Issues with Garmin 66sr

[+Seawind]

I've been using a Garmin 66st for a few years, and hearing the advantages of the 66sr, decided to give it a try.

 

I have taken both units out on hikes in heavily forested areas, and found a feature(?) of the 66sr that is very annoying:  When arriving at a cache location, it often locks the Distance to Destination number, usually at 0 feet, but sometimes at 4 feet, etc, at the cache site.  I assume that is to indicate a high confidence in that reading, but I much prefer the unit to keep updating, mainly so I can verify my posted coordinates after the unit is on site for a few minutes.

 

Even when I leave the area, the unit stays locked on "0" at 500 feet or more away.  At one point, I had a "0" lock, so did a re-navigation to the same cache, which I was standing next to.  The unit then read 95 feet, and was still locked.  I tried restarting navigation several times, always getting the "95", but finally it jumped back to "0", still locked.

 

Is there a way to turn off this lock of the Distance to Destination?  I'm running the latest firmware (3.30).

 

As for comparing the 66st and 66sr, the sr did seem very slightly more accurate and less jumpy overall.  And, I really like the improved buttons and long-life battery.

 

But, the older st repeatedly gets a satellite lock much faster than the sr does.  I had expected the newer one to be faster.

 

It is going to be pretty hard to justify the $500 cost for some minor improvements.  

 

Thanks!

 

[+Seawind]

A followup:  I took the 66sr out again today, this time to the beach with no signal issues.  Again, every time it is turned on, it takes about a minute to get a satellite lock, while the 66st is locked as soon as the powerup is complete.

 

I chose a cache about 500 feet away and navigated there with both the 66sr and the 66st.  The 66st provided reasonably correct readings all the way to the cache.  But, the 66sr had a reading of .30 miles, and didn't change all the way to the cache, even standing next to it.  I turned it off and back on - same thing.  But, in the list of nearby caches, it showed 7 feet.  The coordinates were correct.

 

Even though the compass had been calibrated earlier, I gave that a try.  But, when I clicked "Start" on the calibration screen, the unit locked up - completely frozen.  I was one of the very early users of the 66 series, and was used to popping the battery out and in in the old days to fix lockups.  That's not an option on the 66sr.  Even holding the power button down would not reset or turn off the unit.  Finally, after about two minutes, it did shut itself off.  I was then able to repower and calibrate.

 

But, the readings continued to be way off.  I tried all sorts of setting changes - GPS only, etc., but nothing made any difference.

 

I should call Garmin, but having made many such calls for previous models, I know they will blame it either on the release version (mine is current), on the battery (charged) or on the .ggz file (the same that worked okay yesterday, and the same as in the 66st).

 

I gave the unit a try based on many good reviews, but it is utterly useless.

 

Regarding the original post, when it is possible to navigate to a cache, it continues to lock the Distance to Destination when you are close.  I noticed I'm on 3.0 on the 66sr, but 2.7 on the 66st.  Could that be a change between the two versions?

 

Any suggestions much appreciated!

 

[+JPatton]

I've had a 66sr for a while and never experienced the issues your having. You should update the firmware, 3.8 is the current release. 

[+Atlas Cached]

Same here, none of those issues with my 66sr. The unit is rock solid. 

 

Have you checked the Setup > About page on the 66sr when you are observing a delayed signal lock to see if the CPE file is current?

 

Is your 66sr connected to your phone via Bluetooth? If not, the CPE can not update. 

 

3.80 is the most current firmware release for that unit,  not 3.30.

 

I would recommend retesting after an update to 3.80.

[+Atlas Cached]

19 minutes ago, Seawind said:

was one of the very early users of the 66 series, and was used to popping the battery out and in in the old days to fix lockups.  That's not an option on the 66sr.  Even holding the power button down would not reset or turn off the unit.

 

Hold the power button for >15 seconds to initiate a reboot. 

[+Seawind]

When I run the Garmin WebUpdater, it correctly identifies the unit, but states that it already has the current version.  Clicking "Reinstall" still only finds 3.30 as the latest.

 

I'm not seeing any options for a 3.8 release.

 

 

[+kunarion]

6 minutes ago, Seawind said:

When I run the Garmin WebUpdater, it correctly identifies the unit, but states that it already has the current version.  Clicking "Reinstall" still only finds 3.30 as the latest.

