Garmin GPSmap 76 not acquiring satellites

[Devabrata]

I have recently started using the Garmin GPSmap 76. The problem is that it is not acquiring satellites. Since, I am new to this GPSmap, I am not having entire idea about it. So thought that you guys may provide me useful information and would also try to fix my issue. Any other information related to the topic would be grateful. Hoping that someone will help me sooner.

[Corona]

I am having the identical problem? GPSmap76S was hung up demanding to AutoLocate. It just couldn’t find itself, and it just stopped working unexpectedly one day, while I was traveling. I spoke with Garmin about the problem, and they advised me of an ongoing predicament with WAAS. I was told that I should "Disable" WAAS, because the signal from the WAAS satellites had been tainted by the government, and Garmin had not yet put out a software update to address the problem, on the 76 units, anyway. Also said that an update "should" come out, in the future, however, no commitment or promise on that. Manifestly, once your unit hits one of the WAAS signals, it scrambles up the receiver in the GPS, because mine sure went crazy. The support chap also said that if this did not correct the problem, I might also want to try a "Master Reset". So here’s what happened.
I disabled WAAS, but this did not correct the problem. The unit was still lost out there somewhere, trying to AutoLocate, so I ended up doing the “Master Reset”. Please read up on this procedure before trying it, and understand that you “will lose” any settings that you valor have finished to the GPS, along with all waypoints, routes, tracks, etc., however, my maps in reality remained intact? This procedure will really set the unit back, just as it was when it formerly came from the factory. Once completed, you will then have to consent to the unit to initialize it's self yet again, just as you did when the unit was new. If you have forgotten about doing that, it simply means that you need to set the unit outdoors and abscond it “on” for a while (15 – 20 minutes), until it actually AutoLocates it’s self, or locks in on your existing location. Once this is done, re-do your setting preferences, back to the way you had them before the Master Reset. At the very slightest, you’ll have to re-set it to the accurate time zone, and tell it about daylight savings time.

[RockON!!]

It’s a very superior thought to go thru first, and whit down your page settings and main menu settings, before doing above mentioned procedure by ‘Corona’, or the screens may not look familiar to you, once the unit resets. You think you’ll retain information them all, but you won’t. But whatever, once you have done the “Reset” and “Initialization”, you must now hook the GPS up to the computer and reload your waypoints, routes, etc, back to the GPS. You did have them saved on your computer, didn’t you? Hope so… If so, you should now be good to go.

[Zombi]

You necessitate to do an auto locate. This also corrects your moment issues (wrong date and/or time will be corrected. You should follow the mentioned points for doing an auto locate :

1. You will have to start with the unit turned off.
2. If you have a GPSMAP 76, GPSMAP 76C, or GPSMAP 76S, grasp down the Page button. If you have a GPSMAP 76CSx or GPSMAP 76Cx, grasp down the Zoom Out button.
3. While pressing down the first button (Page or Zoom Out), depress and hold the Power button.
4. Carry on holding the two buttons in anticipation of the Satellite page displays. You can then let go of the buttons.
5. Lastly, let the unit sit outside with an apparent view of the sky. Allow about 20-40 minutes for the unit to acquire satellites.

[RasMus]

The following are the Specifications of Garmin GPSmap 76 :

• Screen Size, L ž H: 1.6 "x 2.2" (4.1 x 5.6 cm)
• Screen resolution, L ž H: 160 x 240 pixels
• 256 TFT color display
• Weight: 218 g (with battery)
• Battery: 2 AA batteries (not included)
• Battery life: 18 hours
• Waterproof: yes (IPX7)
• Fleet
• High-sensitivity receiver
• PC interface: serial and USB

[Saaarc]

The GPSMAP 76 has a worldwide basemap playback and 8 MB of internal memory for storage of maps, in addition to the functions of the Series 76 browser. Do not worry if the GPSMAP 76 falls into the water: This GPS is water resistant casing with its IPX7 and floats, so it holds any accidental drop or spray. Both on land and at sea, the GPSMAP 76 can store in its memory up to 1,000 of your favorite places and take you directly to your destination.

[Hardwareman]

I have described about the Maps & Memory which are as follows :

• Basemap
• Ability to add maps
• Accepts data cards: microSD card 128MB (not included)
• Waypoints: 1000
• Routes: 50
• Track log: 10 00 track points, 20 saved tracks

[Maxforu]

The details can also find unloaded addresses, view lists of the nearest restaurants, find a hotel with his correct address and phone number, service stations and more. The browser can also download from the new CD-ROMs "BlueChart" Garmin charts from his favorite region. The GPS MAP 76 is completely sealed and beyond the standard IPX7 (30 minutes at a depth of one meter). The large display of 56 x 41 mm to 4 grayscale displays an image of unparalleled sharpness. It is equipped with a built-in antenna type and has a Quadrifilar MCX for external antenna. Its new 12-channel GPS receiver parallel tracks and uses up 12 satellites for a rapid acquisition and constant. It is compatible with automatic correction (WAAS EGNOS for Europe), a technique for increasing the accuracy to about 3 meters.

[rogercoulter]

Hey I had the same problem and managed to fix my gpsmap76csx. Here's how.

By the way, I kind of brought it on myself by using Garmin's web updater - which apparently loaded bad chipset software.

The nice tech support at Garmin pointed me to two sites that post old software versions (they are all zipped up and ready to run on a windows machine with the garmin device attached).

It was the firmware that made my GPS unable to acquire satellites so when I rolled it back to an older version it fired right up.

Couple of things:
1. when updating it says it's loading the same version of the software, don't worry, it's loading what you want. You can check by going to menu-.menu->system->menu->software version to check what's on your device.
2. Make sure you have good batteries - you don't want it to shut down mid-update.