[brianweeks]

Today, for the first time, my GPS receiver was having technical difficulties. I would start it up and let it find satellites as usual. Several times, after being turned on for a few minutes the screen would go blank except for one or two vertical lines and none of the controls worked, even to turn on/off. I removed the batteries and restarted. After doing this about five times, it remained on and functioned well for a series of geocache finds and all was OK. I am concerned that I might have marginal performance from my GPS receiver unit in the future. This never happened before and I thought these units were designed for outdoor/rugged use, as what any geocacher will typically experience on the trail and around town (park n' grabs). I try to be careful with it because I know electronics can be tempermental when handled roughly. I bought this unit about nine months ago and it has worked well every time until today. With a balky GPS unit, my favorite activity is in jeopardy! This is my first GPS unit and I am at a loss about what to do next.

Has anyone else with a Garmin eTrex Legend had similar problems?
Did the problem go away or did it get worse and more unreliable?
Can I expect any help from Garmin after nine months?

Thanks for any help and input you all can give me about the Garmin eTrex Legend!

brianweeks

[BlueDeuce]

Two questions:

Are you on the most current code version?

Did you drop your gps pretty hard prior to this problem staring?

[brianweeks]

 BlueDeuce, on Sep 23 2008, 06:51 PM, said:

Two questions:

Are you on the most current code version?

Did you drop your gps pretty hard prior to this problem staring?

1. As far as I can tell, I am using latest code (not exactly sure what "code" means), unit is 9 mos. old and WAAS is enabled...
2. Haven't dropped or physically damaged GPS, just usual wear n' tear: dust, sunlight, sweat, etc.

This post has been edited by brianweeks: 23 September 2008 - 08:47 PM

[WeAreGaughen]

I have the exact same unit (Garmin eTrex legend) and just recently have been having the EXACT same problems. Weird.

It started with some difficulty using the toggle switch (or whatever that button is called above the upper left hand corner of the screen). At first it would respond to up and down commands but not left or right. As someone who caches the old fashioned way - I'm NOT technically inclined and still enter all my waypoints manually - it was frustrating but it only did this on 10 or 12 occasions, and it went away when I turned it off and back on.

Next the screen backlight function started being funny - I'd push the light button on the side and the entire screen would turn light, lit up but blank. It only did this once or twice but still worked fine for daytime use.

Then just this weekend something else strange happened. The GPS worked ok as long as it was level but the screen flickered off and on as soon as I picked it up or put it at an angle. Today the trusty old Garmin started having the exact same symptoms that you described: it would track the satellites, and would be on long enough for me to enter a waypoint and start searching, then the screen would suddenly shut off except for a vertical line running all the way from the top to the bottom. The power button wouldn't fix it and I had to take out the batteries for it to go away. After this happening 2 or 3 times I gave up and called it a day.

Oh well. The GPS ("Ol' Blue") helped me find about 800 caches over the past 10 months, and not bad for something I picked up used on ebay. But I fear its lifespan has reached its end, and I suspect the same for yours too

[AndrewRJ]

I had a similar problem with my old blue years ago. The problem then was a loosening in the screen connection.

Try these things and see if any of them work. They did for me, at least it didn't permanintly fix the problem but it gave me a good idea of what was happening.

When the screen blanks, or causes those lines grip the top and bottom of the GPS between your thumb and fingers and squeeze thru the long axis. Sounds odd I know but that was all mine needed to get the screen to work for a while.

Later when it was really dieing I would smack the top of the GPS into my other hand, effectively forcing the electronics "up" Whatever the connection was it was flakey and it eventually died after a few months of that, but that was a perfect reason for me to upgrade.

