Not working in Portrait?

Snow White

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I have a new (refurbished by Garmin) Nav 6 and have (as everyone does :nenau ) being playing with it. OK, that's my first mistake :blast

Whilst I appreciate it's technically a sat nav designed for bikes, clearly it can be used in cars.
On the bike I have it in landscape mode, purely cos that is the way my bracket is mounted.
But in the car my bracket can turn around, so I put it in portrait mode, which should then give you a bit more map of whats up the road, as apposed to whats at the side of you.

However.....
Sat Nav works fine in Landscape mode in the car, put it in portrait mode and it loses all signal and can't find itself?
Leave it in landscape mode, but turn the actual nav to portrait (so still in landscape mode) and again it can't find satellites?
Stand in the garden with it in portrait mode and it appears to work.
Sat Nav is mounted on a sucker to the window screen, so should have a clear view to some satellites?

Anyone else come across this problem?

And apart from the blindingly obvious (don't put in portrait mode in the car) is there a fix to this little quirk? ::nenau
 
I am not sure that the device can work in portrait mode; not all Garmin devices can. Garmin's website lists those that can and those that cannot. I am reading on another website that the portrait view is not possible when the device is in its mount, only when free standing. I must say, I have never tried it.
 
Do you have a heated windscreen in your car ?

Signal in my company van was crap in the vehicle but much better just outside. So that's what I put it down to.
 
I am not sure that the device can work in portrait mode; not all Garmin devices can. Garmin's website lists those that can and those that cannot. I am reading on another website that the portrait view is not possible when the device is in its mount, only when free standing. I must say, I have never tried it.

It would appear that Nav VI's can (well mine can)
When in portrait mode all the functions are there and where you would expect them to be, and all appear to work. I did try in the car mount leaving it in landscape mode, but just turned the sat nav 90 degrees, and that's when the sat nav lost satellite connection? Hence why I don't think it is the mount itself causing the issue?

Do you have a heated windscreen in your car ?

Signal in my company van was crap in the vehicle but much better just outside. So that's what I put it down to.
#

Yes, I do have a heated screen (wasn't on, if that makes any difference?) I'm guessing that could be a factor, just seemed strange that it works absolutely fine in landscape, but not in portrait?

When I get five minutes and the weather is a bit more tolerable I might try turning the bike's mount 90 degrees (even just temporary) just to see if it works.

I'm guessing there is no external aerial that can be added when fitted to a car as there is no holes for anything to fit into it.

Ho hum
 
Try it in a car without a heated or athermic (anti-UV coated) windscreen. These may block GPS signals.
 
I wonder if the GPS receiver is at one end of the unit. When you rotate it 90 degrees to portrait do you always rotate it in the same direction? It might be that you are turning the GPS receiver to the bottom rather than to the sky. If the windscreen is already weakening the gps signal, pointing the receiver to the floor of the car might just kill it off completely as far as the Nav VI is concerned. Might be worth turning the opposite way and seeing if that’s any better.
I might be talking complete rubbish, of course!
 


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