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Our Garmin sucks here. It can take up to 10 minutes to acquire satellites if we don't leave it on all the time. When we were in NJ it would load up in less than 30 seconds. Is this a common issue in the Triangle for GPS satellites? Are other brands better in this area?
My TomTom has a weekly update that can be applied to speed up the ability to lock in on GPS satellite signals. Something to do with knowing where the satellites are that week.
I've noticed mine will take a minute or 2 to acquire satellites if I turn it on at a place not near where I turned it off. For instance if I use it to get from home to somewhere several miles away and turn it off, then the next time I start it is back at home it will take a couple minutes to acquire sats. If I turn it off at home and then start it at home I've never noticed anytime to acquire satellites.
I've noticed this in other areas of the country as well, not just the triangle. I've never researched it but it seems like when it starts up if it can sync to the same satellites it was synced to when it was shut off it does so quickly, but if it has to resync to other satellites it takes a couple minutes. I've never noticed it taking anywhere near 10 minutes.
My Garmin nuvi 1450 powers up with my car, (along with the GPS in my radar detector), and they both get a lock-on in less than a minute. Well before I make it to the main street.
Also, my smartphone has GPS built in, and when I fire up Google Navigator, it automatically powers up the GPS function which usually gets a lock in 10-30 seconds, (I believe smart phone GPS's lock on quicker as they also have a 1000 meter location fix from cell tower triangulation that makes the GPS way faster to lock on to its 10 meter fix).
So it's not the local region.
You should check to see if your unit is placed where it's clear line-of-sight up is restricted. If you put it right up at the top of your windshield, check to see if there is a band of sunshade there. Some car manufacturers put a stripe at the top that is a metallic film, that will reduce radio reception.
Try dis-mounting it, and plugging it in while holding it in your hands off to the side of the car, while out in the open. See what the lock time is then.
Also, it might help if we knew the age and model number. I know about 2005 a new chip was developed that greatly reduced the lock time. (I think it was called the SiRF Star III). If your GPS is earlier, you probably should think on replacing it.
My nuvi starts up quickly too, most of the time. Every now and then (maybe once a month) it can take a few minutes. I have noticed that the posted speed limits do not always jive with the speed limit on the Garmin screen (Sunset Lake in Holly Springs is off by 10 mph). We're fairly new here, so I don't know if some speed limits were recently changed or if the Garmin is just wrong.
My Garmin has the same issues! I dont know why but Im gonna check out their website to see if there is an answer there.
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