The time on my yellow Etrex

[TT120]

The time and date is not correct on my yellow Etrex and there is no way (at least that I can find) to set it. I thought it would get that data from the satelites but it hasn't yet. Am I missing something?

 

TechnoGEEK

[+Jamie Z]

I can't remember how, but I'm sure there is a way to adjust the time.

 

The satellites only transmit Universal Time.. (or some such), and you GPS has to convert it to your local time and add a few leap seconds.

 

Check out your manual a little more closely. I'm sure it's in there somewhere.

 

Jamie

 

edit: on second thought, I'm sure the satellites account for leap seconds, but it's the leap seconds that make UT different from GMT or something... I can't remember how that all works.

[+Freelens&Mosie]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TT120:

The time and date is not correct on my yellow Etrex and there is no way (at least that I can find) to set it. I thought it would get that data from the satelites but it hasn't yet. Am I missing something?

 

http://www.delappworld.com/tt120twitchy.gif

TechnoGEEK

---

 

Page 13 in the manual shows how to change time zones.

The path is: Menu/Setup/Time..choose zone press enter. Hope this helps. I don't think it has a wake up alarm tho.

My guess is if you know what this does,

 

http://home.attbi.com/~bill-delapp/

 

setting the correct time on your etrex should not be a problem.

 

 

 

You can't be lost if you don't care where you are.

[+Freelens&Mosie]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TT120:

The time and date is not correct on my yellow Etrex and there is no way (at least that I can find) to set it. I thought it would get that data from the satelites but it hasn't yet. Am I missing something?

 

http://www.delappworld.com/tt120twitchy.gif

TechnoGEEK

---

 

Page 13 in the manual shows how to change time zones.

The path is: Menu/Setup/Time..choose zone press enter. Hope this helps. I don't think it has a wake up alarm tho.

My guess is if you know what this does,

 

http://home.attbi.com/~bill-delapp/

 

setting the correct time on your etrex should not be a problem.

 

 

 

You can't be lost if you don't care where you are.

[TT120]

I have set the time zone and the DST but there is no way to actually adjust the time and date. It says it's may 20th 2022.

 

I can build a water cooled, overclocked, clear cased gaming rig, but I can't figure out how to set the time on my GPSr. Go figure.

 

TechnoGEEK

[TT120]

I have set the time zone and the DST but there is no way to actually adjust the time and date. It says it's may 20th 2022.

 

I can build a water cooled, overclocked, clear cased gaming rig, but I can't figure out how to set the time on my GPSr. Go figure.

 

TechnoGEEK

[+The Cheeseheads]

The clock should be set by the satellites because it needs to be set to their time to work properly. Something about the GPS satellites sending a pseudorandom flow of numbers which repeats at the exact same time every day. By looking at the numbers it's getting, the time they were supposed to have been sent, and the actual time they were received by the handheld, it can figure out how far away the satellite is.

 

If the GPSr allowed you to set the clock by hand, that would never be able to work.

 

The only thing you can set is the timezone and if it's daylight savings time or not, because those don't affect the calculations at all.

 

If this is a new unit, it needs to be on for 5-10 minutes upon first use to download all the information it requires. Perhaps getting the correct time takes that long.

 

After that first download however, it should always have the correct time. (And I mean really correct, as those are atomic clocks it's setting itself to!)

 

If you still can't get it to work, you may have other problems...

 

BTW, if you check the eTrex manual, you'll see that there is no function anywhere for setting the time. It's not even mentioned.

 

- - - - -

Wisconsin Geocaching Association

[+bradtal]

TT120-

 

I had the same problem on my Garmin GPS12. It had the correct time for 3 years, then one day when I turned it on, it said Oct 4th, 2022 (odd, we both had the same year).

 

Anyways, I did what the manual said and set the GPS out in the open for 10 minutes to "sync" up with the satellites. No luck. SO, I left it out for one hour. Still no luck.

 

I finally called Garmin support (which I was impressed with). They had me do this real funky "reset" (like, press left, then right, then left, then right, then left 2 more times, then spin around on one leg, then act like a bird, etc) and then the GPS displayed the right time.

 

Anyways, I recommend calling Garmin support.

