Three "secret" screens

 

I'm fairly new to GPS, and very new to this board, but I've found something interesting with my Nuvi 760, and see no mention of it on the forums (however, it probably is and I just couldn't find it. If so, sorry.).

Long story short, I had a Nuvi 680 and got a 760. What I missed was the satalite acquisition screen. It wasn't in the manual.

I called Garmin, and after talking to two techs, the second one told me how to get to it: press and hold the sat signal icon for a couple of seconds. Viola, it worked!

That however got me thinking... What else is hidden and undocumented? So, some button-pressing later, I found two others.

#2: A multi page info and diagnostics screen. Get to it by pressing the battery-level icon for several seconds.

#3 some sort of sat info page. Get to it from the "dashboard" screen by pressing and holding the miles-per-hour display in the center of the screen.

My dumb question of the day: why isn't this stuff in the manual?!?! Especially the satellite screen? That makes no sense to me. (I even downloaded the complete manual; nothing there either).

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Undocumented featues on Nuvi 780

In 3D map view touch screen on map area of several second's and then release which will change to standard "Birds Eye" map view. You can then touch and drag to move the map. Very cool to see what lies ahead. Press "Back" to see the 3D view again.

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Nuvi 780

Calabrate Screen

Page 44 of the owners manual discusses screen calabration.

http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/nuvi750-GPS-Atl_OwnersManual....

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Nuvi 780

Spreadsheet required

All we need now is for someone to collate all these cool un-advertised "extra" features for each model (and perhaps include relevant warnings) and post it somewhere.

Already Compiled

--
Frank DriveSmart55 37.322760, -79.511267

Did U Try it..?

seaworthy wrote:
BillSolomon wrote:

This is not a cool trick1!!

Did you try it, what happened!

Not a Chance!!

--
Thanx BiLL Solomon

265T has WAAS?

mstarn wrote:

Does anyone know if the 265T has WAAS? If so - how do you turn it on and off.

If it does, it would be on the Satellite screen, which you get by holding your finger over the signal strength meter..

--
Thanx BiLL Solomon

always on?

BillSolomon wrote:
mstarn wrote:

Does anyone know if the 265T has WAAS? If so - how do you turn it on and off.

If it does, it would be on the Satellite screen, which you get by holding your finger over the signal strength meter..

It's not mentioned on the SAT screen, but my expectation is that it's in there and always on. Why would Garmin give their average user a way to turn it off or make them turn it on?

Web Link

seaworthy wrote:

CJ123,
Here is a link you may find interesting............

http://home.comcast.net/~ghayman3/garmin.gps/index.html

GREAT LINK, thanks!

WAAS

I emailed GARMIN tech support asked them about WAAS for the 265T. I'll post their answer if/when they reply.

--
Mark - Nuvi 265T NUVI 50LM

I've done it

It basically erases all your user settings, favorites, etc. Not too scary, but it could be frustrating if you don't have them backed up on Mapsource or another means.

--
dja24 - garmin nuvi 200W, etrex vista, etrex vista Cx

WAAS

Called a GARMIN tech and asked about the WAAS feature.
Was told by tech:
A unit with the High Res receiver does not use WAAS or need it, therefore it cannot be turned on or off. Also, the unit (NUVI 265T) or hi res unit should achieve 12 to 15 feet accuracy. Of course, this depends the number of SATs and how well you receive them. Tech also stated the older units without High Res receivers did have WAAS ability. Asked about the "hidden" features and the tech did not desire to talk about them. He thought the screen with the SATs (hold down battery icon) was published somewhere on their website somewhere but didn't remember where.

--
Mark - Nuvi 265T NUVI 50LM

.

On my 680, I use the Sat screen to get altitude information.

There is a diagnostic screen that is helpful when troubleshooting traffic/MSN reception.

