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Anybody else having problems with there etrex legend Garmin?


sharoneisan

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Everyone I know with an etrex legend hasn't had any problems with it. However I am now on my second unit and I keep getting the same issue. Not all the time but once in a while it will just shut off, then I'll get blue horizontal and vertical lines on the screen. Has anyone seen this issue before? I've called Garmin, they say they've never heard of that problem, just trying to decide if I just got a bad batch at the store, or should I get a different unit? Anybody... anyone?????? it's driving me nut's, especially when it happens 15 k into the bush...ugh

Sharon

L.S.L Crew

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I have had a spontaneous shutdown, with just one vertical on the screen. I shut the legend down, then back on, and the display was normal. I just passed if off as an anomaly.

 

Then a couple of weeks ago, both my daughter and I were out caching, both of us with legends, and the same thing happened within 30 seconds of each other--obviously NOT an anomaly!! We loked around and discovered that we were in the vicinity [almost under] a high-voltage line--about 47 KV, I think, although it may be higher. As soon as we moved away from the line, we were able to restart out GPSrs. While we were in the car, no problem, due to the Faraday Cage effect; however, as soon as we stepped outside and into the magnetic field, BINGO!

 

Hope this helps...

 

Cheers,

 

Phil/ve1bvd

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This is a known issue with some garmins, my old legend did it too. as I understand it the ribbon cable that connects the circuit board to the lcd gets loose and causes the problem. My local dealer was great at sending it back for me and a refurb was sent back quite quickly.

 

Bwmick

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anyone have problems withn the joystick control

 

are old unit the stick only works up and down never to the right or left

 

impossible to enter coords unless you enter them from mapsource

 

Never heard of that one..... Try calling Garmin

 

My original problem I had discussed seem's to be okay now, I spoke to teck assist at Garmin and actually talked to someone who had heard or the problem, they told me to turn off the WAAS it can cause too much interference or something like that.

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My etrex Legend is a fairly old unit and I've had both those problems in the past few months. I found that the quickest way to fix the vertical lines on the screen is to hit the unit gently against your hand a couple of times. It doesn't always work, but it's a lot faster than sending away for a replacement. I had the joystick problem too. I searched it in the GPS units forum, and someone said to try rotating the joystick counterclockwise a few times and clockwise a few times. I found that that helps sometimes. If that doesn't work, I just let the GPS sit for a few minutes, and often it fixes itself. Maybe it just needs to warm up?

Try searching for "etrex legend" in the GPS Units and Software (or something similar) forum. I don't know how to link to it here, but there's plenty of information there.

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Everyone I know with an etrex legend hasn't had any problems with it. However I am now on my second unit and I keep getting the same issue. Not all the time but once in a while it will just shut off, then I'll get blue horizontal and vertical lines on the screen. Has anyone seen this issue before? I've called Garmin, they say they've never heard of that problem, just trying to decide if I just got a bad batch at the store, or should I get a different unit? Anybody... anyone?????? it's driving me nut's, especially when it happens 15 k into the bush...ugh

Sharon

L.S.L Crew

I had this problems 4 or 5 times in a few days. I'm not sure, but I think that I had the memory almost fully loaded with maps. I erased my maps and reloaded with a smaller area and the problem hasn't happened since. I'm holding my breath though.

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Interesting ! 'Treefrogeh' and I were caching together ast evenig, she with her 'Legend' and I with my Map60CS. For the first time ever, her Legend screen suddenly went blank, and had only a single residiual vertical line left. We thought in terms of a battery failure, and merely shut it down, continuing with only the Map60CS. A few moments later, we refired the Legend and all was well again.

No high voltage lines nearby. Hhmmmm ?

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anyone have problems withn the joystick control

 

are old unit the stick only works up and down never to the right or left

 

impossible to enter coords unless you enter them from mapsource

 

I have had both problems with my unit. I find a gently wack against my palm does wonders. I am a litle tired of the problem and am currently researching where I can get the best deal on a 60Cx.

