GPS: Lowance 2000c

[SkySteve]

I have a Lowrance 2000c GPS that has a problem. I was setting a user waypoint and wanted to get as accurate as possible. In order to do this I zoomed in to the max zoom, then set my waypoint. When I zoomed back out to continue my flight plan the GPS turned off, then on but only to the opening page which contains the disclaimer about not using the GPS as a primary navigation aid. It did not fully cycle to where it could be used, then it turned off again, then on, and so on, never getting past the introductory page. I can see a message in the upper left hand corner which says "over zoomed". It also shows a graphic of the SD card in the lower right hand corner. The only way to stop it from continuously turning on and off is to pull the power supply chord loose from back and then let the internal batteries die.

Has anyone experienced this? Any advise before I make a boat anchor out of it?

[Lion8]

Steve. I have the same model. I had a few times where I lost satellite contact for anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.At the same time, I discovered that the radio freq on my ICOM A-6 had change to a different freq. I always use compass, wrist watch and chart when I fly for this very reason so I wasn't worried when this happened.
After I got to my destination, I did a little field troubleshooting and found that the GPS and Radio were swapping stories. When I separated them by about an inch and installed the external GPS antenna, all problems went away.
If your using a power port, check the connection. -Lion8

[SkySteve]

I have the external antenna installed. I have also hard wired the GPS to the panel power with it's own fuse (the fuse is good). I have also removed the GPS from the plane and tried to get it to boot up with just the internal batteries. All with the same effect.

[RobS]

Steve,
Have you tried a "soft" and/or "hard" reset as described on Lowrance's website? A soft reset will not delete the data you've entered, a hard reset will delete all of your waypoints, etc. I have the same unit, but have never had to try this, but maybe a reset/reboot will help? Here is where you can find the reset instructions:

http://www.lowrance.com/en/Support/Product-Support/Troubleshooting-Guide/Reset-Procedures/

[SkySteve]

Thanks for the idea(s). I'll try it/them tomorrow and report results. At this point I really don't care if I loose all my data. That can all be replaced.

RobS,
I tried the soft reset. It worked!!! My GPS is back. You sir, are now the official GPS guru. If you weren't so far away I would fly to your local airport and give you a ride in a Kitfox! (You know you want one, need one, must have one). Thank you so much.

[RobS]

Steve,
That's great news!! My 2000c just may need that reset trick someday, so I'm glad it worked for you. It's a great little GPS, so it would have been a shame to use it as a boat anchor! No guru here - just did a quick search and it brought me to the info.

I agree with you on the Kitfox (and appreciate the offer) - maybe someday soon . . . .

Rob

[Dorsal]

Rob,
Happy to make good on Steve's offer of a ride (least I could do for a fellow Foxer).

[SkySteve]

Hey Dorsal,
RobS only gets a taxi ride. My GPS puked again today. Had to do a hard boot to get it running again. But then it worked well enough that I took the GPS for a 2 hour tour around the area.

Oh, well. Go ahead and give him a ride. The GPS works great again.:D

And, thanks for covering my back side with the ride offer!

[RobS]

Steve - lol - I'm glad the hard reset worked, I hope it holds up this time!

Dorsal - I really appreciate your willingness to "make good" on the offer and want to take you up on it. Right now, life keeps getting in the way of flying, but hopefully that situation improves sometime soon. When it does, I'll ping you to see if we can work out a day that works for both of us.

Thanks Guys!