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Coloraro 300's Clock Constantly Looses Time!


Didjerrydo

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I work in an outdoor store and have found this problem now with 2 Colorado 300's . If the unit isn't allowed to acquire signal and initialize, even for a couple of hours, its clock looses as much as 15 minutes time which prevents the unit from acquiring. Garmin acknowledges this issue and just says units with this problem need to be returned to them.

I don't know how widespread this problem is, but we here at this store found 2 out of 3 with it! Of course, this also screws up the alarm clock function as well. If you're depending on it to wake you up, you may oversleep!

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Weird. My eTrex Vista clock is completely unreliable. The clock and date are always waaaay off. The clock is off by several hours and odd minutes, and the date by 60 odd years or 40 od years (depending if it thinks it's 1966 or 2066), yet it has usually no problem acquiring satellites, and when it gets a WAAS lock, accuracy is usually 6 to 9 feet.

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I work in an outdoor store and have found this problem now with 2 Colorado 300's . If the unit isn't allowed to acquire signal and initialize, even for a couple of hours, its clock looses as much as 15 minutes time which prevents the unit from acquiring. Garmin acknowledges this issue and just says units with this problem need to be returned to them.

I don't know how widespread this problem is, but we here at this store found 2 out of 3 with it! Of course, this also screws up the alarm clock function as well. If you're depending on it to wake you up, you may oversleep!

 

Sorry, I'm a little confused. If you get a sec, would you mind stating that in a different way for me. If the unit isn't allowed to acquire signal and initialize...are you talking about the very first time you turn it on? Or are you talking about everytime you turn it on? Thanks for the help.

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I work in an outdoor store and have found this problem now with 2 Colorado 300's . If the unit isn't allowed to acquire signal and initialize, even for a couple of hours, its clock looses as much as 15 minutes time which prevents the unit from acquiring. Garmin acknowledges this issue and just says units with this problem need to be returned to them.

I don't know how widespread this problem is, but we here at this store found 2 out of 3 with it! Of course, this also screws up the alarm clock function as well. If you're depending on it to wake you up, you may oversleep!

 

Sorry, I'm a little confused. If you get a sec, would you mind stating that in a different way for me. If the unit isn't allowed to acquire signal and initialize...are you talking about the very first time you turn it on? Or are you talking about everytime you turn it on? Thanks for the help.

 

What I mean, is even after the unit has been initialized, or as far as that goes, even after it has sat outside for hours and recieved all necessary data and then turned off, I find that when turned back on, if you quickly check the time by pressing the "on" switch prior to the unit locating, the time displayed will have lost as huch as 15-20 minutes in less than an hour! This ain't good!

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What I mean, is even after the unit has been initialized, or as far as that goes, even after it has sat outside for hours and recieved all necessary data and then turned off, I find that when turned back on, if you quickly check the time by pressing the "on" switch prior to the unit locating, the time displayed will have lost as huch as 15-20 minutes in less than an hour! This ain't good!

 

Return it.

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Seems strange. It should not really be possible if you have a satellite fix. The GPS uses time signals to determine your location.

 

The time drift is occuring while the GPS unit is off. If you either boot it up where it can't get signal or quickly check the time prior to it locating on the next boot, this is where the time error is seem.

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How long do you have to have the unit turned on w/o GPS signal to see the time drift? It drift pretty rapidly if it gets off by 15 minutes in a matter of a day or 2?

 

GO$Rs

I'm seeing that much drift in less than one hour!

 

So if someone wanted to test their Colorado to see if it had this problem they could turn it on, put the GPS in demo mode, let it sit for an hour and see if the clock was off by a significant (5 minutes?) amount?

 

GO$Rs

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How long do you have to have the unit turned on w/o GPS signal to see the time drift? It drift pretty rapidly if it gets off by 15 minutes in a matter of a day or 2?

 

GO$Rs

I'm seeing that much drift in less than one hour!

 

So if someone wanted to test their Colorado to see if it had this problem they could turn it on, put the GPS in demo mode, let it sit for an hour and see if the clock was off by a significant (5 minutes?) amount?

 

GO$Rs

Just turn the unit completely off for, say overnight, then turn it back on wgere it can't acquire satellites and push the light/clock/start button and see what time the clock displaw is showing. Is it correct?

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How long do you have to have the unit turned on w/o GPS signal to see the time drift? It drift pretty rapidly if it gets off by 15 minutes in a matter of a day or 2?

 

GO$Rs

I'm seeing that much drift in less than one hour!

 

So if someone wanted to test their Colorado to see if it had this problem they could turn it on, put the GPS in demo mode, let it sit for an hour and see if the clock was off by a significant (5 minutes?) amount?