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A friend recently bought a Legend Cx. We took it out of the box and entered some waypoints manually, so that I could show her how the GO TO featuire worked. We went to the find icon and located a waypoint and hit GO TO, the compass showed up but the red arrow and bearing and distance did not. It was as if we had not selected anything. If I toggled over to the map window the waypoint shows up with the dotted line from our location. As we move to the waypoint the dotted line gets smaller and the arrow leads us to the waypoint. It appears to be working on he map screen, but not on the nav window.

 

Anyone else experience this? I checked all of the setup settings against my 60CSx and everything looks OK I told her to box it up and take it back to Walmart and get another one.

Edited by Plasma Boy
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Everyone I know with an etrex legend hasn't had any problems with it. However I am now on my second unit and I keep getting the same issue. Not all the time but once in a while it will just shut off, then I'll get blue horizontal and vertical lines on the screen. Has anyone seen this issue before? I've called Garmin, they say they've never heard of that problem, just trying to decide if I just got a bad batch at the store, or should I get a different unit? Anybody... anyone?????? it's driving me nut's, especially when it happens 15 k into the bush...ugh

Sharon

L.S.L Crew

 

Hi Sharon,

 

I've had my Legend for almost two years. It will occasionally . . .

Show a single vertical line just to the right of center

Show faded horizontal bands, each with vertical 'hash' marks

When it gets warm, the 'rubber band' gets a little 'sloppy' around the case

 

From previous reading, these seem to be common problems and there has even been a post regarding fixing both a loose display connector and at least one thread about re-gluing the 'rubber band.'

 

JohnTee

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I have two Etrex Legends: one for work, and one for myself. They BOTH have had the vertical line thing happen. Both times, I shut it down and turned back on, and it cleared it. HOWEVER, on both of them I also have a compass problem in which the pointer is broken into three segments, with the middle segment off to one side. Anybody else have THAT problem?

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Yahoo!! It's not just me!!

 

I figured it was the natural thing for it to be so messed up (after many dumps in the lake, falls off cliffs, and a virtually unreadable screen - hence why the backlight is always on high!)

 

guess its a pretty tough unit.. unless someone programs it with buggy code :D

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I have two Etrex Legends: one for work, and one for myself. They BOTH have had the vertical line thing happen. Both times, I shut it down and turned back on, and it cleared it. HOWEVER, on both of them I also have a compass problem in which the pointer is broken into three segments, with the middle segment off to one side. Anybody else have THAT problem?

 

The broken compass is not actually broken. When it is set on a GOTO, the offset compass portion tells you how much you are off to the side even though you are travelling in the correct direction. You can change the scaling of this offset by using the zoom in and zoom out buttons.

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I've had the horizontal lines from time to time as well as the single vertical line. I figured I'd damaged the screen somehow. Turned it off, then on, and things were OK. Today I the same thing happened. Shut it down, wouldn't start up. I figured the screen was finally shot completely. Not deterred, I put in new batteries. It came back on! Then 10 minutes later shut down with a single vertical line.

 

I decided to "google" the problem and found several sites discussing a software problem with WAAS and recommending (1) remove and replace the batteries and it would start up and (2) disable WAAS.

 

By golly, it worked! Took out the fresh batteries I'd put in a couple hours ago. Put them back in. It came on. Went into settings and disabled WAAS. It's been going now for a couple hours without trouble.

 

The same sites reported that there is an update from v. 3.7 to v. 3.9 on Garmin's website which is supposed to correct that problem, among other things. Haven't tried that yet.

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I found the horizontal line problem was easily fixed by doing the following:

 

- Clean the metal battery contacts

- put a small foam spacer in the hinge on the battery contacts (so they press against the batteries positive terminal more firmly)

 

Now.. here is a problem that I have had a few times (and I expect this is just me, and the way i tend to effect electronic devices..

