Slow GPS!

[DKnight]

My boat is fitted with a 6 year old MLR FX312 GPS and it has always been an excellent bit if kit.
However after re-commisioning this winter it has proven to be very slow at aquiring the satelites. initially it took 3 hous before it locked on to one! It now takes over 15 minutes to lock onto 4 or 5 satellites but this does seem rather slow.

The pushpit mount ariel had its lead broken during the winter but this has been shortened (OK by MLR) and re soldered. I have also had a peek inside to see if there's a battery used for the volatile memory, however I could not see anything that looked like a Lithium Ion or that type of cell.

Any ideas would be appreciated particullarly if your familiar with the MLR bit of kit.

 

[ditchcrawler]

I noted on the Garmin website that they recommend switching on the GPS regularly throughout the winter.I do this with my handhelds but it may be more difficult with a fixed unit.My old one (5 yrs) still locks on OK but takes longer than the new one.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

20 mns for an external aerial Navman over Easter. Once it found one satellite i found a lot of others very quickly, I assume the first one told the device where the others would be. Normal experience, when booting up after being off for a week it takes a few seconds, maybe a minute to get a fix.

 

[Channel Ribs]

[ QUOTE ]
...initially it took 3 hous before it locked on to one!

[/ QUOTE ]

That is a long time, for sure. Does the unit tell you what the signal strength is like, once it has locked on? Also, does it have the right date/time when you first turn it on?

 

[oldestgit]

Yep.. I have the same MLR and exactly the same age. (great bit of kit) After winter it may take 5 to 10 minutes max to boot up so even your 15 minutes seems excessive and 3 hours????.

The obvious to look for: is there a reasonably clear sight of the sky or are there any nearby obstructions that might block its sight through most of the 360 deg sweep at say 45degrees. Voltage is my only other consideration is it getting a proper supply or has that been cut/crimped or damaged over winter?

All the best anyway............. Peter

 

[Robin]

Often there is an internal battery that runs the memory and this may be dead, as a result the set will loose the 'almanac' and have to do a full cold start each time you switch on rather than starting from a known time and place.

 

[Swagman]

Around eight / nine days ago we also had issues in picking up sats on our main GPS whilst at sea. But checking with two other handheld units they too experienced similar difficulties over a period of say 15 minutes.
After that period all appeared to function OK.

So whilst it might sound far fetched, I can only assume either someone in the USA was playing with an on / off switch - or the aerial postion on all three of our units was being effected by our mast position - or something similar.

I believe the chance of all three units being faulty at the same time to be very remote.

I mention this just in case your issues were caused by similar events and just maybe today it will work fine?

Cheers
JOHN