Q

--
Galaxy NoteII, nüvi® 680

Some Screens Documented

For some odd reason Garmin's manual writers choose to leave information out of some manuals that they include in others. The satellite strength and location screen for example. It's mentioned (there's even a picture) Check out page 56 of the manual here: http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/1262_OwnersManual.pdf

The manual for the 760 is the worst I've ever seen. It barely mentions the tracklog which is a major sales feature of the unit.

Diagnostic screens aren't documented, probably because there's not much the average user can do with them even if we understood everything we were looking at.

Cheers smile

--
Garmin GPS III, GPS V, StreetPilot 2610, Mobile 10, Nuvi 660, Nuvi 760

Email from GARMIN in reards to WAAS

Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

I would be happy to assist you with this. No the Nuvi 265 does not use
WAAS. Our units now use a High Sensitivity Receiver which negates the
need for the use of WAAS for accuracy. None of our newer units have WAAS
listed in the units. Please let me know if there is anything else I may
assist you with.

With Best Regards,

James P
Product Support Specialist

--
Mark - Nuvi 265T NUVI 50LM

Hmmm, this answer confuses me ....

mstarn wrote:

Thank you for contacting Garmin International....... None of our newer units have WAAS listed in the units. .........

This is interesting, but while I'm not a GPS expert this strikes me as a strange answer. I wonder what he means by "None ... have WAAS listed in the units". Could this really mean that WAAS is in use, but they are just mot mentioning (listing) it ? (After all, no need to give customers a GPS technical lesson, and maybe mention of WAAS just led to unwelcome support questions.) I say "strange" because I'm not clear about what high sensitivity has to do with accuracy (except in the case where it might get you more satellite signals, which should help accuracy if the unit can do all of the math needed to let the different signals work out a more accurte location). One source of GPS error is that the speed of light through the atmosphere is not the same as the speed of light in a vacuum. While GPS takes this into account to do the calculations, high and low pressure areas, differences in temperatures, and similar conditions can cause variations in the time it takes for the signal to reach you, and this boils down to an accuracy error, no matter how "sensitive" the receiver is. The signal can be coming in loud and clear, but if it didn't take exactly as long to reach you as expected, then you have a positional error. The nice thing about such errors is that they generally affect all users in an area about the same. So many different systems including WAAS can provide extra information about what error known stable SPM monitor locations are seeing, and this can be used by a receiver to correct and refine the calculations. That WASS would not be integrated into the current generation of chips, if indeed it is not being used, would be a surprise.

I have to say that I'm very pleased with my new nuvi. It's accuracy tends to be so good that I'm amazed to hear it might not have WASS, but I'm not sure that I trust that answer. So the new question is how (without a full GPS test rig) can I do an experiment to determine if it uses the WAAS signal or not?

WAAS or Not

Frovingslosh wrote:
mstarn wrote:

Thank you for contacting Garmin International....... None of our newer units have WAAS listed in the units. .........

This is interesting, but while I'm not a GPS expert this strikes me as a strange answer. I wonder what he means by "None ... have WAAS listed in the units". Could this really mean that WAAS is in use, but they are just mot mentioning (listing) it ? ...I have to say that I'm very pleased with my new nuvi. It's accuracy tends to be so good that I'm amazed to hear it might not have WASS, but I'm not sure that I trust that answer. So the new question is how (without a full GPS test rig) can I do an experiment to determine if it uses the WAAS signal or not?

WAAS - or Wide Area Augmentation Service was developed by the US DOT and the FAA for use by aircraft. It looses accuracy rapidly as you get below 3000 feet AGL or Above Ground Level. Not knowing of any vehicles used on our roads that are capable of traveling 3000 feet above ground level, the unit sitting on the dashboard of your car would be little affected by WAAS. It will increase the accuracy somewhat, but no where near the accuracy needed for air traffic control.

