory of a normal satellite constellation. I followed the advice and the next time I used it, found itself in under a minute.
Not saying this is the problem with your unit, but it worked for me.

I'm sure some of the tech folks here will have other, and likely better advice.
Good luck getting it fixed.

Alan

 

[DougPaul]

My Garmin 60CS, do not detect more than one satellite. This start only today. What can i do to fix it? Do i have a major problem? Last week i had a problem to put it on.

It is hard to say based upon this limited info...

Things to try:
1) The 60CS doesn't work very well indoors (don't confuse it with the 60CSx which often works indoors). Take it outside into a place with a good skyview. Keep it vertical (for best antenna orientation) and stationary while waiting for a lock. (A lock requires 4 or more satellites.)
2) When using the GPS, get a lock in a place with a good skyview and then move into the places with a poorer skyview--GPSes are generally better at maintaining a lock than establishing a new one.
3) Sometimes the satellite search procedure gets stuck--turning the unit off and then back on will start a fresh search.
4) The 60CS has an option for starting the satellite search from a new location (satellite page > menu > new location). Give it a try. (This option is intended for situations where you turn the GPS off, move it a long distance (eg 100s of miles), and turn it back on.)
5) Leave it outdoors in a place with a good skyview for an hour or more. (Same as peakbagger's suggestion.) This will load in a new almanac or fix a corrupted almanac or ephemeris.
6) Replace it with a 60CSx or 62s...

Starting modes--the background of the "things to try".
The 60CS has different starting modes depending on whether it has a valid almanac and/or valid ephemeris or not.
Background info:
* The almanac data gives approximate satellite orbits--if the GPS knows its approximate location and time, this helps it to find the satellites faster. It takes 12.5 minutes (minimum) to download and is valid for a month or so. All satellites broadcast the almanac.
* The ephemeris data gives detailed satellite orbits and is required to get a location fix. It takes at least 30 seconds to download and is valid for a few hours. Each satellite broadcasts its own ephemeris.
* The satellite page shows a hollow signal strength bar when it has found the satellite signal and a filled bar when it has a valid ephemeris.

Starting conditions:
1) Cold (no almanac and no ephemeris: typically after the GPS has not been used for a month or so). The GPS has no prior info and can take several minutes or longer to get an initial fix.
2) Warm (valid almanac but no ephemeris: typically after the GPS has not been used for a few hours). The almanac will help the GPS find the satellites--the initial fix is usually in 45sec to a minute.
3) Hot (valid ephemeris: typically after the GPS has been turned off for less than an hour or so). The ephemeris allows a fix in as little as 15 sec.
*) The warm and hot start ups assume that the GPS hasn't been moved any significant distance since it was last used--if you have moved the GPS it can mess up the satellite search procedure--thus the option for starting the search from a new location.

Note: Later GPSes (60CSx and other "high sensitivity" GPSes) don't use the above starting strategy. They can search for all satellites simultaneously without needing an almanac so they can achieve a "non-hot" start (no ephemeris) in less than a minute and a hot start (valid ephemeris) in a few seconds.

Doug

 

[yvon]

Doug, I knew that you can help me. I did your item 4 and it find 6 satellites right away. You save m'y life, if I can say that.
Thank you

 

[DougPaul]

Doug, I knew that you can help me. I did your item 4 and it find 6 satellites right away.

Glad one of the suggestions helped. My response was kind of a scatter-shot...

When a GPS has trouble getting a first fix under conditions in which it normally works, one or more of the listed strategies will usually restore normal operation. (I included all of the tricks that I could think of off the top of my head--hopefully I got all or at least most of them.)

Doug

 

[Peakbagr]

Doug Paul,

Heading to Colorado soon. Do I need to follow this for my 60CSx ? This is my 'out west' unit. It was last fired up in Canyonlands and Arches NPs in April:

4) The 60CS has an option for starting the satellite search from a new location (satellite page > menu > new location). Give it a try. (This option is intended for situations where you turn the GPS off, move it a long distance (eg 100s of miles), and turn it back on.)
5) Leave it outdoors in a place with a good skyview for an hour or more. (Same as peakbagger's suggestion.) This will load in a new almanac or fix a corrupted almanac or ephemeris.
6) Replace it with a 60CSx or 62s...

Thanks,
Alan

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Obviously I'm not Doug Paul.

I've traveled many times cross-country with my 60CSx, and while it does take an extra minutes or two to re-orient itself the first time it's used on the other coast, it's only the first time it's turned on. And of course - you repeat that process when you return.

I have three different microSD cards for my 60CSx - one for the US East Coast, one for the US West Coast, and one for Canada - which I swap out depending upon where I am. It makes switching quickly from one location to another rather painless.

 

[Peakbagr]

Thanks, Kevin. I used to keep 3 sets of topo mapsets on the hard drive. Eastern US, Central Us, and Western US. When I traveled out west, I'd just download the western mapset.
Got a second 60CSx at a big discount( thanks to a Doug Paul happening in to the store and his telling me about it) a couple of years ago, and the unit had the high sensitivity SirfStar chipset as does my other. So now I just change units for a trip out west. Haven't had the need to visit the middle of the country.
Spent some time this afternoon loading in lots of routes in and around Rocky Mt Nat'l Park.

 

[DougPaul]

I think I'm Doug Paul... (Therefore I must be?)

Very likely the 60CSx will start up without difficulty at the new location. (It doesn't need the almanac to start up.) If it doesn't, I'd try the new location option (5) and finally the extended skyview tactic (6).

I wouldn't lose any sleep over the issue...


If the airline allows, you can always run the GPS in the airplane (except during takeoff and landing...) to track the location changes and, of course, to see where you are. Not all airlines allow passengers to use a GPS: see http://gpsinformation.net/airgps/airgps.htm (The pilot has the last word--you can always ask a flight attendant to ask him for you.)

Doug