Garmin Nuvi 770 (General)

As for some of your concerns, I agree with most of them.

MP3 on a GPSr is really good for sound files triggered by proximity alerts.

Photos on a GPSr can be used by the TourGuide function. Most of my photos are really scanned maps of places on my TourGuide POIs, i.e. walking map of Disneyland, museums, hiking trails, stuff like that.

I've read elsewhere that a unit reset could help with the satellite locking issue.

HTH
dd

That is not normal! It is my understanding the 770 uses the latest in receiver chips. Mine locks in VERY quickly.

Question... are you having trouble locking in from within the car or outside the car?

Various car windshields have high metallic content for sun-shielding qualities which indeed will hamper you getting a signal quickly. It is called an Athermic windshield. I found this list of known cars with Athermic windshields:

Renault (all models post 2001)
Citroen (all models post 2001)
Peugeot (all models post 2001)
Vauxhall (Vauxhall Zafira)
Audi A8
Some new Mercedes
Bentley Continental GT (all windows except a 2" strip at the top of the rear screen.)
BMW X5
Ford Focus - 2005 model on

As far as the MP3 player it is safer and more useful than an iPod when using a GPS; what makes it useful is that it all works together... for example even while I am listening to my favorite MP3's if I get a phone call or an alert that wants to advise me of an upcoming RedLight Camera or a voice prompt of my next turn the 680 will automatically pause the MP3 music. So when I finish my hands free bluetooth phone call or the voice prompt is done the music automatically resumes where it left off... When I use my iPod I have to concentrate on several things at once to try and manually turn down or off the volume when I get a call.

It's a bit funny to say this but I do not have a car. =) I used to own one but having a car in the city was... you know. a hassle.

I do rent occassionally whenever I need one, though.

The device testing was done on foot. I carried it around as I do a lot of walking and running.

I was told to reset the device to fix it which I did (I think!). When off, I pushed the ON switch to the left and hold it for 8 seconds. Then I pressed Battery logo for 3-4 seconds which took me to a SYSTEM setup/test screen. I cleared CheckSum and re-ran the test which re-populated the CheckSum.

I also checked that the device is using the appropriate GPS chipset (Sfid III or something...)

Is there any other way to reset Nuvi 770?

I mean if it takes more than 1 minute to grab Satellite signal... that's rediculous.. in my opinion.

My 760 also takes around 6-8 minutes to start, the old 660 took only 2 minutes to start

Wow, that's too long to start up. I upgraded to the 3.0 GPS firmware in my 660 and it gets the initial fix almost immediately after getting past the Garmin Lock PIN and warning screen. And that's in the garage.

Maybe it has something to do with the hidden GPS antenna on 7xx model. Dang, this is annoying...

I don't know about that. My wife's older Street Pilot 2720 has an internal antenna and it's not even SIRF III, either. It sure as heck does NOT take 6-8 minutes to lock on. Not even that long if we are moving...usually less than a minute when stationary or moving. Doesn't even take that long when using it in the house.

Just downloaded Firmware Update 2.30. Rebooted the device (automatically does that).

Now, acquiring Satellite takes less than 20 seconds! So darn fast!

So, was it the firmware problem?? I don't care, it works!
http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=3813#...

FYI If it's like the 750 it should have a hidden satellite reception screen with location, speed, elevation and accuracy figures that you can get to by pressing and holding the reception bars for three seconds. I have no idea why they've hidden it, but I've found it useful to find a location indoors where it can get a reasonable signal.

Umm...it didn't work, you upgraded the firmware...I would say, yes, it was a firmware issue...lol.

But all seriousness, another thing that can make it take awhile to lock on, is if you turn it off in spot A and then go somewhere else and turn it back on. It seems to take a heck a lot longer to locate the sats. then.

I'm thinking he must have quite old firmware. The only fix in 2.30 had to do with missing POI categories.

But like he said, as long as it works now life is good.

I haven't been to your area in awhile...but get away from any buildings that might be obstructing a good satellite view. At least for the initial sync.

I hear about this initial sync not only from you, LSMONOP but also from other GPS related websites. Then when I do the master setup I should do it in a place where there's no buildings or trees... That initial sync with the satellites might determine the speed of acquisition from then on...

My firmware was 2.20 which was the latest and I was having the hardest time grabbing the signal. There is no much improvement on 2.30, that upgrade might have reset the device or something.

Acquisition time now is less than a minute.

Yeah, maybe the reset. I doubt it was the 2.20 to 2.30 unless they changed more than they listed.

As long as it's working good now and you're happy, that's all that matters.

I remember this being discussed somewhere on POI Factory but I can't find it anymore. Last week, while I was restarting my device after reinserting the SD card my device lost ALL sounds: No key sound when I enter the PIN, no alert, no guidance (Jill and friends are all gone), no sound if connect a earpiece either. And the FM is NOT enabled. My device is pretty old but I would love to get it back to lie. It's a Nuvi 770, running 4.8.

Any help would be appreciated.

I searched around on the web and found the solution to the disappearing sound problem. It worked for me and I reproduce it here as it may help some with the same situation:
----Originally by joeeisenberg in http://www.fixya.com/support/t1547643-garmin_nuvi_750_no_sou... --------

Let me first start by saying that for the $$ I paid for this thing I think it is really screwed up that so many people are having the exact same problem and I truly hope Garmin fixes the glitch. Now - on to the fix..... Before getting started, you should test my theory to see if the reason you no longer have sound was the same reason as I had. Turn the unit on and ensure all the setting indicate that FM transmitter is OFF and volume is not muted. Go to the volume adjustment screen and while adjusting the volume up and down you should apply pressure to the back left side of the unit with your fingers. I found the sweet spot to be about 1/4 distance down from the top and 1/4 distance from the left of the unit. Now, while pushing in at this location on the back of the unit with your left hand pointer and middle fingers, click the volume buttons up and down with your left hand pointer and middle fingers, click the volume buttons up and down with your thumbs and if you hear sound... then it's time for the SIMPLE repair!!!

There are 2 small torx screws located on the back of the device down at the bottom. I didn't have a torx bit this small but I did have an allen key that worked. take out the 2 screws and open the back plate, don't be scared. Once open you will see 2 sets of wires connecting the back plate to the main board, one is the power cable coming from the battery which is affixed to the inside of the back cover, and also the speaker wire. I had plenty of room to perform my fix without any need to disconnect these wires, just be sure to pop it open gently as to not damage the wires but trust me - you will have plenty of room to work with. On the mainboard side of the device you will see a square chip-looking thing mounted onto a metal plate which protects the mainboard. All I did was put a glob of hot glue onto this chip. The glob should sit about 1/4 of an inch high. Let the glue dry. Place the back cover back in place and screw it back together. Done. If you don't have a hot glue gun then by all means feel free to use anything that is roughly 1/4 inch in width such as a folded up piece of paper or perhaps or whatever else you want to use. If your's was like mine then you are set to go and this problem should not rear it's VERY ugly head again.
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