BLUEMOMENT

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The machine fires up OK and finds a position quickly enough, but says 'lost all data' and has to have comms reset to NMEA/NMEA (from the default GARMIN/GARMIN) each time.

The internal battery was replaced in early 2007. Is it time for another one?

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- Nick

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It sounds like it but you could try leaving it powered up for a day or two in case there's a rechargeable battery somewhere in there that's run flat.

There's software (Gardown is a name I vaguely remember) that can save/restore all your waypoints on a PC with a serial port. Too late now but for next year...

Derek

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The GPS is on the same fuse as the gas alarm, so there is always power to it when we are living on board

(although we switch it off at the machine's own on/off switch - would this cut the power to the internal battery or not? )

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- Nick

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I don't know for sure but I expect the power would be supplying any battery whenever connected, irrespective of switched on or off.

Derek

I presume you switch the gas alarm circuit off while not on board. (I know I do - its consumption is not trivial.) During this time the GPS will be getting no power and the internal battery will slowly run down. That said, it should re-charge when connected to power with no issues provided the off period wasn't too long. I try to switch mine on a couple of times during the winter so the maximum time off power is 2-3 months: I have no idea what the sensible maximum time should be - this is something that is curiously undocumented.

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Thanks Dave. Looks like it might recover during the Chents Cruise . . . if not, I'll replace it.

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- Nick

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When I fired up the Garmin on Seminole at Easter it came up with "no **** input" where **** is something I can't remember.

It came up with the same thing several times untill I just left the thing on and it started looking up each satellite in turn. I left it (forgot about it) to do what it had to do. In the middle of the bleeding night it started alarming so I switched it off and went back to bed. It worked OK after that.

I think it's a 120 but it could be a 128, do they do a 120?

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Chiron: Westerly Centaur.
Cheers Bob.

Yes, if a GPS seriously loses the plot it can take many hours for it to get back up to speed. I have a number of old / backup GPS units that I fire up every few months to keep them sorted out. Those with batteries now have rechargeables which I also check and charge at the same time.

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The problem, as you probably know, is that a GPS set needs to know, for obvious reasons, which satellite is where in the sky. It knows this from ephemeris data which it receives from the satellites and which is regularly updated if things change When it's been out of use for a long time, or when it has forgotten its internal settings, it needs to download the entire ephemeris again, a bit at a time, and that's what takes a-g-e-s.

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Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity - Hanlon's Razor
But don't rule out malice - First Corollary to Hanlon's Razor