GPS Broken? No, WAAS changed

2579 Views 12 Replies 9 Participants Last post by AgentFlounder, Jan 10, 2009

AgentFlounder

Discussion Starter · Dec 17, 2008

So, my eTrex Legend started crapping out while hunting this year. Screen would blank out at random times.

Rather than throwing the unit away, I submitted a query about repairing it with Garmin support. They wrote back to say:

The issue that you are having is directly related to changes that are being made in WAAS satellite signal. Garmin is aware of the issue and has made an update available that will resolve the freezing problem that is being exhibited on your GPS. A quick fix for this issue is to temporarily disable the WAAS reception from your system setup page. This will have a very minimal effect on your GPS accuracy.

Thought I'd let folks know in case you haven't used yours in awhile and find it freaking out.

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AgentFlounder

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 17, 2008

No question compass is more trustworthy than GPS... this is probably a good illustration of how GPS can fail you...

But figured many folks here might have 'em and might find the information useful for self or friends. Apparently the FCC changed the WAAS singal (don't know the details) requiring software update for WAAS to work properly.

On a related note, I'm sad to say I really need more learning & practice with a compass... but that's best saved for another thread...

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AgentFlounder

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 10, 2009

You can download the firmware updater from Garmin's website. Then you run the updater on your computer and go from there.

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