 

I have turned on my GPS unit, and it has shown my current position about 1000 kilometers off the coast of South Carolina. I got it down to 7m accuracy, even though each time this has happened I was in Ontario. GPS has never been south of N42, except during manufacturing. I have even waypointed my current position:

 

N 32 24.467 W 68 26.68944 <- firmly within the bermuda triangle...

 

Shutting the GPSr down and then bringing it back up solves the problem. Too bad I didn't hide a cache in the bermuda triangle while i was there :rolleyes:

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a couple weeks ago my etrex vista cx just up and died. the batteries went dead and the unit hasnt fired up since. ive tried every concievable reboot offered by garmin, and nothing. i wrote a letter to the CEO, min gao, about it and my disappointment that a $350 dollar item could be so utterly BULLOXED by a set of twenty dollar rechargables. they sent out a replacement vista hcx last week, although it yet to arrive up here across the border, but i used to get the effect mentioned above when i used rechargable alkaline batteries compared to NiMH rechargables. im gonna try that whacking fix with this dead unit...now whered that meat tenderizer go?

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... I am now on my second unit and I keep getting the same issue. Not all the time but once in a while it will just shut off, then I'll get blue horizontal and vertical lines on the screen. ... called Garmin, they say they've never heard of that problem...

 

You are not alone! I changed my Legend (b/w) three times and finally threw it away because it had the following problems:

- vertical and horizontal lines appearing on the unit ( three times including the reason for the throw away)

- rocker switch not working (three times)

- soaking water splashes on a canoe trip

 

Regarding the first two items, the german representation of Garmin told me just to knock the unit on something hard, as it is known to be a common problem with the connections (It worked sometimes, but I doubt the argument with the connections as they look solid)

 

The third issue is classical for the etrex series. Who ever classified this unit to be waterproof, must have had a joint or two before doing that.

 

By the way: It looks like you can kill an etrex unit easiest by using the Garmin bicycle adapter. This was the first time, I recognized those lines in the display.

 

That's why I treat my Legend CX like a raw egg now.

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I am still having the issue of the lines and blank screen. I discovered that hitting the unit does work, however, it is rarely the gentle tap that others are suggesting! As for the stick, mine just recently crapped out too, but mine will go left and right, not up and down. I was leary of that stick when aI bought the unit but was assured by the sales team that it would not break. I haven't look at the newer ones yet. Do they have the stick as well?

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Everyone I know with an etrex legend hasn't had any problems with it. However I am now on my second unit and I keep getting the same issue. Not all the time but once in a while it will just shut off, then I'll get blue horizontal and vertical lines on the screen. Has anyone seen this issue before? I've called Garmin, they say they've never heard of that problem, just trying to decide if I just got a bad batch at the store, or should I get a different unit? Anybody... anyone?????? it's driving me nut's, especially when it happens 15 k into the bush...ugh

Sharon

L.S.L Crew

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I had an Legend that this used to happen on, I would often find myself banging it on the palm of my hand to get the lines out of the screen. It's now in a dump somewhere, I didn't have the patience for it, It was also the downfall of my short lived geocaching career. I don't own a hand held GPS anymore, however I am trying to configure my TomTom to do the dirty work. If it works out I might make it back to the geocaching community in the near future.

 

- gracii

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Juicepig mentioned it earlier in the thread, but I will reiterate:

 

There is an incompatibility with one of the new satellites (a WAAS one I think).

 

I was getting the same problem with my Legend.

 

Update the firmware (using Garmin WebUpdater) to current version 3.90.

 

Cured the problem for me.

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Hello my gps quits like the ones in the earlier posts, and I have to say that "beating" the device with your hand does help. It is annoying though... they should have a recall...

 

We had the same trouble with the Etrex Vista we bought - disabling WAAS solved the problem.

 

had the same problem,, I dropped it once and then ik kept doing the same thing so we bought new ones..

 

must be a loose connection in it..

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My Etrex Legend, well aged by this time, developed the vertical blue lines on the screen within the past few months. It has happened on various occasions about six or seven times in various outdoor temperatures; and usually on start up. I have simply shut the unit off and restarted. Unit restarts with no further issues. Have never had the screen go blank. I still have faith in this unit and while not a part of this topic the coordinates are very accurate. :P

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I posted earlier this year about the solution to the blue lines / shutdown problem with the blue eTrex Legend...

