humminbird 797 problem

[keckass470]

hi guys! any one out there tell me if they have knowlege on why my humminbird 797 sounder/plotter would every now & then lose gps fix for no reason. any info. thanks wayne:)

[LINZ_74]

Hey mate, to my knowledge if a receiver is obscured say by a canopy or anything else that might be restricting your receiver from getting signal from satelites it could be causing it to drop out.
Could also be loose wiring.
How long does it drop out for?

Lindsay

[keckass470]

hi lindsay! it varies 1 to 5 mins or sometimes i have to powerdown and restart before it will get a fix. thanks wayne

[ozbee]

try moving the receiver as little as 3 inches especially if centre of windscreen.

[LINZ_74]

Wayne have you had a look in your manual in the trouble shooting section, it might have something in it about your problem and it might be something easily fixed "hopefully".

Lindsay

[keckass470]

hi guys! its on a topender 470 quintrex. obstruction shoudnt be a problem. thanks wayne

[hodges4]

've got a 797 also and keep getting 'no GPS fix' message.
I traced the problem by going to the satellite screen and found that most of the satellites in the bottom half of the screen were not receiving. If I restart the sounder it works ok again.
Starting the outboard creates an electrical impulse of some sort or short term low voltage which causes the problem. I've moved the GPS receiver to different locations, re-routed the GPS cable away from other wiring, fitted a filter to the sounder power wiring and fitted an impulse 'filter' to the battery. Nothing has worked.
The only thing I havn't tried is running the sounder off a separate isolted battery.

If yours is a similar problem, can you let me know if you find a solution.

Good luck.

[Nomad62]

Hi Guys,
I too had the same problem.....tried most of the things that hodges mentioned.

What i have found so far....

I have a 787 beside the 797 hooked up via a system link cable. I had the 797 as the primary unit (one cable is called a primary and the other is a secondary), which means the gps information processed by the 797 can also be displayed on the 787 screen. From my understanding if the 797 is turned off the 787 can still operate gps but will not display the satelite tracking information (stay with me guys it can get confusing).

I like to use the 797 for gps and side imaging and the 787 for standard sonar. Numerous times a day i would get the "No GPS Fix" message, which started me thinking whether the 797 unit or the antenna was at fault.

I have tried a second antenna and moved it to different positions around the boat for nil results.

I was just about to re route my power cables when i thought i might try swaping the sytem link cable over to make the 787 the primary gps.

Well so far so good....its been going well now for 30hrs worth of fishing time which makes me think it could be a software problem with the 797 ???

I have been looking at a couple of unofficial Humminbird sites for threads on similar problems but have not seen any mentioned.

Maybe between all of us we can narrow down the cause.

Cheers Nomad

[hodges4]

Keckass470 & Nomad62
When I first noticed the problem many months ago I placed a message in
sideimaging@yahoogroups.com
I got a reply from a bloke who works for Humminbird. He requested I power the unit from a separate battery to see if the problem is power related. This I havn't tried yet so I'd better try it. In the meantime I'll place your messages on the group. You never know it may be a very common problem which uses are just putting up with.

[hodges4]

Keckass470 & Nomad62
Something extra I've noticed and forgot to mention. When starting the outboard I occasionally get a low voltage alarm. I've set the alarm to 10.5 volts. Have either of you noticed this come up and also have you looked at the satellite status screen when it plays up to see if you have any satellites greyed out as not being received.
If you do, are they in a particular area of the circle. When mine plays up it shows most of the satellites in the bottom half of the circle as being greyed out and not being received. These don't come back once they have been greyed out. When I start the motor again, I sometimes loose more until I get the 'no gps fix' message.

I'm trying to see if we have the same problem/symptoms.

[Nomad62]

Keckass470 & Nomad62
Something extra I've noticed and forgot to mention. When starting the outboard I occasionally get a low voltage alarm. I've set the alarm to 10.5 volts. Have either of you noticed this come up and also have you looked at the satellite status screen when it plays up to see if you have any satellites greyed out as not being received.
If you do, are they in a particular area of the circle. When mine plays up it shows most of the satellites in the bottom half of the circle as being greyed out and not being received. These don't come back once they have been greyed out. When I start the motor again, I sometimes loose more until I get the 'no gps fix' message.

