Explorist 400 Starting Up Slow

[+JustMyLuck10]

Hello. I purchased an explorist 400 about a month ago and it was starting up fairly quickly for the first little while. Recently, it has been taking upwards of about 3mins just to get a 2D signal. This seems slow to me, especially when they say a cold start takes ~1min (as a side note, what is the exact difference between hot warm and cold starts?). If anyone knows what I can do about this, I'd appreciate it. thank you!

[+bengtb]

Well, maybe I can explain the difference between a cold and a warm start. In a cold start the GPSr doesn't know where it is and what satellites to listen to. So finding them and locking to them takes some time. A warm start is when it hasn't been switched of for a long time and it can find the same satellites as last time. Knowing what satellites to listen to takes less time than to find them anew.

 

Hope this helps

Bengt B

[+JustMyLuck10]

Alright, thanks. So is it possible that my GPS thinks it needs to do a cold start every time?

[+geognerd]

Where are you starting up your receiver? I have found that when I turn on my eX400 indoors then walk outdoors, it will take longer to get a position fix than if I had waited until I was outside to turn it on.

 

How often are you starting up your GPS receiver? Mine will go a week without being used, and it doesn't need 3 minutes to start up. I forget how long almanacs are valid for. The almanac is used by the receiver to know when and where each satellite is located with respect to the last position calculated for your GPSr. That's also why it can take a while for your GPSr to get a position fix if you have travelled a long distance since last turning it on.

[+JustMyLuck10]

Sometimes I do start it inside then walk outside. I will try just starting it outside, see how that works out. Other times I'm in my car. I also have a case that covers the whole gps, it's made of a thin material so I don't think that is the problem, what do you think? Thanks.

[+embra]

The case shouldn't affect things much, but driving around in a car can add to the time needed for a fix. Getting a lock from a stationary position should be much faster. I'm not sure whether the speed associated with walking is enough to stretch things out...guess you can experiment and see.

 

Time the time needed for a lock from a stationary position with a good view of the sky and see if it's in the range expected. If not, try these things, moving onto the next step if the problem isn't solve.

 

1. Leave outside for 10-15 minutes to assure downloading of new almanac.

2. Clear all memory and re-initialize, repeating step 1.

3. Re-load the firmware and re-initialize.

 

(I just did a cold start of my 500 inside the house sitting at the desk--i.e. it has been since yesterday when it was last on--and it secured a fix in 59 seconds from the time of getting through the initial bootup.)

[+JustMyLuck10]

Thanks for the advise. I did a test cold boot while standing in my front yard while stationary and it took just over a minute to get a 3D fix. That was with the case on, so that doesn't seem to be a problem. I guess it was just when moving from in the house to out of the house, and while driving. Thanks a lot!