My GPS 72 though not a modern unit by todays standards won’t pick up satellites like it used to. In fact it won’t pick them up at all, two partial fixes, but not the vital third at all. In the end i turned it off.
Do they wear out? it has no moving parts that i’m aware of, so is it time for a new one?
Thanks

garmin factory backup gets very good feedback – worth contacting them and sending off for repair? could be a loose or corroded connection to the antenna? or it could be **** but they may do you a deal on a replacement…..

They shouldn’t: as you say there’s nothing to “wear”. If it’s not pucking up then maybe it’s just down to conditons: time of day, cloud cover etc can all hinder reception.

No, but GPS does

Unfortunately, it might be the satellites themselves wearing out
Sat-Nav system set to fail

How long did you leave it? The very first time it is turned on it needs longer to locate a position, the same applies when it has moved significantly from the position it was turned off in. Basically the unit will locate the satellites quicker if it knows roughly where it is and the correct time so it knows what signal “to expect”.

So if it takes say 10 minutes to get a fix it might be that the backup battery on the circuit board is dead and it thinks it is at 0,0 or wherever the default location is. Of course it needs a clear view of the sky too.

My eTrex Vista has started playing up (not picking up satellites), but its 8 years old so I’ve had my money’s worth out of it.
My Edge 705 is more accurate, has more functions and works better under tree cover so I don’t think its worth getting the eTrex repaired.

i left it in the garden for about an hour, telling it not to start the GPS Simulator each time it asked, Also went with me on my hot rode yesterday afternoon without so much as a sniff of anything in the sky despite being under a clear sky with no building whatsoever around. Most odd. Wil try garmin.
Thanks all.

If it is foobarred, Garmin will replace it with a recon unit for £45

But, as mentioned above – if it’s been off for a long time or moved a significant distance whilst off – it can take an awful long time to reacquire the birds, I’ve known it take a couple of hours before it sorts itself out

Check the Garmin website for a firmware update – made my Oregon a lot faster & added new features, failing that I’d suspect the connection to the aerial inside the unit.