Strange 76CSx behavior

[+geokitebuggy]

This evening on my way home I turned on my 76CSx in the car and found that the pointer showed a position that was approx. 0.3 miles from my actual position. I was on a hwy and the pointer showed me following a track parallel but offset 0.3 mi. west of my true position. I had 7-8 satellites in view and good signal strength from all. EPE was approx. +/- 30 ft.

 

I shut the unit off and turned it back on - got the same error. When I arrived home I installed new batteries that seemed to fix things. I was using energizer e2-litihium batteries and saw an improvement (expensive) in battery life. I have switched back to alkalines for now.

 

Anyone experienced anything like this?

 

How do I do a hard reset of the unit?

The diagnostic page shows 106 +/- hours of operation since last reset.

 

Should I be giving Garmin a call?

 

THX!

Edited May 19, 2007 by geokitebuggy

[+Firefighter Skippy]

For a hard reset: While the unit is powered off, press QUIT + MENU + ZOOM OUT + POWER.

Continue to hold these buttons for 12 seconds.

[+Sputnik 57]

Or just hold ENTR and PAGE while powering up the unit.

[+hogrod]

just a link to the other related story from yesterday....

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=163659

[MajBach]

just a link to the other related story from yesterday....

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=163659

I haven't experienced this with my 76, but I haven't had it for very long. But I have had this problem several times with my old Lowrance - often with outrageous speeds and elevations. Sometimes powering off/on worked sometimes the error lasted minutes or even close to an hour. I soon realized that it almost ALWAYS had something to do with a magentic storm (northern lights).

[+geokitebuggy]

just a link to the other related story from yesterday....

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=163659

I haven't experienced this with my 76, but I haven't had it for very long. But I have had this problem several times with my old Lowrance - often with outrageous speeds and elevations. Sometimes powering off/on worked sometimes the error lasted minutes or even close to an hour. I soon realized that it almost ALWAYS had something to do with a magentic storm (northern lights).

 

Funny thing about this was that it turned on and off just as though it was switched. I would suspect a magnetic storm to have an abrupt onset and then diminish over time.

 

I'm suspecting a bug in the chipset firmware...