Sportrak Pro Signal Problems

[+felix80]

I'm wondering if any other SporTrak GPS users out there are having this problem. Ever since I upgraded my SporTrak Pro software, it sometimes cannot lock onto satellites. On the satellite screen, signal bars come and go for a while, maybe one will get a lock. Then after a few minutes, all the satellite numbers disappear and the GPS quits hunting for signals. Anyone else encountered this? If so, is there a fix?

 

Thanks,

Ed

[+GOT GPS?]

You can try a full reset of the GPS, then leave it out for 15 or 20 minutes to acquire the satellites, then if it still is a problem, you may have to downgrade the firmware to an older one.

[mudhuggers]

Never had a pblm. Try the reset.

[dccbasser]

no problems with sportrac color gps and firmware updates. pick up signals in ohio no problem even inside house.

[+Nurse Dave]

no problems with sportrac color gps and firmware updates. pick up signals in ohio no problem even inside house.

You know, people that live in glass houses.....

[+katguy]

I have seen this a few times on my sportrac color after leaving it overnight in my car. Upon looking further I have found that the time and date have been lost. Setting the date and reinitializing brought it back each time.

[+GeoFamof4]

I had a similar problem with my MeriPlat. I removed the batteries, re-installed them, cleared all memory and re-initialized. Give the GPS a good 30 minutes left alone under a clear sky to get a good lock on the satelies and aquire the "almanac".

 

Once I was patient enough to give it more than 10-15 minutes, it worked fine and I haven't had the problem since.

[+felix80]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to give them a try next time this happens. I'm especially interested in seeing if the date and time are wrong, as katguy suggested.

 

Also, I found that the satellite screen going blank is not necessarily a sign of failure. I waited a while longer and locked in a position. So I think Geofamof4 is onto something, too.

 

Maybe setting the correct time and date will eliminate the long waits? I'll know better the next time this comes up.

 

Thanks again!

[+Cornix]

Take a look at Robert Lipe's Magellan FAQ for a list of known firmware issues:

 

Should I upgrade to version 5 firmware?

Unless you have hardware affected by a fix (esp. specific 256MB Sandisk cards on Meridan) or you have DirectRoute, my personal advice is to remain on the lowest number above 4.06 that works with your hardware and mapping programs. Some folks on the list are happy with the newer versions, so it's up to you to decide.

...

 

What known defects are in 5.3[56]?

* The major one is that it erases your track every time you do a street route. This is a deal-breaker for most US users of DirectRoute. DirectRoute Europe users have to live with this.

* If you change the map or power cycle, it has to regain cold lock.

* If you change the map from a DR map to anything else, it rejects the load with "Invalid Mapfile"

 

What long-standing defects are known?

* The clock will fall out of sync with reality. The only known recourse is a "reset all" which, of course, clobbers all user data. This has been observed on all modern mapping Magellan models.

* Sometimes the units seem to mark all birds in the sky as unusable. In extreme cases, this will result in loss of lock of position. A "reset all" cures it. This has been observed on all modern mapping Magellan models.

Cornix