+doingitoldschool Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 My second hand vista (greyscale lcd) will suddenly blank out, leaving nothing but a thin vertical line on the screen. The buttons become unresponsive, so I have to pop the back off, take the batteries out and replace them (i.e. put the same batteries back in). The unit then powers on fine, but the process eventually repeats itself. I thought it might be simply dying batteries, or the quality of the battery itself, but I have checked and this happens regardless the batteries condition or quality. Any help will be appreciated! Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Typically that's a loose ribbon connection issue. When needed, I get past it by giving the unit a solid whack (top down) into the palm of my hand. Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 (edited) Extra post: Do a forum search here on 'ribbon' and you'll get some better advice on how to fix it. Edited January 23, 2008 by BlueDeuce Quote Link to comment
+doingitoldschool Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 Typically that's a loose ribbon connection issue. When needed, I get past it by giving the unit a solid whack (top down) into the palm of my hand. Thank you BlueDeuce - I'll keep that in mind next time it happens. Bear with me me as I ask: Holding the unit by the bottom (where the lanyard attaches), thwack the top of the unit into my other hand? Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Typically that's a loose ribbon connection issue. When needed, I get past it by giving the unit a solid whack (top down) into the palm of my hand. Thank you BlueDeuce - I'll keep that in mind next time it happens. Bear with me me as I ask: Holding the unit by the bottom (where the lanyard attaches), thwack the top of the unit into my other hand? ayep. (results may vary) Quote Link to comment
+doingitoldschool Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 Thanks again - I have a pdf from another member for fixing it as well. I have also read some chatter about Garmin actually sending new units to those who have this problem. I will give them a holler and see what happens. Quote Link to comment
+JohnTee Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Errrr, before you take that unit apart do a search on garmin and waas. From experience with my Garmin eTrex Legend, that vertical line and the unit shutting down is a known software glitch when using your GPS with WAAS enabled. Garmin is working on a fix for this. You can bring it back to normal by pulling the batteries out and reinstalling. At present, the only known solution is to turn off WAAS. The ribbon connector problem has the symptoms of the screen graying out, showing a ghosted, checkered display, ghosted horizontal patterns, or similar problems. Whacking the edge of the unit on your Palm returns the display to normal. Just returned my Legend to Garmin this last Fall for the same problems and talked with a tech rep about the issues. Cache On! JohnTee Quote Link to comment
+JohnTee Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Here's another reference with the same info I found in a search . . . Thin Vertical Line Cache On! JohnTee Quote Link to comment
+doingitoldschool Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Here's another reference with the same info I found in a search . . . Thin Vertical Line Cache On! JohnTee Thanks for the link - the WAAS problem is a common answer for this. Can anyone let me know how much difference WAAS makes? I will experiment, of course, but there's probably a good answer out there some where. Quote Link to comment
+JohnTee Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 From Garmin: What is WAAS, "How much better? Try an average of up to five times better. A WAAS-capable receiver can give you a position accuracy of better than three meters 95 percent of the time." To make good use of WAAS, you have to have a decent 'view' of the ground stations that are used in conjunction with the satellites. That means you would, ideally, need to be on a flat, level area. A hilly area would affect reception of the ground stations. I recently, before I got my Vista HCx, was having a hard time finding a cache with my Legend. I was bouncing all over a 75'x100' area, in a hilly, ravine. Turned WAAS off and went almost straight to the cache. Cache On! JohnTee Quote Link to comment
+doingitoldschool Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 From Garmin: What is WAAS, "How much better? Try an average of up to five times better. A WAAS-capable receiver can give you a position accuracy of better than three meters 95 percent of the time." To make good use of WAAS, you have to have a decent 'view' of the ground stations that are used in conjunction with the satellites. That means you would, ideally, need to be on a flat, level area. A hilly area would affect reception of the ground stations. I recently, before I got my Vista HCx, was having a hard time finding a cache with my Legend. I was bouncing all over a 75'x100' area, in a hilly, ravine. Turned WAAS off and went almost straight to the cache. Cache On! JohnTee Thanks again, JohnTee, you're a treasure trove of info! Jim Quote Link to comment
+JohnTee Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Thanks again, JohnTee, you're a treasure trove of info! Jim De nada! However, I have to correct myself. It's not the ground stations that you are not seeing in hilly terrain, rather, the equatorial satellites that may not be visible. The ground stations provide correction the data to the satellites. "WAAS consists of approximately 25 ground reference stations positioned across the United States that monitor GPS satellite data. Two master stations, located on either coast, collect data from the reference stations and create a GPS correction message. This correction accounts for GPS satellite orbit and clock drift plus signal delays caused by the atmosphere and ionosphere. The corrected differential message is then broadcast through one of two geostationary satellites, or satellites with a fixed position over the equator. The information is compatible with the basic GPS signal structure, which means any WAAS-enabled GPS receiver can read the signal." "For some users in the U.S., the position of the satellites over the equator makes it difficult to receive the signals when trees or mountains obstruct the view of the horizon." Went back and FULLY read through the page I referenced you to! Cache On! JohnTee Quote Link to comment
superduty1 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 I sent my Vista in for repair due to the vertical line and other screen issues. They sent me a refurb'd unit....pulled it from the pkging, put in batteries and same problem. I sent it back to them again and we will see what happens this time? Quote Link to comment
+doingitoldschool Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 (edited) I sent my Vista in for repair due to the vertical line and other screen issues. They sent me a refurb'd unit....pulled it from the pkging, put in batteries and same problem. I sent it back to them again and we will see what happens this time? We've been okay since we turned the WAAS off. I hope they come up with a software fix soon. Edited January 29, 2008 by doingitoldschool Quote Link to comment
FiveNines Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 From experience with my Garmin eTrex Legend, that vertical line and the unit shutting down is a known software glitch when using your GPS with WAAS enabled. Garmin is working on a fix for this. You can bring it back to normal by pulling the batteries out and reinstalling. At present, the only known solution is to turn off WAAS. We've been okay since we turned the WAAS off. I hope they come up with a software fix soon. Looks like that WAAS software fix for both the Legend and Vista is finally here. http://www8.garmin.com/software/eTrexLegend_390.exe Changes made from version 3.70 to 3.90: Updated WAAS. Updated GEOID model. http://www8.garmin.com/software/eTrexVista_380.exe Changes made from version 3.70 to 3.80: Updated WAAS. Updated GEOID model. Quote Link to comment
+aintnorock Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Errrr, before you take that unit apart do a search on garmin and waas. From experience with my Garmin eTrex Legend, that vertical line and the unit shutting down is a known software glitch when using your GPS with WAAS enabled. Garmin is working on a fix for this. You can bring it back to normal by pulling the batteries out and reinstalling. At present, the only known solution is to turn off WAAS. The ribbon connector problem has the symptoms of the screen graying out, showing a ghosted, checkered display, ghosted horizontal patterns, or similar problems. Whacking the edge of the unit on your Palm returns the display to normal. Just returned my Legend to Garmin this last Fall for the same problems and talked with a tech rep about the issues. Cache On! JohnTee Quote Link to comment
+aintnorock Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Whacking the garmin on my hand returned the unit to normal, this time. Does this mean I can't buy a new Colorado? Quote Link to comment
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