Mike Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 I was out riding a couple of weeks ago, and my Garmin 2610 started acting funny. This behavior occurred over a time period of a couple of hours and hasn't recurred: After working normally for a few minutes, the map started shifting back and forth laterally at a very high rate. Hitting the "Page" button a couple of times would bring the GPS back to its normal operation for a while, at which point this rapid lateral shifting would start to recur. Also, on a couple of occasions, the triangular icon that indicates the GPS's position on the map just drove off the map. Again, the "Page" button brought everything back to normal. I noticed that during the periods of abnormal operation the speed tab on the upper right part of the screen would disappear. I thought at the time that there might be some problem with one of the satellites whose location my GPS was trying to fix. It just couldn't seem to reliably locate itself and hold that setting. It also occurred to me that it might be a software issue. However, I have had this problem on only one occasion and have operated it since and not experienced this problem. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it, but I truly hope that my 2610 isn't hosed. The fact that this only occurred over a period of a couple of hours gives me hope that it isn't. Any ideas? Link to comment
MattS Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 There was a firmware upgrade (4.40) that provides a function to disable the remote control, specifically the IR receiver on the 2610. Supposedly this would eliminate the map jumping around, which could be caused by stray signals "spoofing" the activity of the remote. That said, I installed this and will still get the map jumping around on rare occasion. My solution is to give the screen a good knock once with a knuckle (like you might do to quiet a kid or a dog). This almost always produces the desired effect, and calms the map down. Link to comment
Mike Posted May 31, 2006 Author Share Posted May 31, 2006 There was a firmware upgrade (4.40) that provides a function to disable the remote control, specifically the IR receiver on the 2610. Supposedly this would eliminate the map jumping around, which could be caused by stray signals "spoofing" the activity of the remote. That said, I installed this and will still get the map jumping around on rare occasion. My solution is to give the screen a good knock once with a knuckle (like you might do to quiet a kid or a dog). This almost always produces the desired effect, and calms the map down. Matt-- You may be a genius. I wonder if that was what was happening. I run the 2610's audio output to my helmet speakers via an Autocom and I did hear an occasional clicking, like one of the buttons was being pushed. It was a pretty sunny day, and it's possible that the 2610's little pea brain was being overwhelmed by a succession of IR inputs. If this recurs, I'll try taping up the IR sensor (if I can figure out where it is) to see if this is the problem. It does seem strange that I never had this happen when it was mounted on my RT, but there may be something about the position and the reflective qualities of he ST's paint that is making a difference. Thanks! I haven't downloaded any of Garmin's software updates up to this point--the 2610 has worked flawlessly and I'm always loathe to fiddle with things that are working. Link to comment
Stan Walker Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 I was out riding a couple of weeks ago, and my Garmin 2610 started acting funny Could a fly have landed on the touch screen? Sorry, couldn't resist the urge..... Stan Link to comment
Mike Posted May 31, 2006 Author Share Posted May 31, 2006 Could a fly have landed on the touch screen? Stan No, Stan. That's not possible--I don't ride an RT anymore. Link to comment
sisu Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 You really need to do the updates, Garmin continues to improve these units. Link to comment
Jerry Johnston Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 My 2610 has done that to me a couple of times (once in the car and once on the bike) right after it was turned on. I just turned the unit off and waited a few seconds, turned it back on and it was ok. Link to comment
steve.foote Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 Mike, I had a very similar thing happen this Spring on the way to El Paseo. While stopped at a traffic light in Gainsville Georgia, the "pointer" (indicator of where I am) started moving ahead, like I was driving down the road. But, I was stopped at the light. Anyway, it kept moving until it went off the screen, and I was unable to get the GPS to work the rest of that day. It couldn't find any satellites. This was really a pain as I was in the middle of a strange city and had no idea where I was supposed to go. I ended up having to buy a map to finish the route. The next day, the GPS worked like nothing had happened. I did have the 640mph max speed though. And, it's worked fine ever since. I do recall having seen the shaking screen a couple times prior to that and I have the current firmware installed. It is a mystery, and points out how reliant we are on these things. Link to comment
KDeline Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 I believe its the touch screen acting up. Does the screen seem flimsy or wavy, I mean the film over the screen. Link to comment
crashtap Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 A very important thing to consider is the possibility of a quantum physics event. The arrow moving forward while you are at rest could indeed be an indication of you in a parallel universe. Current observations in quantum physics even indicate that particals can appear to be spinning in two directions at the same time! When I see my gps acting like that, I always brace myself for a possible time warp. Hasn't happened yet. (Gosh, I wish this was April 1st.) Link to comment
Amac Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 It may be possible that your touchscreen is failing. My 2610 began to exhibit strange behavior - randomly switching from nav to zoom mode, etc. Sent it in to Garmin and they fixed it. Link to comment
Mike Posted June 1, 2006 Author Share Posted June 1, 2006 A very important thing to consider is the possibility of a quantum physics event. The arrow moving forward while you are at rest could indeed be an indication of you in a parallel universe. Current observations in quantum physics even indicate that particals can appear to be spinning in two directions at the same time! When I see my gps acting like that, I always brace myself for a possible time warp. Hasn't happened yet. (Gosh, I wish this was April 1st.) I don't think that's likely. However, I will add this: The unusual behavior of my 2610 followed a near accident, caused by my inattentiveness. I was cruising along Highway 30 when I noticed some fresh crop circles to the north of the road. I was checking out the circles when a silvery cigar-shaped device approximately 30 meters in length came shooting out of the woods to the southwest. It hovered for a while, then began moving erratically throughout the sky. After a few seconds, it accelerated to an incredible speed and disappeared from sight. My attention was distracted by this and I nearly hit a Sasquatch that was crossing the road in front of me. I hit the brakes and swerved at the last moment, avoiding the Sasquatch by mere inches. So, what I'm wondering if the malfunction of my GPS might have had something to do with the sudden application of the partial integral ABS braking system, and the fact that the ST has a CAN Bus system. Link to comment
steve.foote Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 I believe its the touch screen acting up. Does the screen seem flimsy or wavy, I mean the film over the screen. Nope, it looks like new. It only happens once in a while (shakyness), and the freelancing arrow thing only happened once. Link to comment
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