I'm trying to see if we have the same problem/symptoms.

Hodges,
i have only noticed the low voltage alarm once that i can recall....however i have noticed that the sattelites that are dropping out are in the bottom of the satellite view (southern hemisphere as i understand). The gps will after a few mins lock on again by its own accord.

The motor re start doesn't seem to be an issue as my gps drops out on the run from spot to spot. I can't rule it out though as i haven't tried to re start the motor when this has happened.

Cheers Nomad

[hodges4]

Got the following email from BLA this morning which was as a result of my contacting humminbird. While I'm there I'll find out about units not purchased in Aust and let you know the outcome. Hopefully they have the solution.

Hi John
You seem to have done all the right things and I think your conclusions are correct, There is new software available for the 797 aimed at addressing the issues you describe. Please send your unit to the address below and we can install this for you.

Regards,
Warren Damm
Service Technician
BLA 07 3907 5500
Fax 07 3907 5599

[hodges4]

Well I can't complain about the service at BLA. He reprogrammed the sounder while I waited.

It's version 4.11 and is still in the testing stage and hasn't been released yet.

Nomad. Units purchased outside of Aust will cost around $45 to be done. Perhaps Humminbird US may give you a copy if you request it.

It's got something to do with the GPS logging onto the wrong satellites and the new software prevents this.

All I need is for the rain to go away so I can try it out.


John

[keckass470]

hi guys! i went and seen my local dealer today he rang bla service and he said send the unit back to them for the new software.hopefuly that will fix it! il let u guys know how it go's ........wayne

[Nomad62]

Nomad. Units purchased outside of Aust will cost around $45 to be done. Perhaps Humminbird US may give you a copy if you request it.

John

John i have contacted Humminbird US about version 4.11....i hope to have a reply forthcoming. I love the unit and have come to rely on it....would be great to sort the gps issue out.

Cheers Nomad

[Nomad62]

John,
Humminbird US have been more than helpfull;D, especially Keith Councell (Humminbirds Quality Engineer).....they have provided me with the trial software to hopefully fix the problem, like you i just need a break in the weather to test it out.....hopefully this weekend!!;)

Cheers Nomad

[hodges4]

Nomad and Keskass

Took the boat out this morning to try the new software.
Officially to the wife I was crabbing but the results didn't back me up, 1 sandcrab.

Works very well. No loosing satellites and no 'no gps fix' message.

Theres also a couple of new features.
The current track isn't lost when the unit is turned off.
Waypoints reduce in size over a certain zoom level. Greatly reduces screen clutter though I havn't worked out of there are any adjustable settings for it.

regards
John

[Nomad62]

[quote=hodges4;

Works very well. No loosing satellites and no 'no gps fix' message.

Theres also a couple of new features.
The current track isn't lost when the unit is turned off.
Waypoints reduce in size over a certain zoom level. Greatly reduces screen clutter though I havn't worked out of there are any adjustable settings for it.

regards
John[/quote]


John,
sounds promising, look forward to the new features too!!

Thanks heaps for the e mails and being a "Go Between" with Humminbird....has helped alot,

Cheers Nomad

[Blinky]

Dunno if you guys have come across this site before "Unofficial Humminbird Forums" It has a host of great info and answers to technical and software questions. The Humminbird guys are regular posters. The site is mostly devoted to SI units.

http://www.xumba.scholleco.com/index.php

[Nomad62]

Hi Blinky,
yeah i do go to that site from time to time.....some great info on there.

There is another site that has the same Humminbird guys on there as well, it is

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sideimaging/

as the name suggests it too is mainly for sideimaging....but the guys on there are more than happy to help with most Humminbird issues.

Cheers Nomad

[keckass470]

hi guys! got the unit back from bla. fished for 8 hours on saturday.unit did'nt lose gps fix in this time. so hopefully no more probs.......wayne

[Mak579]

I'm a big fan of the 797 as well.
Thanks for the informative and constructive post guys.

Regards
Matt C

[davo]

I'm still having problems with my Matrix 12 and my mate is having problems with his 787 after two antenee. My 777 still interfers with my Garmin GPS. None of my issues nor my mate's were resolved. Should have stuck with Garmin.