 

But lately, I've been having a different type of problem:

 

I'm out caching somewhere and suddenly the GPSr is showing I'm over 1/2 mile away, when the unit was displaying correctly that I was only 100 feet away. If I watch the unit, the amount of distance can bounce all over the place (all wrong of course). I do not think it is a multipathing problem as this can happen even when I'm out in the open.

 

What usually solves the problem is to shutdown and do a cold restart. Then the GPSr is display correctly again.

 

(Quite embarrasing when I'm caching with my aunt with her eXplorist 100. I have to stop to restart my GPSr and she is laughing at me with her old unit)

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I posted earlier this year about the solution to the blue lines / shutdown problem with the blue eTrex Legend...

 

But lately, I've been having a different type of problem:

 

I'm out caching somewhere and suddenly the GPSr is showing I'm over 1/2 mile away, when the unit was displaying correctly that I was only 100 feet away. If I watch the unit, the amount of distance can bounce all over the place (all wrong of course). I do not think it is a multipathing problem as this can happen even when I'm out in the open.

What usually solves the problem is to shutdown and do a cold restart. Then the GPSr is display correctly again.

 

(Quite embarrasing when I'm caching with my aunt with her eXplorist 100. I have to stop to restart my GPSr and she is laughing at me with her old unit)

 

I've had to revert to using my old Etrex Legend thanks to the theft of my 60. I had the same problems...stand still in the open and I'd be 1/4 mile away, no, wait, I'm 10 feet from GZ, oh heck, now I'm 190'....lol. That and the sudden shut-down, blank screen, blue line only, etc. etc.

 

The problems seem to mostly be resolved by updating the software via Garmins' site. Can't tell you how, I had another much more techie cacher do it for me!... :lol:

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I bought a Legend brand new for my wife and put it in a drawer for over a year

and recently pulled it out to boot it out for the first time and the message on the screen

was that the software was missing...I don't think there is is anything I can do about that

is there as the warranty has long expired...a useless machine now and new.

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I bought a Legend brand new for my wife and put it in a drawer for over a year

and recently pulled it out to boot it out for the first time and the message on the screen

was that the software was missing...I don't think there is is anything I can do about that

is there as the warranty has long expired...a useless machine now and new.

Well on the bright side, it was capable of delivering that message intact. Could you simply need to progress to a Setup level? Was anything else visible onscreen? The basic controls up in the right corner for the menu? Did you try rebooting it again? Did you try GARMIN for advice?

 

I have a bunch of Legends, most of which have not been activated for the first time yet... the few which have been have had minor problems (so far). The one I've been 'learning' on, was having the screen lines and other minor glitches... THOSE were solved by stretching the battery contacts to provide better connection... and then by changing the battery type to NIMH setting, which helped eliminate the low battery early shut downs... which were not pretty...

 

Consider that I'm not really a Legend person, but I'm getting used to them... I use an old 45xl which was discontinued before Geocaching began. The Legends belong to a local group and I've been prepping to educate the masses... they also have some old Lowrance units...

 

So my interest is two sided... I'm looking for solutions and to help where I might be able to..

 

Doug

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I have a (possible) fix for the blue line issue on the Legend. Mine started doing that and after trying numerous things, I believe it may be caused by a loss of spring tension on the battery clips. You can pull out the bottom clip, the one that connects the two cells, as there are no wires attached to it. Once out of the unit, carefully bend the clips to put more tension on the batteries and reinstall. Mine has worked flawlessly SO FAR. It's worth a shot. Good luck!

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May be a bit late this but with regards to the screen getting vertical lines, it is due to the screen plug coming loose. There is a video on youtube showing how to fix it. You have to dismantle the gps but i did it with mine and it cured the problem. I figured that it was useless as it was so i might as well have a go. Its not that difficult.

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