GP1870f

A

Anonymous

Guest
Just picked up the GP1870F from the GPS store. Figured before I install I'd hook it up to power and check out the c-map chip. Unfortunately the unit would not power up. :angry I am not a happy camper. I called Furuno support and spoke to a tech that sounded less than knowledgeable. Anyway my question is to get this to boot up all I should need to do is hook up the positive and negative wires to a battery correct?
Well it didn't. :angry
Hopefully GPS store send another out ASAP.
BTW when I opened the box everything looked fine and sealed up nicely until I got down to where the unit sits in the box. The cardboard surrounding the unit was ripped in a couple places indicating someone had been in this box before. I thought I bought a brand new unit, apparently I didn't get a brand new unit. :noway :angry
Thanks I needed to vent.

Spike
 
I am sorry to hear about your difficulties. Normally you would connect the unit to proper power and hold the power button (around 2 to 3 seconds) until the unit beeps and starts the power up process. I am sure your dealer will help you resolve the issue.

I understand the need to vent. There are plenty of places to vent on the web, but we normally like to keep this a productive place where people can get answers. If your problem doesn't get resolved to your satisfaction please open a dedicated support case from our web site. (www.FurunoUSA.com - SUPPORT - Ask Furuno a Question) Furuno is known to have the best support.

My apologies if the tech you spoke with didn't seem knowledgeable. If you know the name of whom you spoke with; feel free to PM me the name and details.
 
My problem is I got a unit that wouldn't power up. I was asking a question here, if all I needed to do was hook up the positive and negative terminals to get this to boot up. My venting was the fact that I ordered a new unit and apparently got someone elses problem. I'm sure you wouldn't have been all peaches and cream if you purchased something new that shows up at your door not functioning.
I apologize if I treaded on your happy place on the internet.
Real forums are places where consumers can exchange information about real life experiences with products they have purchased or used so other can draw conclusions on the product themselves. Sounds like that might be frowned upon here.
Anyway the unit is going back to where it was purchased. I ordered anothe unit from another place. I'm hoping this one comes to me new and in working order.

As for the tech support I think most people have gotten used to talking to less than knowledgeable people when dealing with anyones tech support these days. I'm sure there are very knowledgeable support personell out there but you have to admit there re many that are not.
Regardless he was probably just starting out reading what was in front of him on the computer when he typed in the problem. I don't remember his name and I wouldn't want him called out because of his lack of overall knowledge. I'm sure he'll get better.

Spike
 
Note that you do need to hold the power button down for a couple of seconds until the unit displays the Furuno logo. A single press and release will not start it. I was scratching my head for a bit over this when I first installed mine. Your issue may be nothing more that this.
 
Wasn't the button not being held down long enough. Second unit I got powered right up.
GPS store said the returned unit powered up for them. Maye something wrong with the power cord that came with the first unit??? I tested for power but didn't look up the pin out to see if that was right???? Anyway my unit is installed and powers up.
Now my next issue, Which really isn't about the unit as much as it is about the c-map card it uses. Keep in mind I fish inland waters, not salt water and this is where I think I blew it with the "new" technology mapping and 4D charts. After receiving my North East inland lakes card Wedensday I found out it isn't very good at all. Before purchasing this unit I asked C-map to send me screen shots of the lake I fish mostly, Lake Winnipesukee in NH. The screen shots I got were on a 3nm scale and detail was less than stellar. I asked if the detail got better if you zoomed in on an area and was sent a few more shots which still left the question open. I was then told they had a Bizer map for Winnipesaukee and at that point I figured if it was a Bizer map it would suffice. Well the card I have isn't even close to the screen shots I was sent never mind a Bizer map. I can only see depth readings and contours on a 1.6 nm scale.Any greater scale and everything goes away. I had called Furuno Tech support to see if there was something I was missing and the Tech told me to unlock the map, which did nothing. At that point he litterally laughed and said we just read what's on the card and what I see is what I got.
So back in touch with Jeppesen yesterday. Still only able to see detail on the chart at 1.6 nm range and smaller, BTW detail does not increase with a smaller range on this lake info. I scoll around to Lake Champlain and see very nice mapping at ranges out to 9+ nm. Same applied to Lake Ontario and the finger lakes region. Details increased with smaller ranges. Bottom line I went with this unit for the latest mapping technology only to be disappointed with my local lakes results. I've actually taken a step backwards from the Navionics chip I used in my prior Lowrance unit.
Hopefully I can work with Jeppeson to improve what I'm seeing on the map, though I am doubtful that will happen.
My only advise to people thinking about this model Furuno is make sure you check out the mapping for your particular water and see if it is what you're looking for in person (which I thought I was doing requesting screen shots).
Fingers crossed the mapping for my local lakes gets a lot better quickly.
Spike
 
Update: I received an email today from Jeppesen informing me there is an error on the Lake Winnipesaukee map. They are going to try and get it corrected and out to me as soon as possible (before the next official update release). Now that is customer service! :jump

Spike
 
Glad to hear they were responsive. Thanks for sharing the info with the forum. I am sure it will help others in your area.
 
Back
Top