The US DOT has another system, DGPS or Differential GPS which uses a network of high power VHF transmitters located mainly in coastal areas that provide correction factors as well. This system is used by surveyors to get positional accuracy within a few centimeters, but it requires 2 receivers - one for the correction signal and another for the satellite. In 2007 the US DOT stopped further deployment of the terrestrial based DGPS and is concentrating on refinements to WAAS and integrating it into the next generation of air traffic control.

--
ɐ‾nsǝɹ Just one click away from the end of the Internet

.

Note that with auto-nav units like the nuvi, your position is locked to the road (AKA roadlock). Even if additional WAAS accuracy was realized and used in the unit, you would in reality, never see it due to roadlock. Also, the additional computational requirements with using WAAS takes up additional processor cycles and can result in decreased battery run-time.

--
nuvi 760, nuvi 765T, nuvi 855, nuvi 3790LMT, nuvi 3490LMT - SoCal area

.

Frovingslosh wrote:
mstarn wrote:

Thank you for contacting Garmin International....... None of our newer units have WAAS listed in the units. .........

This is interesting, but while I'm not a GPS expert this strikes me as a strange answer. I wonder what he means by "None ... have WAAS listed in the units".

Probably means in the Features description.

--
Frank DriveSmart55 37.322760, -79.511267

WAAS

phranc wrote:
Frovingslosh wrote:
mstarn wrote:

Thank you for contacting Garmin International....... None of our newer units have WAAS listed in the units. .........

This is interesting, but while I'm not a GPS expert this strikes me as a strange answer. I wonder what he means by "None ... have WAAS listed in the units".

Probably means in the Features description.

Could mean enabled but there's no option to change it. I had also made some research and found out that Garmin had many products with no word of "WAAS" in the spec, even though the package holds "WAAS enabled logo".
smile

--
Thanx BiLL Solomon

Satellite Screen Question... The "red-eyed ball thingie"

What is the red-eyed ball thingie that is on the outer orbit of the satellite screen on my 770?

It is creeping me out!

confused

It shouldn't

the small round icon with the red centre is the direction your facing/travelling

--
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.

seldom tried but good to

seldom tried but good to know

red eyeball

DFSNapa wrote:

What is the red-eyed ball thingie that is on the outer orbit of the satellite screen on my 770?

It is creeping me out!

confused

That red eyeball is watching you and telling all the law enforcement in the world the exact location of your unit and makeing phone calls to your wife.

LOL...J/K

--
Jerry...Jacksonville,Fl Nüvi1450,Nuvi650,Nuvi 2495 and Mapsource.

Great thread

Thanks for all the info guys!

thanks for the tips!!!

thanks for the tips!!!

I kind

t923347 wrote:

the small round icon with the red centre is the direction your facing/travelling

of wondered exactly what that thing was, I had guessed thats what it was going but never stayed on the screen long enough to really watch what it was doing.

--
Lifetime NRA & USPSA member

Ahhhhh ...

adcusnret wrote:
DFSNapa wrote:

What is the red-eyed ball thingie that is on the outer orbit of the satellite screen on my 770?

It is creeping me out!

confused

That red eyeball is watching you and telling all the law enforcement in the world the exact location of your unit and makeing phone calls to your wife.

LOL...J/K

That explains EVERYTHING!

wink wink wink

What's the command/sequence for hard reset on Nuvi 765T

You know the one, where you can see the different colors of the screens and to see if you have any dead pixels, etc?

.

Sam888 wrote:

You know the one, where you can see the different colors of the screens and to see if you have any dead pixels, etc?

That's not a hard reset. The screens you're talking about are contained within the nuvi diagnostics which you can access by pressing the battery icon (or where the battery icon normally is if externally powered) for ~10 seconds. Press the Next button until you reach the screen tests.

--
nuvi 760, nuvi 765T, nuvi 855, nuvi 3790LMT, nuvi 3490LMT - SoCal area

Good Info..!

Interesting information.

Nuvi1300WTGPS

--
I'm not really lost.... just temporarily misplaced!

Work for 3790

I know the first two, now there the third one.
Thanks for the info.

