Gp32 & Gp33 Strange failure (loss of satellites)

[Miss Regina]

Good morning, I'm Javier.

Actuallly I'm in the South of Portugal aboard my Ted Brewer Aragosa 38. In a few days I will srt sails to the Canary Islands.

I would like to ask about a strange failure that happens to my two Furuno gps devices

About 15 days ago my gp32 GPS started to fail. The failure consisted of the total loss of satellites. This always happened at sunset. Around 19:00 Portuguese time.
Since I couldn't find the fault. I finally bought a new gp33 (with the latest software update - 2.04 of 2020) and also bought a new antenna.

But I was in for a big surprise after installing the new computer and seeing exactly the same failure on both.

I have done all kinds of tests... Right now I have the gp33 installed on the boat and I also have the gp32 connected to a separate battery. Each with its own antenna. Unbelievably they both lose their satellites (go completely blind) at sunset. Sometimes after 1 or 2 hours they start to work. Other times they fail until more or less 09:00 in the morning.

Both always fail the same.




Thank you very much

Javier Fernandez

 

[Johnny Electron]

Odd.

What did your local Furuno distributor say about it? If it is a regional issue they should know about it.

 

[Miss Regina]

Hello Johnny,

Thank you for your fast answer.

Finally, after two weeks, yesterday I found out what the problem was.

The boat's security system (Boat Track) interfered with the GPS signal of the Furuno devices. I was able to verify, yesterday at night, that by disconnecting and connecting the gps antenna of the BoatTrack system, the gp32 and gp33 worked correctly or stopped working.
The only thing I haven't figured out yet is why it only happens at sunset and in the morning. This Boat Track system is working 24 hours.



Thank you very much,

Javier Fernández

 

[Johnny Electron]

If RF energy is allowed to damage the pre-amp in the GPS, it damages the hearing and it doesn't come back whenever that energy is removed many times. The sensitivity goes down and sometimes you get a GPS that will have problems when it gets cloudy or heat ducts along with anything else that drops the received signal strength. It is much like an old man with bad hearing. He does okay whenever the sender is talking loud but not good when someone is talking quiet. If the problem continues, the antenna(s) most likely have been damaged from the other device. This is exactly why NMEA provides placement guidance in regards to antenna placement.