Lost Sat Signal with Ant out But Can see Signal with Antenna in

 

I was driving with my Nuvi 350 when all of a sudden lost sat signal. I went to signal strength page and all signal bars gone. Later I found when I put the antenna down the signal bars come on with "GPS OFF" stated on the top of the page. This appears to be working backwards of antenna position. Has anyone ever seen this before and if so a possible fix. I did a firmware update and a hard reset both no help???

from previous reports

I would guess it has to do with the ribbon cable or the little switch that tells the unit the antenna is up.

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Illiterate? Write for free help.

Good signal strength with antenna down

I believe with the antenna down and "GPS OFF" the GPS has entered simulation mode. Thus the indication of full antenna power is not really a reflection of antenna strength.

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"It's not where you start, but where you end up." Where am I and what am I doing in this hand basket?

Can anyone with Nuvi 350 confirm

Can anyone with a Nuvi 350 confirm that on the satellite signal page with the antenna down they see blue signal bars. This would confirm for me if they are in fact simulated.

350 still shows the bars

sattyfied wrote:

Can anyone with a Nuvi 350 confirm that on the satellite signal page with the antenna down they see blue signal bars. This would confirm for me if they are in fact simulated.

I just checked my 350. Close the antenna and the bars on the main screen disappear. Go to the satellite screen and it says "GPS is Off" at the top. But it still shows the sat reception bars AND THEY ARE FLUCTUATING! Went to the basement and the number of bars does not go down. Open the antenna and it clears the bars and starts acquiring sats. Comes up with less bars this time. It has to be a simulation, although why they would simulate fluctuating reception while the GPS receiver is off is quite puzzling.

flex cable--

Your descriptions point to the flex cable or the antenna itself. The switch that senses antenna position is working, as that's what triggers the "GPS is Off" state.

If you're enamored with your 350, you can try to find a used/refurb on eBay.

While antenna replacement is fairly easy if you've got the skills and tools for working with that level of electronics, for the uninitiated, it is a daunting task fraught with peril. (Little perils, such as losing parts smaller than a peppercorn, or causing further damage to the unit by handling it improperly.)

If you want to repair it, I'd look for a guaranteed dead unit on eBay or similar sites, something with a cracked screen or dead battery (but hopefully a good antenna).

There are also repair services that have been mentioned in the Garmin forum -- do a search for those.

...and retailers such as Costco and NewEgg seem to have some pretty good prices on new units these days -- maybe ask Santa for a new one?

bob in rainy silicon valley

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Nuvi 2460, 680, DATUM Tymserve 2100, Trimble Thunderbolt, Ham radio, Macintosh, Linux, Windows

Thanks

Johnc thanks! The trip into the garage was a special touch. I really thought I was seeing a true signal with the antenna down. Its funny the level of comfort a working GPS in the car gives me even when I know where I'm going. The 350 was a good unit for me until the sat loss. I have ordered a 1390LMT from Costco and see how that does and I may just send the 350 out for repair. For my first post on this forum I'm grateful to you all.

Enjoying The 1390

Enjoying all the features on the 1390.Especially traffic where i live.