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compass aberration

Bob_qx
over 1 year ago

I've had my new 66i since March, and it's exhibiting a constant problem with the compass.  While stationary, not walking or otherwise moving, it will take many seconds, a minute or sometimes more, to settle into the correct direction.  This occurs after startup (not having moved), after stopping, or after looking at some other screen or making an adjustment anywhere else on the device.  I have accounted for many factors that might impact the compass, nothing changes this behavior.  I have an open ticket with Garmin Help Desk.

Anyone else seen this on their 66i?

If you haven't it would be helpful to know that too.

The compass is an essential function and at present this problem makes the device frustrating to use, to say the least.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    Hello,

    did you make a calibration of the compass?

    Greetings.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to GufiEtrex

    Here's a list of what I've done or factors accounted for:

    - toggling Compass=>Auto Off then On (fixes only temporarily, then recurs soon thereafter)
    - Compass calibration
    - Using default Profile files instead of my own customized ones
    - Changing the North Reference setting
    - Ensuring no magnets or magnetic fields while walking with the device
    - Clear view of the horizon, and clear of vegetation
    - Activities being recorded, or not (I don't use Tracking, i.e. sending points to mapshare)
    - wifi active or not
    - bluetooth active or not
    - Sensors and GPS setting are set to default

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Bob_qx

    Sorry. No idea more.

    I would call the Garmin Hotline.

    This service is very good.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    This could be a problem with the quality of the GPS fix and the threshold for switching back and forth between the electronic compass and GPS-derived heading/bearing. The interaction with the Auto setting is suggestive of this, but not conclusive.

    To oversimplify a bit, the device will use the electronic compass when not moving, or moving below the threshold speed (which is typically around 2mph). Above the threshold, it uses GPS-derived information instead of the electronic compass. This is true of all Garmin handhelds, not just the 66i. AFAIK, there is no setting which allows you to control the threshold speed. "Garmin always knows best"

    To be clear, you don't need a fix to calibrate or USE the electronic compass. But if your fix is bad (particularly in challenging conditions, when a portion of the sky is obscured), the device may see apparent motion when you are actually standing still. This can cause it to erroneously switch to GPS-derived direction.

    Note that avoiding ferrous metals and magnetic fields (high-tension power lines, for example) applies both while calibrating and while using the electronic compass. 

    All of that said, the response time of the electronic compass should be almost instantaneous if properly calibrated. I can spin my chair in a circle and the compass keeps up. You might have a hardware problem with the device. Open a support ticket.

    (You could also try a factory reset, followed by recalibrating the compass. This would also require you to repeat the outdoor portion of inReach activation. Might not do any good at all. OTOH, this is likely to be one of the first things support will suggest.)

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to twolpert

    twolpert, thanks for your notes on how the compass is integrated into the rest of the device.  I have already controlled for magnets and magnetic fields, have factory reset, and recalibrated.   I had the previously new 66i (with the same issue) replaced with another one.  A friend also has a 66i, and his does NOT exhibit this problem under any circumstances.  Mine has the problem nearly ALL of the time.  A ticket is still open, at this point I'm trying to collect info to see if anyone else has this problem; so far, no one is reporting it besides me.  I'll continue to work with Garmin.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Bob_qx

    Here's an update on the compass problem I was having.  I hope this helps anyone else who might have the same issue.  

    Received my third 66i, and out of the box (no updates or altered settings) the compass is fine (settles direction immediately without hesitation every time).  It came with firmware 8.5, was set to Taiwan timezone, and was labelled "recertified" instead of "refurbished".  To test, I made changes and customizations to the unit in small steps, observing the compass behavior each time.  I could not get the compass to malfunction at all (with one exception, below). 

    The exception was when I loaded a saved Profile from my previous unit, at which point compass reverted to malfunctioning. I immediately reset the 66i (using option "reset profile settings") whereupon the compass again is working fine.  I recently saw another post somewhere (can't find it now) warning against loading Profiles from non-matching firmware versions, so perhaps that's what happened during this test.  Note that with my previous two units, I also tried resets but that didn't fix the problem then.  I see that just-released firmware 9.8 has "Fixed possible issue where data may persist a factory reset", this might be addressing the compass issue I reported to Garmin and Profiles from non-matching firmware versions.  It's now up to date at version 9.8.

    It has been over 2 weeks and the unit is working as designed. I've stopped holding my breath and it seems that I finally have a dependable 66i.