 

I'm not seeing any options for a 3.8 release.

 

 

You could try updating with Garmin Express.

https://www.geocaching.com/help/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=138&pgid=827
 

That’s handy anyway with some Geocaching site features.

[+Atlas Cached]

56 minutes ago, Seawind said:

When I run the Garmin WebUpdater, it correctly identifies the unit, but states that it already has the current version.  Clicking "Reinstall" still only finds 3.30 as the latest.

 

I'm not seeing any options for a 3.8 release.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, WebUpdater is a much older program that is not recommended for this purpose on newer handhelds.

 

Use Garmin Express, or leave the Wi-Fi connection enabled with the power on for a period of time to get the current firmware.

 

See GPSrChive > GPSMAP 66sr > Firmware for more information.

 

Edited August 15, 2021 by Atlas Cached

[+Seawind]

Thanks for the Garmin Express suggestion.  I was able to update the 66sr to 3.80.

 

Compass calibration worked, but the unit is just as squirrelly as before:  Very slow satellite lock, readings of .2 miles when the cache is 500 feet away, and the distance doesn't change all the way to the site.  The compass arrow never points to the destination and the unit issues some sort of alert tone every few minutes, without displaying any messages.

 

I now see:  Software Version 3.80, GPS Software Version 2.00.05 and CIQ 3.0.12.

 

The only other Garmin Express update pending is for maps.

 

I poked around in settings some more and found "Off Route Recalculation" was set to "Automatic".  That sounded suspicious, so I turned it "Off" and tried again.  MUCH better, and it took me correctly to the cache, and this time did not lock the "0" feet reading.  It looked very promising, so I tried the next cache.

 

Right back to the same problems.  Distance to Destination jumps erratically and the compass has no idea of which direction to go.  Darn!

 

Thinking it might be the ggz geocache file itself, I tried a gpx waypoint, and it was no better.

 

Are there any other routing, etc settings that might be causing this?  Or maybe the unit itself is defective?

 

I appreciate the suggestions!

 

[+Atlas Cached]

8 hours ago, Seawind said:

Distance to Destination jumps erratically and the compass has no idea of which direction to go.  Darn!

 

Which compass are you looking at? 

 

If the bearing indicator is not pointing toward your intended destination (in this case a geocache), perhaps you have some routing method other than direct selected? This would cause the bearing indicator to point to the next turn in the calculated route, not the destination.

 

8 hours ago, Seawind said:

 

I poked around in settings some more and found "Off Route Recalculation" was set to "Automatic".  That sounded suspicious, so I turned it "Off" and tried again.  MUCH better, and it took me correctly to the cache, and this time did not lock the "0" feet reading. 

 

Now we know it is not a defective unit, as you have now seen it perform as you expect.

 

8 hours ago, Seawind said:

Are there any other routing, etc settings that might be causing this?

 

Retest again with direct routing only.

 

There are many examples and suggestions at GPSrChive.

[+Seawind]

That was it!!!  I changed "Direct Routing" from "No" to "Yes" and just got back from testing.  The unit performed flawlessly in open areas and heavy forest.

 

Thank you Atlas Cached!!

 

That change actually fixed all three issues:  the erratic compass, the way-off Dist to Dest readings and the frequent chirping.  It's pretty clear now the chirping was an alert to change course.

 

I'm about 90% certain that I didn't change the Direct Routing setting to "No" at any point, although I suppose a different setting could have changed it automatically.  Do the units ship with Direct Routing "No"?  If so, anyone who buys a 66sr for geocaching or hiking must have all the same problems I went through.  That setting does not exist on my 66st, so I wasn't familiar with it at all.

 

In any case, it looks like I will be keeping it, thanks to the help from this forum!

 

Cheers!

[+Atlas Cached]

I'm glad we could get that resolved so you can now enjoy your fantastic GPSMAP 66sr!

[robertlipe]

I clicked the button indicating this answer was "helpful". I suggest others finding answers, well, helpful do the same as a way to surface the better answers/answerers in a lengthy or contested post or just as a way of thanking them for helping fix a setup issue on your personal gear.

If you're familiar with geocache favorite points, this is kind of the same, but this section doesn't make much (enough) use of it.

Thanx to our product experts!