No GPS on new GP1871 “lost signal” message

[Booshwa]

Worked the day I installed it last week, then for a bit today as I was going through settings, and connecting an old Furuno NEMA0189 connection that was on the old Furuno chart plotter this replaced....now it won’t catch a signal. I’ve factory reset it, still no go. I saw satellites on the screen earlier and then I got a “lost signal” message but it was still looking at a bunch of satellites now it’s like it can’t see anything.

 

[Deep Blue]

Booshwa,

Are you using the GP1871F's Internal GPS Sensor, or are you using an External GPS Antenna..?

- Deep Blue :think

 

[Booshwa]

Using internal. Went out to go check and make sure and got a new message when I turned the batteries on and fired it up. Maybe it’s all a ground issue?

 

[Booshwa]

The mobile guy I used thinks that message was due to a couple map points he saved on land. I deleted them. Left the unit on for about 40 min to see if it just needed time, came back to same message.

 

[Johnny Electron]

The GPS under a top, in a console, and surrounded by other electronics might not be the best spot to allow the sensor to pick up well. It all depends on the install. You might look over para 1.1 of the install manual and see how much applies to your install. The grounding of the power cable shield is important on this unit. Not grounding the shield will normally cause problems of some sort or another. You might try turning off the position filter under initial setup to see if that helps. I would also check that it is setup for "AT sea" under the internal GPS setup. The GPS can also be restarted from the same menu but it must be given time to reacquire all the GPS tables so give it time. You can ensure that the GPS being use is setup for internal via the data sources. Ultimately if you block too much signal they won't have enough signal strength to fix a position. I haven't seen any GPS sensors bad on these units but you can always send it in for check out.

 

[Booshwa]

Thanks for the tips Johnny. Looked at the 1.1 section of the manual, I always thought the signal went up, not front and back. I wonder if my 5th wheel is preventing it from locking? Let it sit for 1.5 hrs and still no lock.


Position Filter is off.
At Sea is on

I am going to look more into the shield wire. I was lazy and connected the new wiring to my old Furuno 1850 wiring and now that I'm looking at the shield/ground wire on the OLD wiring, I'm thinking it's not connected to anything. I need to remove the old wire and connect the new wiring directly to the switch and better ground.

 

[Magnetron]

I think you're on the right track, check all grounds or make a new ground for that shield. Junctions and bad grounds are bad news for the GP1971F/1871F since bad RF grounds can account for touch screen issues (jumps around), wifi issues (no radar/wifi iffy), and/or GPS issues (sometimes gets position sometimes it doesn't). :cool

 

[Johnny Electron]

You want to beware of things that Jam GPS too, like many LED light systems can wreak havoc on GPS sensors. It seems to show your getting signal but it is too weak. You might check how much the signal strength is when removed. If you can't get it running, I would send it in for check out.

 

[Booshwa]

Took her out Sat, locked onto a GPS position right away...the only trouble I had with the unit was it kept giving me a potential grounding alarm, like I was going to hit land? I ended up turning off the alarm via the navigation menu as I couldn't figure out why it was doing that. Any ideas?

Obviously where I park at my house there's GPS signal issues. I'm still going to have the wiring cleaned up. I appreciate all the help from everyone!

 

[Johnny Electron]

Grounding alarm is because you are over or have plotted over a depth area of the chart that is more shallow than how your setting for the boat/transducer are set for. That is coming from the chart data and your unit setup. That grounding is not electrical grounding, as I am sure you are aware.