Latest 660 any better than the earlier 660's?

waterloo700

waterloo700

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I'm sick and tired of waiting for my 660 to "Acquire" and then "Locate" satellites. Nothing I've tried reduces the 20 min wait (up to an hour if you dare to move at the same time) for the damn thing to lock on to enough satellites.

My question is - are the newer ones any quicker? Is it worth buying a new one?

I'm happy with the unit when it eventually does lock on - I can even live with BaseCamp but waiting this long for the thing to fire up is beyond a joke.

Your opinions are most welcome.

P.S. I have the latest maps, tried hard re-sets, used an external aerial to boost the signal, sacrificed all sorts of animals to the Storm God Bal'al - you know - the usual stuff. Nothing helps.
 
I have to question the state of yours if it takes so long to aquire satelites

My 660 was absolutely fine as is my Nav 5 so it does rather beg a question rather than answer one but ....

As far as i can determine the hardware will be the same as will the firmware as Garmin do the updates across the board so an old one will have the same as a new one same goes for the mapping
 
Its always been that way - about 7 years old now. I thought that was how they all were - I know - a bit dim
 
It sounds like it's knackered. I just picked up my Navigator IV (essentially a 660 in a BMW frock), walked out into the garden and booted it up from cold. It took 49 secs to boot up, acquire satellites and announce that it was ready to navigate.
 
waterloo700 said:
Its always been that way - about 7 years old now. I thought that was how they all were - I know - a bit dim
Click to expand...

I did not think the 660 was still available ( could be wrong) the 590 would be the way to go or if you listen to J Boxer esq buy a map
 
when it has locked on to the satellites, if you then switch it off and back on immediately does it lock right away.
 
Sounds like - every time you switch it on, it thinks your home location is in some other country - the other side of the world?

Al
 
There is either a hardware or firmware fault with your device. My 660 has always been quick to start up.

I would call Garmin and either:-

1) Get the support team to help you establish what is wrong.
2) See if there is a trade-in program for the device (I suspect not, but worth asking)
2) Pay for a repair (£120) and they will send you a working 660. That has got to be a better deal than buying a new one and being left with an unsaleable device (or saleable if you have no conscience).

The Garmin support folks are superb in my experience - and the main reason why I don't have a Tom-Tom. Five years ago Tom_Tom support was not nearly as good as Garmin, but I'll concede it is probably a lot better now.

Hope this helps...

John
 
Many thanks for the advice folks. I'll look a little more closely at how quickly it fires up after a quick switch off/on.

I also heard good stories about Garmin's after sales so that is an option too.

I'll let you all know how I get on.
 
Garmin no longer support the 660, apparently. Much to the outrage of some here, I might add.

But after seven years, don't be too disappointed.
 
I had an old gps on my boat with this fault. It turned out it was due to the internal battery being flat so it could not recall the last position and had to start from scratch each time. It was not easy to replace, but has fixed it a treat.
 
stevemersey said:
I had an old gps on my boat with this fault. It turned out it was due to the internal battery being flat so it could not recall the last position and had to start from scratch each time. It was not easy to replace, but has fixed it a treat.
Click to expand...

That sounds entirely plausible.
 
stevemersey said:
I had an old gps on my boat with this fault. It turned out it was due to the internal battery being flat so it could not recall the last position and had to start from scratch each time. It was not easy to replace, but has fixed it a treat.
Click to expand...

That is correct.

The internal battery (round button type) maintains the data memory - when it goes flat the Satnav doesn't remember any settings.

The exact battery is not easy to get but a search on Ebay for the equivalent proved positive for me and a German supplier was found.

The battery requires to be soldered to the PC board.
I think it was around 3.5 volts and very similar to the batteries used on computer motherboards for much the same purpose.

Check the part number on the battery as a first step and then do an Ebay search.
 
Update.... no support from Garmin....its too old :mad:

Switch off then straight on again and it knows where it is. Same for one hour off. Two hours...its lost again and starts from the beginning...taking 30 mins or so to lock on to enough satellites.

I wonder if the internal battery is on the way out. ...holding enough charge for one hour but no longer?
 
I think the internal battery is the most likely explanation. If the Satnav has no recollection of where it is or might be then it has to work out which satellites it should be locking on to.

I found this information "The first time you turn you unit on each day it must perform a cold start. To perform a successful cold start it must have a current almanac (stored in the unit), a reasonable expectation of its current location, and a reasonable idea of the current time. Given this data the only thing it needs in order to calculate a fix is the precise location of 3 (for a 2D fix) or 4 satellites (for a 3D fix). The data it needs is called ephemeris data and it is transmitted every 30 seconds by each satellite in the constellation. It takes 18 seconds to download this information because it is only being sent at 50 bps. Since your Garmin was turned on at a random time with respect to the satellite transmission it can take up to 36 seconds to download this information assuming no interruption. It would take longer if it had to be received in order but your Garmin is capable of reassembling the information even if it is received out of order. Once the data has been acquired a position can be computed and a lock obtained. Generally this can be accomplished in an amazing 45 seconds from the time you first turned on the unit. The 45 seconds includes the time to gather ephemeris data and the time to compute the fix. After a lock the data will be updated once a second"

Hope this helps..

John
 
waterloo700 said:
Update.... no support from Garmin....its too old :mad:

Switch off then straight on again and it knows where it is. Same for one hour off. Two hours...its lost again and starts from the beginning...taking 30 mins or so to lock on to enough satellites.

I wonder if the internal battery is on the way out. ...holding enough charge for one hour but no longer?
Click to expand...

Quite possibly. If you want to try having the battery replaced and you don't feel able to do it yourself or can't find anyone to do it up in Inversneckie, I know a guy in Dunfermline who can probably do it for you. Let me know if you'd like me to ask him.
 
I'm amazed that the 660 relies on a battery to keep the non-volatile memory intact. Surely the designer had access to Flash memory like in you USB sticks etc? Or was it designed in 1994?
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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