 

GO$Rs

Just turn the unit completely off for, say overnight, then turn it back on somewhere where it can't acquire satellite signal after boot up, push the light/clock/start button and see what time the clock display is showing. Is it correct?

Edited by Didjerrydo
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How long do you have to have the unit turned on w/o GPS signal to see the time drift? It drift pretty rapidly if it gets off by 15 minutes in a matter of a day or 2?

 

GO$Rs

I'm seeing that much drift in less than one hour!

 

So if someone wanted to test their Colorado to see if it had this problem they could turn it on, put the GPS in demo mode, let it sit for an hour and see if the clock was off by a significant (5 minutes?) amount?

 

GO$Rs

Just turn the unit completely off for, say overnight, then turn it back on somewhere where it can't acquire satellite signal after boot up, push the light/clock/start button and see what time the clock display is showing. Is it correct?

 

Just ran the test on my 400t after being off for almost 24 hours and found the time to be accurate. I am in my office with no satellite reception at all.

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Just ran the test on my 400t after being off for almost 24 hours and found the time to be accurate. I am in my office with no satellite reception at all.

 

I've had mine off, in demo mode and in places where it has been turned on w/o reception but I've never noticed the time being out of whack but also I've never had the inability to locate problem that others have experienced.

 

I'll add it to the FAQ/Issues List since it seems like Garmin has acknowledged that this is a hardware issue with some units.

 

GO$Rs

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I work in an outdoor store and have found this problem now with 2 Colorado 300's . If the unit isn't allowed to acquire signal and initialize, even for a couple of hours, its clock looses as much as 15 minutes time which prevents the unit from acquiring. Garmin acknowledges this issue and just says units with this problem need to be returned to them.

I don't know how widespread this problem is, but we here at this store found 2 out of 3 with it! Of course, this also screws up the alarm clock function as well. If you're depending on it to wake you up, you may oversleep!

 

Oh boy, I think my Colorado is defective then. I turned my GPS on for around 60 minutes earlier today, more than enough time to download the almanac and such. Then I turned it off and back on an hour or so later. Between the time I shut it off and turned it back on the unit had lost approximately 40 minutes. :mad:

 

Funny thing is, I never noticed this problem utill I updated to the latest firmware/software versions....

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I work in an outdoor store and have found this problem now with 2 Colorado 300's . If the unit isn't allowed to acquire signal and initialize, even for a couple of hours, its clock looses as much as 15 minutes time which prevents the unit from acquiring. Garmin acknowledges this issue and just says units with this problem need to be returned to them.

I don't know how widespread this problem is, but we here at this store found 2 out of 3 with it! Of course, this also screws up the alarm clock function as well. If you're depending on it to wake you up, you may oversleep!

 

Oh boy, I think my Colorado is defective then. I turned my GPS on for around 60 minutes earlier today, more than enough time to download the almanac and such. Then I turned it off and back on an hour or so later. Between the time I shut it off and turned it back on the unit had lost approximately 40 minutes. :mad:

 

Funny thing is, I never noticed this problem utill I updated to the latest firmware/software versions....

Sounds like you got a bad one too. Just for kicks let's see if they' got similar serial #'s, mine is: 169000131 and the other unit that had the same issue was: 169000130.

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I just checked my 400t, which had been turned off for more than 24 hours, and the the time was exactly right. I have the latest software and firmware updates.

 

 

Is there an internal backup battery that maintains the time when the unit is off (including when you're replacing the AA batteries)? If so, could the units that are having the time problem have a problem with that part or circuit?

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Weird. My eTrex Vista clock is completely unreliable. The clock and date are always waaaay off. The clock is off by several hours and odd minutes, and the date by 60 odd years or 40 od years (depending if it thinks it's 1966 or 2066), yet it has usually no problem acquiring satellites, and when it gets a WAAS lock, accuracy is usually 6 to 9 feet.

I had the same problem with an incorrect year popping up from time to time on TWO of the old B&W Vistas (both brand new - one purchased in November 2007, and a replacement supplied by the local reseller about 2 weeks later). (A search on this forum will find my posts relating to this issue, and there are a few other Vista users who have noted the same problem.)

 

The units themselves kept perfect clock time, and worked perfectly (apart from the corrupt date issue), but the corrupt date meant my track-logs were also corrupted (couldn't be read in by MapSource, couldn't be used to geo-reference digital photographs, etc), and this was a "mission critical" issue for me, as it meant I couldn't actually use the GPSr for some of the main work-related reasons I bought it.