[Sergeant Homer]

 brianweeks, on Sep 23 2008, 05:03 PM, said:

Today, for the first time, my GPS receiver was having technical difficulties. I would start it up and let it find satellites as usual. Several times, after being turned on for a few minutes the screen would go blank except for one or two vertical lines and none of the controls worked, even to turn on/off. I removed the batteries and restarted. After doing this about five times, it remained on and functioned well for a series of geocache finds and all was OK. I am concerned that I might have marginal performance from my GPS receiver unit in the future. This never happened before and I thought these units were designed for outdoor/rugged use, as what any geocacher will typically experience on the trail and around town (park n' grabs). I try to be careful with it because I know electronics can be tempermental when handled roughly. I bought this unit about nine months ago and it has worked well every time until today. With a balky GPS unit, my favorite activity is in jeopardy! This is my first GPS unit and I am at a loss about what to do next.

Has anyone else with a Garmin eTrex Legend had similar problems?
Did the problem go away or did it get worse and more unreliable?
Can I expect any help from Garmin after nine months?

Thanks for any help and input you all can give me about the Garmin eTrex Legend!

brianweeks

[Sergeant Homer]

 brianweeks, on Sep 23 2008, 05:03 PM, said:

Today, for the first time, my GPS receiver was having technical difficulties. I would start it up and let it find satellites as usual. Several times, after being turned on for a few minutes the screen would go blank except for one or two vertical lines and none of the controls worked, even to turn on/off. I removed the batteries and restarted. After doing this about five times, it remained on and functioned well for a series of geocache finds and all was OK. I am concerned that I might have marginal performance from my GPS receiver unit in the future. This never happened before and I thought these units were designed for outdoor/rugged use, as what any geocacher will typically experience on the trail and around town (park n' grabs). I try to be careful with it because I know electronics can be tempermental when handled roughly. I bought this unit about nine months ago and it has worked well every time until today. With a balky GPS unit, my favorite activity is in jeopardy! This is my first GPS unit and I am at a loss about what to do next.

Has anyone else with a Garmin eTrex Legend had similar problems?
Did the problem go away or did it get worse and more unreliable?
Can I expect any help from Garmin after nine months?

Thanks for any help and input you all can give me about the Garmin eTrex Legend!

brianweeks

[BlueDeuce]

 brianweeks, on Sep 23 2008, 11:47 PM, said:

 BlueDeuce, on Sep 23 2008, 06:51 PM, said:

Two questions:

Are you on the most current code version?

Did you drop your gps pretty hard prior to this problem staring?

1. As far as I can tell, I am using latest code (not exactly sure what "code" means), unit is 9 mos. old and WAAS is enabled...
2. Haven't dropped or physically damaged GPS, just usual wear n' tear: dust, sunlight, sweat, etc.

The current version is 3.90

On your gps, access the setup menu page and select System. On the top right is the X and just to the left is a little page icon. Select the left icon and then select Software version.

[brianweeks]

 BlueDeuce, on Sep 24 2008, 08:37 AM, said:

 brianweeks, on Sep 23 2008, 11:47 PM, said:

 BlueDeuce, on Sep 23 2008, 06:51 PM, said:

Two questions:

Are you on the most current code version?

Did you drop your gps pretty hard prior to this problem staring?

1. As far as I can tell, I am using latest code (not exactly sure what "code" means), unit is 9 mos. old and WAAS is enabled...
2. Haven't dropped or physically damaged GPS, just usual wear n' tear: dust, sunlight, sweat, etc.

The current version is 3.90

On your gps, access the setup menu page and select System. On the top right is the X and just to the left is a little page icon. Select the left icon and then select Software version.

I did the steps you suggested and found that the software version is 3.70 in my Garmin eTrex Legend. Is there a way to update this? I use the interface (cord that goes from my computer and hooks into back of unit near the top: four points of contact) that came with the unit for downloading waypoints.

[brianweeks]

 BlueDeuce, on Sep 24 2008, 08:37 AM, said:

 brianweeks, on Sep 23 2008, 11:47 PM, said:

 BlueDeuce, on Sep 23 2008, 06:51 PM, said:

Two questions:

Are you on the most current code version?

Did you drop your gps pretty hard prior to this problem staring?

1. As far as I can tell, I am using latest code (not exactly sure what "code" means), unit is 9 mos. old and WAAS is enabled...
2. Haven't dropped or physically damaged GPS, just usual wear n' tear: dust, sunlight, sweat, etc.

