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Compass gimbal lock

Former Member over 6 years ago

My compass sometimes goes into gimbal lock. Usually when it is most inconvenient, either before the dive or when in the water.
Only a reboot of the device seems to fix this, the re-calibration fails every time. I find this issue very concerning.
The Compass is set to magnetic north and the firmware was updated to 2.50
There is no interference from other magnets or steel/iron in the vicinity.

0 Odie21 over 6 years ago

I too can confirm that not only did I experience the gimbal lock today but a few others that I’ve sold the MK1 to have also experienced this as well (they just don’t care to have a presence here on this forum). We are all on 2.60.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

OK, Garmin when is this going to be fixed? Do you require anything to fix this?

0 Garmin-Heath over 6 years ago

profunditas We are having a hard time reproducing this, so if you or anyone else know of a way for us to reproduce this issue in-house, please provide us with the detailed steps on how you do it.

0 mickekling over 6 years ago

profunditas We are having a hard time reproducing this, so if you or anyone else know of a way for us to reproduce this issue in-house, please provide us with the detailed steps on how you do it.

I can trade mine for a new one, the compass failure is the default state on my device.

The compass will work for a (very) short period of time right after I power cycle / soft reset the device, then this issue occur. The same thing every time.

/Micke

0 Garmin-Heath over 6 years ago

mickekling I will keep it in mind, but if you are willing, I would like to get some files from your device so that we can look at them. If you could send me a private message here on the forums with your preferred email address, I will send you the steps on how to do that.

0 mickekling over 6 years ago

mickekling I will keep it in mind, but if you are willing, I would like to get some files from your device so that we can look at them. If you could send me a private message here on the forums with your preferred email address, I will send you the steps on how to do that.

Hi!

I sent you mine entire Garmin-folder (except the map img-files) yesterday to the following address [email][email protected][/email] with the following Reference ID: 12067754K1

/Micke

0 Garmin-Heath over 6 years ago

Have you tried putting a magnet close to the device, turning and rotating magnet and or device and than putting the magnet away again?

I don’t think this is the cause, but I want to double check after Arne post got me wondering after rereading everyone's posts.

Does anyone that is experiencing this issue of the compass locking up, wear a magnet close to their Descent Mk1 and/or using heavy diving magnets during the dives? (For example, like ones used for exploring/working on a ship hulls.)

mickekling Thanks, I found the email.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Garmin-Heath, reef dives off the fiberglass boat, nothing unusual. If you can't reproduce the problem, might be worth looking into serial numbers?

0 mickekling over 6 years ago

I don’t think this is the cause, but I want to double check after Arne post got me wondering after rereading everyone's posts.

Does anyone that is experiencing this issue of the compass locking up, wear a magnet close to their Descent Mk1 and/or using heavy diving magnets during the dives? (For example, like ones used for exploring/working on a ship hulls.)

mickekling Thanks, I found the email.

I use my Descent as my day-to-day watch, and I never carry around magnets on me or near me.

/Micke

0 atj777 over 6 years ago

I have seen no issues with the compass function on my Mk1, both above and below water. Underwater it shows the same headings as my Shearwater Perdix AI (when the Perdix is not playing up and it has on a few occasions).

Note that I'm not suggesting that people aren't having problems but rather that not all units are affected.