 

I found a way to reset the date, but only by performing a "super master reset" - but this meant I lost all of my current data in the process (waypoints, tracklogs, etc).

 

Garmin eventually confirmed this was a known issue with the B&W eTrex Vista, and there was no permanent fix. Eventually, the local reseller did a deal with me by replacing it with a Summit HC, which so far seems to be performing flawlessly. (And I now have the added benefit of a high sensitivity receiver and a colour screen!)

Edited by julianh
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Is there an internal backup battery that maintains the time when the unit is off (including when you're replacing the AA batteries)? If so, could the units that are having the time problem have a problem with that part or circuit?

It runs from the regular batteries when they are in the battery compartment. During battery replacement, it uses a backup source to keep the clock running. Edited by apersson850
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Sounds like you got a bad one too. Just for kicks let's see if they' got similar serial #'s, mine is: 169000131 and the other unit that had the same issue was: 169000130.

 

169000573

 

Add my 300 to the list. 169000152. The moment I turn it off, the clock stops. Next time I turn it on (5 mins or 5 hours) the time will be exactly what it was when I turned it off. Once it gets satellite fix, it gets the correct time.

 

Is there any point in calling Garmin's tech support? Or should I just exchange it at REI?

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Sounds like you got a bad one too. Just for kicks let's see if they' got similar serial #'s, mine is: 169000131 and the other unit that had the same issue was: 169000130.

 

169000573

 

Add my 300 to the list. 169000152. The moment I turn it off, the clock stops. Next time I turn it on (5 mins or 5 hours) the time will be exactly what it was when I turned it off. Once it gets satellite fix, it gets the correct time.

 

Is there any point in calling Garmin's tech support? Or should I just exchange it at REI?

 

For you probably not. But I would be curious what Garmin has to say. Can they explain exactly what the problem is? Can they say that it affects only a certain number of units (ie. by serial number, or model number)? Are there any quick and easy check to determine if someone has the problem? If you find out I'll add it to the FAQ.

 

GO$Rs

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Sounds like you got a bad one too. Just for kicks let's see if they' got similar serial #'s, mine is: 169000131 and the other unit that had the same issue was: 169000130.

 

169000573

 

Add my 300 to the list. 169000152. The moment I turn it off, the clock stops. Next time I turn it on (5 mins or 5 hours) the time will be exactly what it was when I turned it off. Once it gets satellite fix, it gets the correct time.

 

Is there any point in calling Garmin's tech support? Or should I just exchange it at REI?

 

For you probably not. But I would be curious what Garmin has to say. Can they explain exactly what the problem is? Can they say that it affects only a certain number of units (ie. by serial number, or model number)? Are there any quick and easy check to determine if someone has the problem? If you find out I'll add it to the FAQ.

 

GO$Rs

 

I talked to the Garmin handheld support supervisor at lenght about this clock problem yesterday. As a dealer, I now have 2 units shipping back directly to him for examination. Believe you me, he's very interested in examining these units to try to figure what's happening here!

The only thing he stressed was to make sure your unit sets outside somewhere with clear view of the sky for at least 20 minutes in order to get a complete almanac established. I'd try this before I returned it to the dealer or Garmin.

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I talked to the Garmin handheld support supervisor at lenght about this clock problem yesterday. As a dealer, I now have 2 units shipping back directly to him for examination. Believe you me, he's very interested in examining these units to try to figure what's happening here!

The only thing he stressed was to make sure your unit sets outside somewhere with clear view of the sky for at least 20 minutes in order to get a complete almanac established. I'd try this before I returned it to the dealer or Garmin.

 

I've done that with mine. I left it outside for almost 40 mins. It didn't help. I will call Garmin in a bit update here with what they say.

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Add my 300 to the list. 169000152. The moment I turn it off, the clock stops. Next time I turn it on (5 mins or 5 hours) the time will be exactly what it was when I turned it off. Once it gets satellite fix, it gets the correct time.

 

Is there any point in calling Garmin's tech support? Or should I just exchange it at REI?

 

This is just my personal thoughts but I think you should notify Garmin Tech Support. I contacted Garmin Tech Support the other day in ref to other issues I was having with this unit and the tech support guy said this was the first time he had heard of this particular problem and he was at a loss to explain it. So, if enough folks call in I am confident that Garmin will assign a higher priority and resolved the whole issue of "time drift", whether it be a hardware or firmware fix. Not to mention if you exchange it at REI you aren't really guaranteed that it won't happen again.

 

Hmm, I never though to look at the time as I shut the GPS off. So a more accurate desciption of the problem would be a "time freeze". I did mention to the very helpful tech support guy that I didn't notice this problem prior to updating the firmware/software inside the unit.