The current version is 3.90

On your gps, access the setup menu page and select System. On the top right is the X and just to the left is a little page icon. Select the left icon and then select Software version.

I did the steps you suggested and my version is 3.70. Is there a way to update this? I have the connection cable that came with the unit that I use for downloading waypoints: four contact point cable that goes from computer to GPSr on top of back side of unit. Thanks!

I did the steps you suggested and found that the software version is 3.70 in my Garmin eTrex Legend. Is there a way to update this? I use the interface (cord that goes from my computer and hooks into back of unit near the top: four points of contact) that came with the unit for downloading waypoints.

[BlueDeuce]

Go here

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/downloads...145&pID=173

Select Download

And I am assuming you have the Legend Blue.

This post has been edited by BlueDeuce: 24 September 2008 - 07:56 AM

[MatieA]

 BlueDeuce, on Sep 24 2008, 07:55 AM, said:

Go here

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/downloads...145&pID=173

Select Download

And I am assuming you have the Legend Blue.

I also had this problem and Garmin support said to update the software and when I did, it fixed the problem. It is something about the older software not working properly with a new WAAS satellite.
Download/Install WebUpdater, and it will take care of updates for you.

This post has been edited by MatieA: 24 September 2008 - 10:56 AM

[Sergeant Homer]

I wonder if this is some kind of design flaw. This has happened to me once or twice before but I've always been able to reset it by removing the batteries. Today it just gives me the vertical line after acquiring the satellites. I emailed Garmin but I'm not gonna hold my breath. At least my birthday's next month, maybe I'll just give myself an early present.

[Woxof38]

Boy am I glad I checked this forum. My etrex Vista was doing just that, after aquiring the satellites, after a minute or up to 5 minutes, it would turn off and a vertical line all the way down the screen. I've updated to the new software 3.8 and it seems to work okay now. Thanks again.

This post has been edited by Woxof38: 25 September 2008 - 11:03 AM

[websokind]

 Woxof38, on Sep 25 2008, 02:01 PM, said:

Boy am I glad I checked this forum. My etrex Vista was doing just that, after aquiring the satellites, after a minute or up to 5 minutes, it would turn off and a vertical line all the way down the screen. I've updated to the new software 3.8 and it seems to work okay now. Thanks again.

Whew! I have the etrex Vista and it was giving me this exact problem today. It stunk because I was set out to get about five geocaches about twenty miles away and then I was having problems with the gpsr. I did the update on Garmin's website and it seems to work good now. all in all i am thankful i don't have to go out and buy a new one! (for now, anyways).

[brianweeks]

 BlueDeuce, on Sep 24 2008, 08:55 AM, said:

Go here

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/downloads...145&pID=173

Select Download

And I am assuming you have the Legend Blue.

Yes, my Garmin eTrex Legend is blue. I went to the Garmin site and got the update to 3.90 and installed it to the GPSr after I unzipped it with WinZip (cost 30 bucks, but if it makes the GPSr behave, I'm OK with it). Looks like the update has been around since March and I was overdue for an update. Thanks for all your suggestions (EVERYONE ELSE TOO!). I hope this solves the problem. It seems to have worked for a number of other people (see other posts below). I hope this does the trick!!!

[BlueDeuce]

30 bucks for winzip?

uhm, next time ask before forking out any dough. We could have got you updated for free.

[amita17]

 brianweeks, on Sep 23 2008, 05:03 PM, said:

Today, for the first time, my GPS receiver was having technical difficulties. I would start it up and let it find satellites as usual. Several times, after being turned on for a few minutes the screen would go blank except for one or two vertical lines and none of the controls worked, even to turn on/off. I removed the batteries and restarted. After doing this about five times, it remained on and functioned well for a series of geocache finds and all was OK. I am concerned that I might have marginal performance from my GPS receiver unit in the future. This never happened before and I thought these units were designed for outdoor/rugged use, as what any geocacher will typically experience on the trail and around town (park n' grabs). I try to be careful with it because I know electronics can be tempermental when handled roughly. I bought this unit about nine months ago and it has worked well every time until today. With a balky GPS unit, my favorite activity is in jeopardy! This is my first GPS unit and I am at a loss about what to do next.

