Garmin GPS128 - is it the internal battery? (Again!)

[Nick]

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The machine fires up OK and finds a position quickly enough, but says 'lost all data' and has to have comms reset to NMEA/NMEA (from the default GARMIN/GARMIN) each time.

The internal battery was replaced in early 2007. Is it time for another one?

[cpedw]

It sounds like it but you could try leaving it powered up for a day or two in case there's a rechargeable battery somewhere in there that's run flat.

There's software (Gardown is a name I vaguely remember) that can save/restore all your waypoints on a PC with a serial port. Too late now but for next year...

Derek

[Nick]

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The GPS is on the same fuse as the gas alarm, so there is always power to it when we are living on board

(although we switch it off at the machine's own on/off switch - would this cut the power to the internal battery or not? )

[cpedw]

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The GPS is on the same fuse as the gas alarm, so there is always power to it when we are living on board

(although we switch it off at the machine's own on/off switch - would this cut the power to the internal battery or not? )

I don't know for sure but I expect the power would be supplying any battery whenever connected, irrespective of switched on or off.

Derek

[DaveS]

I presume you switch the gas alarm circuit off while not on board. (I know I do - its consumption is not trivial.) During this time the GPS will be getting no power and the internal battery will slowly run down. That said, it should re-charge when connected to power with no issues provided the off period wasn't too long. I try to switch mine on a couple of times during the winter so the maximum time off power is 2-3 months: I have no idea what the sensible maximum time should be - this is something that is curiously undocumented.

[Nick]

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Thanks Dave. Looks like it might recover during the Chents Cruise . . . if not, I'll replace it.

[aquaplane]

When I fired up the Garmin on Seminole at Easter it came up with "no **** input" where **** is something I can't remember.

It came up with the same thing several times untill I just left the thing on and it started looking up each satellite in turn. I left it (forgot about it) to do what it had to do. In the middle of the bleeding night it started alarming so I switched it off and went back to bed. It worked OK after that.

I think it's a 120 but it could be a 128, do they do a 120?

[DaveS]

Yes, if a GPS seriously loses the plot it can take many hours for it to get back up to speed. I have a number of old / backup GPS units that I fire up every few months to keep them sorted out. Those with batteries now have rechargeables which I also check and charge at the same time.

[ubergeekian]

Yes, if a GPS seriously loses the plot it can take many hours for it to get back up to speed.

The problem, as you probably know, is that a GPS set needs to know, for obvious reasons, which satellite is where in the sky. It knows this from ephemeris data which it receives from the satellites and which is regularly updated if things change When it's been out of use for a long time, or when it has forgotten its internal settings, it needs to download the entire ephemeris again, a bit at a time, and that's what takes a-g-e-s.

[aquaplane]

It's done it again, but 24hrs switched on didn't cure it so it looks like the hand held backup will be brought into service until I can decide what to do.

[ash]

It's done it again,.

Your post prompted me to check my Garmin GPS 12 portable. Found the 4 AA batteries stone dead. It didn't auto locate in the usual time scale with a fresh set of batteries so used the option to tell it that it was in Scotland and it then found it's location quite quickly. It still remembers my waypoints so the internal battery must still have a charge.

Ash

Edit I gave the internal battery a hard time back in 2010, but it seems to have survived - link - viewtopic.php?f=12&t=5535&hilit=Garmin

[sahona]

There seems to be an odd discrepancy with internal battery life across the 128 population, and elsewhere.
My 128 came with the boat, so I can only guess it's about 15 -ish years old. It's not had a new battery in my (10 year) tenure and still has all it's marbles. Might I suggest using the best quality replacements available, rather than the 'value' offers found on the Chinese Web. Also, perhaps it would be wise to use a mounting clip to hold the battery rather than applying excess heat when soldering if that is a skill you only use occasionally.
Having said all that, my Nasa navtex seems to ravage memory batteries, and it has gone gobbledegook again after a couple of months of lying fallow. It came alive OK when asked, but I treat it as a warning that the battery is on it's way out.
The sibling weatherman bought at the same time, and powered from the same source, has never faltered.

[Booby Trapper]

My GPS 12 did the same. It was the Internal battery that had one too many charges. DON'T try to solder in a new one. They explode when too hot. My kitchen ceiling will testify to that. I was very lucky to have turned away at the time it went off. You wouldn't believe the bang that can come from a small 2032 NiCad.
If you are replacing the battery by a battery holder that comes with wires attached. They are easy to solder.

[sahona]

You were lucky Ian. I remember you posting at the time.
I tend to scoff at people who get suited, booted and goggled when presenting a basic experiment (or whatever) on TV, but your incident puts things in perspective.
The nearest thing I had to your kitchen incident was trying to rejuvenate a tin of black boot polish that had gone crumbly, by melting it on the cooker. I didn't melt, just exploded (electric cooker -no gas) and made a hell of a mess.
I got it clean before she came home.

[Booby Trapper]

You were lucky Ian. I remember you posting at the time.
I tend to scoff at people who get suited, booted and goggled when presenting a basic experiment (or whatever) on TV, but your incident puts things in perspective.
The nearest thing I had to your kitchen incident was trying to rejuvenate a tin of black boot polish that had gone crumbly, by melting it on the cooker. I didn't melt, just exploded (electric cooker -no gas) and made a hell of a mess.
I got it clean before she came home.

I realise how lucky I was. 10 seconds before it went bang my face was 12 inches from it trying solder it. No glasses of course.