Edited by Geocaching-Geckos
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I've done that with mine. I left it outside for almost 40 mins. It didn't help. I will call Garmin in a bit update here with what they say.

 

That was disappointing. After describing the problem, the tech support person said "that's the way it's supposed to work." I gave him all the background info from here, even asked him if he could check with somebody else over there. He said there was nobody else he could check with and told me to just return the unit to REI.

 

I expected more. The only positve thing I can say about him was that he was a native English speaker.

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That was disappointing. After describing the problem, the tech support person said "that's the way it's supposed to work." I gave him all the background info from here, even asked him if he could check with somebody else over there. He said there was nobody else he could check with and told me to just return the unit to REI.

 

I expected more. The only positve thing I can say about him was that he was a native English speaker.

 

I sent you a P.M.

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Did you ask him to explain how the unit then would support the alarm clock or the sampling of pressure data at regular time intervals, when it has been turned off? If the clock can't issue a time-based interrupt to turn it on and execute the requested function?

 

No. I told him about the my previous Garmin, and the experiences here of other members. I even asked if he could check with other people there. When he replied "There's nobody to check with because there's nothing about that topic" or something along those lines, I knew it was a lost cause.

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Did you ask him to explain how the unit then would support the alarm clock or the sampling of pressure data at regular time intervals, when it has been turned off? If the clock can't issue a time-based interrupt to turn it on and execute the requested function?

 

You're right. Any time-based function will be screwed up. Garmin needs to, and I feel very surely, after talking to this fellow, will, be addressed pronto. Hopefully, this is fixable via a firmware update which will come soon, and not a end up being a hardware issue.

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Did you ask him to explain how the unit then would support the alarm clock or the sampling of pressure data at regular time intervals, when it has been turned off? If the clock can't issue a time-based interrupt to turn it on and execute the requested function?

 

No. I told him about the my previous Garmin, and the experiences here of other members. I even asked if he could check with other people there. When he replied "There's nobody to check with because there's nothing about that topic" or something along those lines, I knew it was a lost cause.

That Garmin Rep didn't know what he was talking about, obviously. I can turn my 400t on, and with no satellites is always has the correct time, even after being off all night. I haven't heard any 400t owners complain about this issue. Unfortunately, that probably means its a hardware issue.

 

--Marky

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Did you ask him to explain how the unit then would support the alarm clock or the sampling of pressure data at regular time intervals, when it has been turned off? If the clock can't issue a time-based interrupt to turn it on and execute the requested function?

 

No. I told him about the my previous Garmin, and the experiences here of other members. I even asked if he could check with other people there. When he replied "There's nobody to check with because there's nothing about that topic" or something along those lines, I knew it was a lost cause.

That Garmin Rep didn't know what he was talking about, obviously. I can turn my 400t on, and with no satellites is always has the correct time, even after being off all night. I haven't heard any 400t owners complain about this issue. Unfortunately, that probably means its a hardware issue.

 

--Marky

 

As someone in another thread stated, you all need to stop your complaining. The Colorado is working just fine and users who need an accurate clock are only a small fraction of the intended market. It would cost Garmin too much money to fix this little issue. We can't expect this high end piece of equipment to perform as other models since this is and entirely new platform and interface. For those who need accurate time, just look at your watch and who really needs time the time based functions anyway. A GPSr is supposed to get you from point A to point B. The Colorado does that quite well. So all of the bells and whistles don't work. So what? Move on, and get over it. Would you return a brand new $60,000 car because the clock, or radio, or cig lighter, or heat/ac, or cruise controll, either didn't work or was not offered on the new model? You'd have to be nuts to expect this new car model to do everything that older models do!!

 

For those who are wondering, I'm being facetious. I'd like to assume this gets fixed soon, but.............

Edited by 3 Hawks
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I stopped by REI last night and picked up another 300C. Left it outside for 20 mins. I then had the new and old unit side by side, both with the same time. I turned them off until this morning. The new unit had the correct time. The old unit still said 8:00PM.

 

Interestingly, the serial numbers are not too far apart. The bad unit is 169000152. The new unit is 169000171.

 

I'm returning the bad unit to REI today. I love REI.

 

Thx for the help.

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I stopped by REI last night and picked up another 300C. Left it outside for 20 mins. I then had the new and old unit side by side, both with the same time. I turned them off until this morning. The new unit had the correct time. The old unit still said 8:00PM.

 

Interestingly, the serial numbers are not too far apart. The bad unit is 169000152. The new unit is 169000171.