Has anyone else with a Garmin eTrex Legend had similar problems?
Did the problem go away or did it get worse and more unreliable?
Can I expect any help from Garmin after nine months?

Thanks for any help and input you all can give me about the Garmin eTrex Legend!

brianweeks

[amita17]

I have the same problem and from reading some of the replies, I see the battery trick works for them too. If it is a software issue, I will have to spend some time looking into how to update as I am not very techno-savvy. Switching batteries has worked for me for a few minutes, or a few weeks. I bought my unit new in July and have hardly used it. Thought maybe it was defective. I will keep reading here for more info about the technology and hopefully we all can fix this issue. Glad to hear I am not the only one!

[theblackbug]

 amita17, on Sep 28 2008, 06:52 AM, said:

I have the same problem and from reading some of the replies, I see the battery trick works for them too. If it is a software issue, I will have to spend some time looking into how to update as I am not very techno-savvy. Switching batteries has worked for me for a few minutes, or a few weeks. I bought my unit new in July and have hardly used it. Thought maybe it was defective. I will keep reading here for more info about the technology and hopefully we all can fix this issue. Glad to hear I am not the only one!

I had the same problem with my last two E-Trex Legend. On the 2nd Legend I got smart and purchased from REI about two years ago. Yesterday I got the verticle lines, so I took it REI and they refunded me my money for the unit. Now I wish I would of checked the forums 1st. Well now I have an excuse for a new GPS

[CobleyCacher]

I too have had problems with my GPSMAP 76 for the last week. My nephew's had the same problem but started working again, so I checked mine. It worked! But then when I was going to go to an event today, it wasn't working again.

I checked the software with the Garmin website and it looked like I actually had a newer version than their website. I emailed them but haven't had a response. Too bad they can't put a big notice on their website about this problem...but then again, maybe they're getting more sales now.

[dnnsgps]

I had the same problem today with the veritical line and then the unit turning itself off after a few minutes. I've since download the new update 3.90 but my unit still reads 3.70. When does the new one take place?

(I have the Blue Etrex Legend)

[BlueDeuce]

 dnnsgps, on Sep 29 2008, 05:08 PM, said:

I had the same problem today with the veritical line and then the unit turning itself off after a few minutes. I've since download the new update 3.90 but my unit still reads 3.70. When does the new one take place?

(I have the Blue Etrex Legend)

It should show 3.90. Just to clarify terminology, you staged this code to your gps?

(Minor point - download to PC, upload to GPS)

Your GPS screen will display an transfer in process screen, did that happen?

This post has been edited by BlueDeuce: 29 September 2008 - 02:17 PM

[dnnsgps]

Quote

(Minor point - download to PC, upload to GPS)

Your GPS screen will display an transfer in process screen, did that happen?

YES - I did all that and the GPS screen did say "transfer in process". But it still shows 3.70.

[dnnsgps]

Just now I went through Gramin website and downloaded the WebUpdater and got it to load the 3.90 version in. All is fine now. Thanks for helping.

[Chapskis1]

The upgrade should definitely work (for anyone who is wondering). I was having the same problem about 5 months ago. Did the upgrade, and haven't had the blank screen with black lines problem since. Before I did the upgrade, it would happen every time I used it.

[Lovey Pigs]

How interesting that i have the same etrex legend and in the past week my unit also starting with the blank screen with blue line, etc... oh great, my unit so going south on me... but...i read through this topic and was able to download the upgrade, and so far so good! thanks everyone!

[rhondavid]

Looks like we are all having the same issue at the same time. Unit worked perfectly two weeks ago as family was on a short vacation and picked up about 8 or so caches. Little kids and I were headed out for some hiking and geocaching and the exact same thing happened. Installed three new sets of batteries and same issue. Will go on line and acquire the new version.

