My Garmin GPS (model c330 street pilot) takes for ever in locating satellites and charging its battery. Aside from buying a new one, does anybody have any suggestions?
Have you checked the Garmin support site?
This GPS is almost 8 years old. That’s close to a doorstop in electronics terms. That it’s original battery is still functioning is also a wonder.
The sat sync up is slow and the battery is almost dead. It is not worth repairing. You need a new unit. They are relatively cheap these days. If you wait till Black Friday some nice Garmin units are often featured as loss leaders at big discounts.
I’d check with Garmin. I had an Edge 350 that started to malfunction, and while it was out of warranty Garmin did offer a refurbished replacement for a reasonable cost (much less than a new unit) even though the 350 was out of production or close to it. The refurbished unit was in like new condition and has been working fine for a couple of years now.
But as noted, you can probably get a new unit with updated features at a good price these days.
Satellite sync time can vary widely, depending on circumstances. The GPS needs a clear “view” of the sky, usually to the south. Tall buildings or nearby mountains can reduce this access to satellites, thereby increasing the satellite sync time.
In my experience, it also matters if you have travelled away from the point where the GPS was last synced. We took the GPS from LA to Tokyo, and it probably took a half-hour to fully sync and become oriented in Tokyo. And if you are trying to sync in a moving vehicle, this also seems to take longer.
This. FWIW I just gave away a C330 on Freecycle; that’s how little it’s worth. I’m actually on my second GPS since I stopped using the C330 (that is, I stopped using that one, plus the one I bought to replace it).
If you’re really determined to keep this one running, you can pick up a replacement battery on eBay, but that will probably cost more than it’s worth. Soldering will be required.
it sounds like the unit’s battery is not working any more and everytime it starts up up it needed to reinitialize it’s location. So either a unit or battery replacement is needed or some what to keep it powered up 24/7.
The C330 appears to be a pre SiRF Star III model. That chip was an important milestone, as GPS devices became much more sensitive and less power hungry with its introduction. Garmin announced adoption of the SiRF chip in new models instead of their own proprietary chip in late 2005.
Every so often I go to a site that involves a complicated route - my Garmin Nuvi 1450 has given me 3 different routes. But the puzzle is, it always changes the house number I program to something different, and says, 2 blocks away, you’re here! I’ve corrected it, and it changes back to the error.
Taking a long time to sync onto enough satellites when first turned on is a hallmark of older units. As others have said, stand-alone GPS units are supermarket-impulse-isle-blister-pack cheap. Because of smartphones they’ll be obsolete soon (except for specialized units, for air & sea navigation etc.)…