Good to know

CJ123 wrote:

I'm fairly new to GPS, and very new to this board, but I've found something interesting with my Nuvi 760, and see no mention of it on the forums (however, it probably is and I just couldn't find it. If so, sorry.).

Long story short, I had a Nuvi 680 and got a 760. What I missed was the satalite acquisition screen. It wasn't in the manual.

I called Garmin, and after talking to two techs, the second one told me how to get to it: press and hold the sat signal icon for a couple of seconds. Viola, it worked!

That however got me thinking... What else is hidden and undocumented? So, some button-pressing later, I found two others.

#2: A multi page info and diagnostics screen. Get to it by pressing the battery-level icon for several seconds.

#3 some sort of sat info page. Get to it from the "dashboard" screen by pressing and holding the miles-per-hour display in the center of the screen.

My dumb question of the day: why isn't this stuff in the manual?!?! Especially the satellite screen? That makes no sense to me. (I even downloaded the complete manual; nothing there either).

Thanks for posting even if some people are aware of it at one point. Always good to repost some good information.

Thanks for the tip

That's really neat!

--
Tom

back caution

udipdap wrote:

Holding down the back button...This may be one of the best tips yet. simple, and really useful. Hitting back a dozen times can be a nuisance. Thanks!

Don't hold it too long when routing or it will stop the routing. Back is the same place as the stop button.

Traffic

If you touch the traffic indicator it brings up a sub menu for traffic options.

--
Nuvi 750 and 755T

Thanks. All good to know.

Thanks. All good to know.

Good tips

Thanks for the contribution.

nice find..

Good job...keep up the info.

I only have the nuvi 200, I want some secret screens!

Why?

--
Thanx BiLL Solomon

Thanks

I will have to try this and not mess up my GPS.

I'll check this out as well.

I'll check this out as well.

more info for 200 series (works on 265)

After calculating a route press on the center of the bar at the top to get a list of turns then press "Show Map" to see total distance and time to destination.
You can also press speed to get the dashboard. I know there are more screens that have been mentioned in these threads.

Tricks & Tips

Thanks for the link

The one I like

is when you click on a favorite or POI, the next screen (on my nuvi 500) will show the "Go" button. A flag will pop out of the side of the button. Pointing in this field will open a map of the route between you and the POI/favorite. You get the big picture.

--
Striving to make the NYC Metro area project the best.

can't do it on my 765

CJ123 wrote:

The "Dashboard" screen is probably not the correct term. It just looks like a dashboard to me.

To get there (in a 760, unsure of others) go to map view, then press the display in the lower left (where arrival time would be if you were driving a route.
From the resulting screen, press the miles per hour display.

I do see the point of keeping the one tech screen (the one wiht all the controls) hidden, but this sat data one appears to have no controls, so I see no reason for them to hide it from the owners of the GPS's.

The satellite display screen, surely, should be in the manual.

I'm very impressed with the 760 so far, but the manual, not so much. smile

I got to the screen listing the mph but when I pressed on it nothing happened.

not the speed limit sign

bsp131 wrote:

I got to the screen listing the mph but when I pressed on it nothing happened.

It's not the speed limit sign, it's the portion showing your actual speed.

--
Illiterate? Write for free help.

still not getting it

I pressed the speed (lower left on map screen) and got teh screen with the trip data (mph, miles, moving avg, max. speed, moving time, etc.) but when I press the MPH on the top half part of the screen, nothing happens.

You

You have to press and HOLD the MPH area for 5 or more seconds.

--
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.

works on a nuvi 500

.

--
Striving to make the NYC Metro area project the best.

thanks.

t923347 wrote:

You have to press and HOLD the MPH area for 5 or more seconds.

It worked but I am not sure what the screen means - it has a shutdown screen with "date abort----- 08-Aug-10." That's all. I think I had trouble with my GPS on that date and rebooted. There is a link for "Dump." is it safe to dump it or should I keep it.

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