I did go out just now and unit stayed up for a good while that was encouraging.

Bad thing is I do not have a USB cord only a serial and not of the compters here have a serial connection so will have to wait and do it from work on Monday.

So glad we have the forum to look to for advice!!

[hermjm]

I had the same problem with my etrex legend and came upon a fix by mistake. I pressed and held the on-off button and the zoom up button at the same time and held for about 30 seconds then I pressed and held the on-off button and the zoom down button at the same time and held for 30 seconds. I don't know which one worked, but now it is working again.
Also, after arriving home a couple hours later, I went into webupdater and updated the software. I don't know if this was necessary, but figured it couldn't hurt. Now my GPS is working like it was new again.
e-mail me at hjmorrison@alltel.net if you try this and it works.
good luck
hermjm
[/quote]

This post has been edited by hermjm: 04 October 2008 - 05:10 PM

[Fuzzywhip]

 BlueDeuce, on Sep 24 2008, 08:55 AM, said:

Go here

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/downloads...145&pID=173

Select Download

And I am assuming you have the Legend Blue.

Wow! Good thing I checked the forum, as this is the problem that started last week with my Blue Legend.

I had travelled North to cache in a different town when this problem started. Being away from home (and I didn't have my backup GPSr with me), I worried that my Legend was malfunctioning. Can't afford to replace the Legend right now.

Using the link above, I downloaded the WebUpdater and downloaded 3.90 into the Legend.

Thanks everyone on helping to solve this problem

This post has been edited by Fuzzywhip: 05 October 2008 - 11:33 AM

[amita17]

Thank you all! I did the update to 3.90 and used it for 4 hours today without a problem. Nice to hear others have also had success.

[zorakk]

Hi all.I was having the same problem,1 black vertical line on my legend's screen.Did the update as everyone suggested and viola,no more problems.Funny thing my legend was doing this at random but this last weekend totally quit working.,just like all of the others in this forum.Lucky i stumbled across this forum.I was about to rip it apart to see what was inside.

[SeaScout]

 zorakk, on Oct 6 2008, 05:14 PM, said:

I was about to rip it apart to see what was inside.

I wasn't so lucky. My GPS started having issues 2 days before we were leaving on a cruise. I had a couple DNF's in the islands I really wanted to find. I figured it was already broke, so I might as well open it up to see if it was just a loose conection or something. Opened it up, blew some air in it and put it back together. Seemed to work well at home. Got to our first cache area 1100 miles from home and the dreaded vertical line appeared. I was all set to toss the thing into the ocean and just buy a new one when I got home. After getting home, I decided to check on this forum to see if others had the same issues. Low and behold, a simple download seems to have solved the issue. Luckily my GPS spidey senses were working and I was still able to find a few caches on the cruise. Life is good once again.

[lnam]

Just got a brand new one and had the same problem a couple of days ago. This unit is less than a week old and we were ready to return it to the store, but the download seems to have solved the problem. Will know better tomorrow after looking for a few caches. Thanks for the info here.

[DuncanOShea]

Thanks for the Info, folks. I just got started with geocaching, and my first GPSr was a blue Legend from the Clearance bin at the local Best Buy. I haven't had any problems with it, yet, but when I saw this post, I wanted to find out if there were any quirks that I might want to know about.

I checked my software version, and it was the older 3.70. Thanks to the information from this thread, I was able to easily update to the 3.90 version.

If I want to get serious about Geocaching, I'm going to have to come back here more often.

Thanks again!

DuncanOShea. A.K.A. Chris.

[rhondavid]

Finally got mine updated. Personal laptop and desktop do not have serial ports to use. Work laptop and desktop do have serial ports but data security folks have the com ports locked down. Finall got son's desktop and drug it downstairs to hook up to internet. Download then went very fast and easy. Looking forward to getting back out and hunting caches again.

Question:

Has anyone ever tried using a serial to USB adapter cable? If so, did you encounter any issues? Think of going this direction as it is cheaper alternative than buying new Garmin specific cable.

