GPS Broken? No, WAAS changed

2581 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.

Save

1 - 1 of 13 Posts

Smithy

· #6 · Dec 17, 2008

WAAS is a method of refining the signal in order to provide a more accurate location. It is done on the device, and if you have WAAS enabled, you use that part of the signal to get your fix. If not enabled, then plain basic location is still available, but just not as spatially accurate. No big deal if you're backpacking, very big deal if you're surveying or targeting.

So if your device is acting like the OP's, just disable WAAS and take the location with a small grain of salt (10-30 meters off, maybe).

Save

1 - 1 of 13 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month