 

I'm returning the bad unit to REI today. I love REI.

That's why I always buy new technology items from them. If you aren't satisfied with it, just return it. If there is a problem, replace it.

 

I'm sure we'll never find out what the culprit is, but I'm very curious about why this seems to be a 300 only issue.

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I am definately not having this problem. My clock is fine. My Colorado 300's serial number is 1690000534. It seems like the younger ones have this problem and the older ones don't. Maybe the first 250 off the pruduction line had bad chips installed?

 

Marky, I'd check yours to see. Maybe thats why your getting 5 hrs with NIMH's. That could explain why everyone else (mostly) is only getting 2hrs. Maybe the new chips vs old chips operate differently with the same firmware. It would explain alot actually.

Edited by yogazoo
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I'm sure we'll never find out what the culprit is, but I'm very curious about why this seems to be a 300 only issue.

 

It's not just the 300... my 400t does the same thing sometimes (about 20% of the time so far). I've put a call into Garmin about it and they said they'd call me back after the guy did some research. I don't expect much, I just want them to document it (and the three other issues I called about) so it can get fixed in the next software rev if at all possible.

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I am definately not having this problem. My clock is fine. My Colorado 300's serial number is 1690000534. It seems like the younger ones have this problem and the older ones don't. Maybe the first 250 off the pruduction line had bad chips installed?

 

The bad unit is 169000152. The new unit is 169000171. They are 19 apart, which is practically nothing. Maybe the 152 was the first unit built on Monday after a weekend trip to Vegas? By the time they got to 171, they weren't hung over anymore. :smile:

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I am definately not having this problem. My clock is fine. My Colorado 300's serial number is 1690000534. It seems like the younger ones have this problem and the older ones don't. Maybe the first 250 off the pruduction line had bad chips installed?

 

My serial number is actually a little bit higher than yours: 169000573 and I experiance this problem on a regular basis. That pretty much dixes the theory that is it tied to the unit's serial number...

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I am definately not having this problem. My clock is fine. My Colorado 300's serial number is 1690000534. It seems like the younger ones have this problem and the older ones don't. Maybe the first 250 off the pruduction line had bad chips installed?

 

Marky, I'd check yours to see. Maybe thats why your getting 5 hrs with NIMH's. That could explain why everyone else (mostly) is only getting 2hrs. Maybe the new chips vs old chips operate differently with the same firmware. It would explain alot actually.

 

Hehe Yogazoo i have the 169000533, and the problem exist on mine! so the serial tell nothing for now

 

and Yes i only have 2 hours of operation with NIMH batteries. Pretty strange,

 

is this a trend. Those with the clock problem have the low autonomy problem? .... Humm i wonder

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Ok, based on the feedback it seems as though random units have this problem. That scares the %#&*@ out of me because this seems to be a hardware problem instead of a firmware fix. Where is/was the quality control. Were they in that big a hurry to get these units to the CES?

 

You might say not to worry because Garmin has always been good with replacement units for defects regardless of warranty. That's true. I just hate to be without a unit for a couple of weeks while they do it, not to mention the shipping costs.

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Ok, based on the feedback it seems as though random units have this problem. That scares the %#&*@ out of me because this seems to be a hardware problem instead of a firmware fix. Where is/was the quality control. Were they in that big a hurry to get these units to the CES?

 

You might say not to worry because Garmin has always been good with replacement units for defects regardless of warranty. That's true. I just hate to be without a unit for a couple of weeks while they do it, not to mention the shipping costs.

 

That's why I bought my unit at REI. I picked up my new unit yesterday. Verified that it works, and I'm returning the old defective unit today. No waiting, no shipping costs. Sure, I paid list price, but it's ok. It is a good trade off.

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I sent an email several days ago asking for clarification but so far no response.

 

GO$Rs

 

to Replicate the problem ( Test it on you own device )

 

STEP A

----------

1 - Turn on your Colorado.

2 - Wait for a good satellites lock.

3 - Look at the GPS time, write down your gps time.

4 - Turn off your Colorado.

5 - Wait 5 minutes.

 

STEP B

----------

5 - Goto somewhere you are sure you will not receive any satellites signal. (Very important because if your Colorado lock on the time set base on the sats signal, so it's useless to do the test)

6 - turn on your Colorado.

7 - Look at the GPS time, write down your gps time. Any drift?

 

STEP B ( alternative: if you can't find a place with no stats signal! )

----------

5 - Turn on the Colorado, maintain the central rock

6 - turn on your Colorado.

7 - Look at the GPS time, write down your gps time. Any drift? Note I think the time will be display in UTC

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