Thanks,
david

[G.O. Hunter]

This forum is great; I too was experiencing the vertical line and shut down. Within 20 minutes of reading here I had found my problem and given a solution. Old Blue is up and running with it's new SW version

Thanks to everyone

[colver]

I just got a new legend last week. this week I had the same problem vertical line took out batteries to restart. I was going to use it this weekend then return it. After seeing these posts I updated from 3.7 to 3.9 version. The descriptions given to help with the updating were really good. Thank you for your posts.

[WeAreGaughen]

just like everybody else, I updated to 3.9 and haven't had ANY problems since.

and in response to rhondavid 3 posts up, I used a serial-to-USB cable to make the update since I don't own a computer with a serial port. The only issue I had was having to upload the driver for the cable - bit of work for someone like me who's technologically challenged. Found the cable on eBay too for $15 including shipping.

[Star*Hopper]

For those wondering what happened (why you get the 'vertical line' & deadness), here's the way it was explained to me.

Uncle Sugar's had the new WAAS satellite up for some time - but it was only activated recently. The Legend (et al) does fine on powerup, until it "sees" the 2nd (new) satellite, & doesn't know what to do -- so kablooey!

The upgrade to v3.9 firmware is the solution (you'll note it 'Addresses WAAS issues), but if for some reason you're caught where you can't do it at the moment & need your GPSr to function, merely go into its Main Page > Setup menu & disable WAAS. It'll work just fine - but you can expect to live with only 17-21' accuracy at best, until you can get the firmware upgrade installed.

As mentioned above, download to your computer into a folder, and it is a SELF EXTRACTING ZIP FILE (ie, no WinZip needed!!). Just navigate to the folder you saved it in, click the .exe & it will extract 4 files, including one named UPDATE.TXT which is full instructions on how to install to your GPSr & more. Easier'n fallin' off a Park 'n Grab!


(& yes - learned it the hard way -- experience!) <G>
~*

[torossi]

I have alos done the upgrade to 3.90 and no more problems.
I used a serial to USB cable and it worked smoothly.

[Mag Magician]

I retired my blue Etrex back in May, and had it put away since I got the 60, and then the 60cx. A couple of weeks ago, I dug it out to loan to a friend. Just a bit of history, I upgraded to 3.70 before retiring the unit, and at that time, it fixed the vertical line problem I was having at the time. Thanks to this thread, I have upgraded to 3.90 because the Etrex was behaving worse than before. Hopefully, it is fixed now. It's outdoors acquiring satellites as I type.

I just wonder if Garmin has pre-programmed timed obsolescence into it's software?

[Team Polarbear]

Have seen the blank screen bit a couple of times when I was using my Blue Legend. Most times I just removed the battery cover and rolled the batteries a couple of times in their places. Fired it up and the problem disappeared, this happened while on 3.70, did the upgrade and so far have not seen it back. If you do see the problem, I would do both the roll on the batteries and the upgrade.

[redruff]

Check this out.
http://home.triad.rr...ED%20Repair.pdf

This sounds more like on track. The ribbon cable is either miss aligned or oxidized.
I work with digital cameras a lot and when the lcd's start acting up in them...its usually the ribbon cable.

[booklady1]

Quote

Question:

Has anyone ever tried using a serial to USB adapter cable? If so, did you encounter any issues? Think of going this direction as it is cheaper alternative than buying new Garmin specific cable.

Thanks,
david

That's how I hook up to my laptop--found an adapter on TigerDirect and it works like a charm.

[DprCprs]

 booklady1, on Feb 10 2009, 01:28 PM, said:

Quote

Question:

Has anyone ever tried using a serial to USB adapter cable? If so, did you encounter any issues? Think of going this direction as it is cheaper alternative than buying new Garmin specific cable.

Thanks,
david

That's how I hook up to my laptop--found an adapter on TigerDirect and it works like a charm.

I have a serial to USB adapter but can not get anything to transfer. Is there a driver I need for the cable?