 

PS. If you call Garmin support, you will probably lose all your waypoints you have saved in your GPS. SO, you might want to dump them to your computer or write them all down...

 

Brad

[+bradtal]

TT120-

 

I had the same problem on my Garmin GPS12. It had the correct time for 3 years, then one day when I turned it on, it said Oct 4th, 2022 (odd, we both had the same year).

 

Anyways, I did what the manual said and set the GPS out in the open for 10 minutes to "sync" up with the satellites. No luck. SO, I left it out for one hour. Still no luck.

 

I finally called Garmin support (which I was impressed with). They had me do this real funky "reset" (like, press left, then right, then left, then right, then left 2 more times, then spin around on one leg, then act like a bird, etc) and then the GPS displayed the right time.

 

Anyways, I recommend calling Garmin support.

 

PS. If you call Garmin support, you will probably lose all your waypoints you have saved in your GPS. SO, you might want to dump them to your computer or write them all down...

 

Brad

[+Mopar]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cheesehead Dave:

 

If this is a new unit, it needs to be on for 5-10 minutes upon first use to download all the information it requires. Perhaps getting the correct time takes that long.

 

After that first download however, it should always have the correct time. (And I mean really correct, as those are atomic clocks it's setting itself to!)

 

If you still can't get it to work, you may have other problems...

 

---

 

I'll second what Dave wrote above, and add this:

If this is not a new unit, and it is a recent problem, you might try doing a hard reset to the GPS. Not sure what the key sequence is for the Etrex, but I sure someone here knows. Make sure you've downloaded all your stored data, waypoints, etc.

Also, just like with computers, make sure you have the most recent firmware installed in your GPS. Probably not the problem, but it's usually a Good Thing® to do.

 

Illegitimus non carborundum!

[+Mopar]

Brad snuck one in there while I was typing! Yeah, what he said too!

I'm pretty sure the hard reset codes have been posted here, if you want to try that. If you can't find them, I'm sure Kerry or Anders knows.

 

Illegitimus non carborundum!

[+Mopar]

Brad snuck one in there while I was typing! Yeah, what he said too!

I'm pretty sure the hard reset codes have been posted here, if you want to try that. If you can't find them, I'm sure Kerry or Anders knows.

 

Illegitimus non carborundum!

[Timothius]

I believe that one of the firmware updates fixes this problem. If you are not already using the latest firmware I would suggest that you upgrade.

 

An Irish Toast:

"May you be in heaven a half hour before

the Devil knows you're dead"

[arcadesdude]

To reset your etrex do this:

 

Turn the unit off.

 

Press and hold UP, PAGE, and ENTER and while you're still holding them press and hold the on button until it turns on. It should clear all memory (including waypoints, routes, tracks, and settings).

 

Then when you get a satellite lock the next time you will have to leave it with a full lock (3 satellites or more) for 15 mins for the etrex to download the local leap seconds data.

 

As soon as it gets that first lock though it will automatically set the time and date on the unit. Be sure to go to System Setup Time and set your time zone as well.

 

--Ricky Cobb

[TT120]

Thanks for the advice guys. It is a new unit and I have been using it for several months for hours at a time and it still has not gotten the correct date from the satelites yet. It's not a big deal but it is supposed to show me the EXACT time and date based on the satelites. I guess I'll find the reset info and try that.

 

TechnoGEEK

[skydiver]

But the solution that worked for me seemed easier than what most are suggesting here.

 

1. Took the batteries out.

2. waitied a minute or so.

3. put them back and turned it on.

 

I'd say try that (if you haven't already) ... and if it doesn't work for you, try those other things

 

---------------------------------------

Missoula Organization Of Geocachers (MOOG)

MOOG; Unarguably, the coolest geocaching club acronym to date.

---------------------------------------

[skydiver]

But the solution that worked for me seemed easier than what most are suggesting here.

 

1. Took the batteries out.

2. waitied a minute or so.

3. put them back and turned it on.

 

I'd say try that (if you haven't already) ... and if it doesn't work for you, try those other things

 

---------------------------------------

Missoula Organization Of Geocachers (MOOG)

MOOG; Unarguably, the coolest geocaching club acronym to date.

---------------------------------------

[TT120]

I did the reset thing and it worked. Thanks guys!

 

TechnoGEEK