Goofy Garmins?

[oldbaldguy]

A couple of years ago I bought a used Garmin 296. Loved it. Did exactly what I wanted it to and was great at what it did. Then it stopped working as well as it should -- sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. So I downloaded the latest version of the software from the Garmin site, charged up the battery (again) and went out to the airport. The thing wouldn't lock up on any satellites and showed the wrong date and time. Came home and re-downloaded the latest software, etc. Still nada. So I called the nice people at the Garmin service department and was put on hold for a very long time before I got to talk to Bob who told me that Garmin is having the same problems across the 196/296/396/496 product lines. He said it wasn't an epidemic, but there were an unusually high number of calls to the service department lately. The kicker is that nobody at Garmin knows for sure what the problem is. They THINK it might be that the memory battery (different from the power source battery) is not taking a charge as well as it should so the almanac is out of whack with reality which corrupts the other processes. He advised me to select New Location from the menu and then recharge the thing for 8 to 10 hours, even if it says that charging is complete. I am doing same right now. If anyone cares, I'll let you know if this fixes my problems.

 

[CubLite]

Hey, I want to know the results, owning several 2 & 496's.

 

[60below]

I care, too. I have a new 296 and would like to know what you find out, although the limited use from last summer didn't show any problems other than the fragile power plug on the GPS end.

Thanks

 

[mvivion]

I had a similar problem with a 396, only the unit would finally "find" itself after ten minutes or so. It was obviously loading a new almanac, which is what took so long.

I too called Garmin, who also told me to download the latest software, which I had already done, and they said that I just wasn't flying often enough, so the almanac was expiring between flights.

I would not disagree that I'm not flying frequently enough, but I've never had the almanac expire between flights, so I too suspect there's some sort of glitch going on.

As noted, though, the unit did find itself in a little while, and the next time I fired it up, it locked on quickly and no problems.

So, hopefully it was a short term issue. Hopefully.

MTV

 

[oldbaldguy]

Mike

Mine worked fine on one flight and then wouldn't do anything the next. I've also experienced the same things you have several times in that it would take an inordinate amount of time to lock up, but worked fine once it did and then on the next flight it locked up almost before I turned it on. I also thought all my problems were solved when I downloaded the latest software (5.4), but this is something different, I think. It's almost like it had a lobotomy. The Garmin guy said the memory battery takes longer to charge up than the regular battery and advised me to leave it hooked up to the charger overnight. We will see in the morning.

 

[willyb]

This happened to me on Sunday.I had not flown for a month and it would not pick up any satellites at all.I went to Menu and the screen prompt said if the correct date is not displayed select Stored Without Battery.I did and it began to aquire satellites and worked just fine after that.
I have 396 with the remote antenna.Garmin did have a problem with remote antennas a year or so ago.Mine would drop all satellites at times.They sent me a new one for free and problem went away.

Bill

 

[mvivion]

The guy I spoke with also said to do a hard reset after I'd uploaded the latest software. So far so good, but maybe it's just messin with me.

MTV

 

[Patrol Guy]

I have been "hanging" my butt out there with a 496, threading between the yellows and reds staying the greens. Are all your problems only during start ups, or have they "puked" while running?

Up till now, I was thinking they were almost bomb proof. PG

 

[oldbaldguy]

I've never had my 296 give up the ghost while flying except one time when the battery ran out of juice. All my problems so far have been during start up when it simply would not acquire sats. I charged mine for a very long time and then tried it out just a few minuted ago. It took a long time for it to finally acquire enough sats to tell me where I am, but it finally locked up and showed the correct date and time, so we know the almanac has updated itself, which also gives credence to what the Garmin Guy said about the memory battery. I'm going to play with it some more a little later from a different location and see what happens and will let everyone know.

 

[OLDCROWE]

I understand there have been some bad almanac issues out there for the past six months or so issued to various platforms... my buddies in the industry haven't said so but it appears to me that whatever rocket scientist is responsible for developing them issued an oops or two and the industry has been scrambling ever since. Almanac issues should only be at start up because they tell your little EMS box where to start looking for signals and such but as I understand it it could impact the quality of the fix until you get a full sync.

 

[gdrean]

I have a 496 and kept my old 296 for a backup. Haven't had any problems with the 496, but my 296 started acting up 2 months ago, just like the above. No data displayed and no satellite acquisition. I also read in the book that if the date is incorrect, then go to new position set up and it acquired in about 10 minutes. Before doing that it wouldn't acquire even though it was connected to ships power and I flew for about 1.5 hours. This has happened 2 or 3 times in the past two months but after the last time I "reset" it (about 3 weeks ago) it has been fine. I have electrical hookups in the cub and C-206 so I never run off of batteries. I can't remember where new position set up is in the menu system but can check it out next time I am at the airport if someone needs the info.

Gary

 

[NimpoCub]

Two summers ago, my 196 crapped out in flight a couple times. Garmin told me to update my software. I did, and it's been fine.

Whether or not you've had a prob, update your software. Free & a GoodThing.

Arizona Rob sent me an external antenna fer my GPS & I'm anxious to try it. THANX ROB!! Got it yesterday.

 

[Rob]

Don't forget to back up your user waypoint and routes before you update too much of anything. It's a real drag to lose all those little gems you happened to drop in on and could probably spend forever trying to find again

Nimpo, your welcome. Beats the stubby by a long shot

Take care, Rob

 

[JimC]

If I don't charge my 396 every second day, the internal memory battery goes dead, the calendar and clock are wrong, and it takes about an hour for the unit to find itself after I crank it up. Garmin should create a way for us to reset the calendar in software when the need arises. I think the problem is in the internal batteries in newer units.
JimC

 

[Widebody]

Jim,

My partners Jan and Chris have experienced what you guys have
been talking about, I haven't. We all have auxiliary power hooked to them
but mine was the only one set to (charge internal battery while on auxiliary)
My internal battery is never dead. Don't know if this makes a difference or
not... but maybe. We have 296's.

Brad

 

[oldbaldguy]

Okay. I've spun my 296 up several times today and have taken it all over the place and it appears to be working correctly. Seems like it boots up and locks up quicker each time as well. I'm going to hook it up to the charger again tonight and try it again tomorrow, but it seems to be working just like Bob the Garmin Guy said it would. So apparently the culprit is the memory battery after all. Wonder if Garmin is working on a fix or is kinda sitting back hoping we'll all buy 696s instead? BTW, the Garmin Guy said that is not a solution right now because they can't build 696s fast enough to keep up with demand.