Setting GPS on a Garmin watch

[woodstock]

Hi

Does anyone have a Garmin training watch?

My GPS turned off, somehow, and I am utterly gobsmacked that the owner's manual and the quick start manual I found online do not give step by step instructions as to how to turn it back on again.

On the left side of the watch is GPS mode, but a variety of button pushing combinations have done jack so far.

There are also many menus and neither of the manuals say much about how to navigate through them either.

What a cluster ****. Seriously. 350 bucks for a watch and they don't tell you much about using it?

 

[alaskaflyer]

Which model?

My brother likely engineered the software architecture for it, I can ask him

Edit: I have a Garmin bike computer and to reset/reboot the device you press and hold the two physical buttons until the screen blanks. If yours is one of the ?10 models you might try that.

 

[woodstock]

Hi Richard.

I've rebooted twice using that method and even let the battery die down to zero. Nada.

It is a Forerunner 405.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

P. 21 of the manual 405 manual:

Touch and Hold GPS to view the GPS menu.
Satellites- View information about the satellites the Forerunner is currently receiving...
...
GPS- Turn GPS on or off (for indoor use)

 

[woodstock]

As mentioned, that doesn't do jack. Already read that. Doesn't do a thing. Once you get to "GPS" it doesn't tell you where to go from there. It WILL helpfully tell you the GPS is off though.

There are many button variations to push on this watch and the manual is woefully lacking in which combination does what.

 

[woodstock]

FINALLY. I did every ^&&(*)( combination possible and finally got the ^&*() turned back on again.

I still don't know why the damn manual doesn't spell it out. Nor how it turned off in the first place.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

http://www.fixya.com/support/t1252535-get_gps_turn_garmin_405

2 solutions listed- I'd start with the second one as it appears simpler:

From the Time/Date mode, do the following:
1.) Press the start/stop button (upper metal button) to get out of Time/Date mode
2.) Press the Training side of the bezzle. You will see a workout display.
3.) Touch the GPS side of the bezzle until "to location" shows up
4.) Press the lap/reset button (lower metal button) to display a menu (may have to do this a couple of times, eventually when you release the button the menu does show up)
5.) Slide downward through the menu options until you find GPS
6.) Click the start/stop button (upper metal button) to toggle the gps on or off
7.) Press the lap/reset button (lower metal button) to exit the menu (goes to the "to a location" screen)
8.) Press and hold the Training side of the bezzle to return to your training screen

Using the bezel push at 'GPS' until screen changes then select GPS by rubbing round bezel. GPS I guess will be showing that it is 'off'. Tap bezel at 'GPS' and display should change to 'GPS on'. I turn GPS off and on for every training session as apparently always leaving on drains battery power more quickly.

 

[woodstock]

And Garmin can't put this in their manual because... (fill in blanks).

What I did roughly approximated the second method - although I did all that to start, this finally worked after several tries. It's possible my watch is just touchy (for all that it is one year old - sometimes the buttons don't work when you touch them, etc).

The watch has two buttons, and four touchpads which do different things if you tap them or hold them. Plus the swirling motion around the bezel.

What you quoted above is exactly what is in my manual. "turn on or off". Yes, that helps.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

FINALLY. I did every ^&&(*)( combination possible and finally got the ^&*() turned back on again.

I still don't know why the damn manual doesn't spell it out. Nor how it turned off in the first place.

Now that you have it working, how well does it work?

Aside from its use as a training watch, it seems like it would be an unobtrusive way to get track data for geotagging photographs. Can the track be saved as a GPX file?

 

[woodstock]

I have to go outside to see if it works. It should be fine, it worked fine before. Still no idea how it turned off because clearly there is a lot involved in getting it to turn off.

It can be used for that, however, I'm not sure how to mark exactly where you were standing when you take the photo. I only use it as a timer when I am exercising. It will tell me my pace, etc. I don't know exactly where I was until I go home and plug it into the computer. (other than what I know already about the geography - there is no graphic display on the watch).

I am sure there is A LOT that can be done with this watch, but, as mentioned, the manual is very thin. It will tell you what it can do, but not the proper button sequence to get there.

 

[ScottM]

Hi

Does anyone have a Garmin training watch?

My GPS turned off, somehow, and I am utterly gobsmacked that the owner's manual and the quick start manual I found online do not give step by step instructions as to how to turn it back on again.

On the left side of the watch is GPS mode, but a variety of button pushing combinations have done jack so far.

There are also many menus and neither of the manuals say much about how to navigate through them either.

What a cluster ****. Seriously. 350 bucks for a watch and they don't tell you much about using it?

Training watch? Does that have like extra wheels on the hands to prevent them from falling over?

Maybe when you master the training watch you will be able to graduate to a big kid watch?

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I have to go outside to see if it works. It should be fine, it worked fine before. Still no idea how it turned off because clearly there is a lot involved in getting it to turn off.

It can be used for that, however, I'm not sure how to mark exactly where you were standing when you take the photo. I only use it as a timer when I am exercising. It will tell me my pace, etc. I don't know exactly where I was until I go home and plug it into the computer. (other than what I know already about the geography - there is no graphic display on the watch).

I am sure there is A LOT that can be done with this watch, but, as mentioned, the manual is very thin. It will tell you what it can do, but not the proper button sequence to get there.

Woodstock- I don't bother with setting waypoints when using my GPS. I just have it on with the antenna sticking out of a pocket. I want to take pictures, not fumble with a camera AND a GPS.

After I download the photos and my GPS track to my computer, I use MicroSoft Phototools to read the time stamp on the photo (in the EXIF header) and match it to the closest point on the GPS track. It then adds the lat/long to the EXIF file. It has tools to synchronize the times if the GPS/camera clock differ. It is a free download from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=184075d2-40b5-4172-88ae-878f81896d4d


My recent trips are pretty much all geotagged now:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacksilver/map/

They don't compare to your shots...but they are good memories.

 

[EstorilM]

Training watch? Does that have like extra wheels on the hands to prevent them from falling over?

Maybe when you master the training watch you will be able to graduate to a big kid watch?

Haha, I'm glad the OP figured out the issue.

I've had a Forerunner 301 for years and have nearly 500 miles on it now. It's actually an amazing invention, and Garmin (as usual) was way ahead of the times when they put these things on the market.

You can view and graph all runs on your computer - avg page, top speed, time, distance, even map out where you went. There are websites where you can "race" friends on the same routes too.

Training assistants are probably my favorite part.. if I know what my best paces are for a given distance, I can run a race at a programmed pace and it'll tell me how many feet ahead/behind my "pacer" I am. I've finished every race on or ahead of my targets with this thing.

I can't even imagine not having it and just "guessing" how fast I was going, only to discover that I screwed up and I either crapped out with a mile to go or finished with energy left over.

Mine's the older one - bigger than the current lineup, my only complaint is that it's picky with reception. I did an out-and-back half marathon last Sept. and on the way back, the tree line was on the other side and I lost reception. With 6 miles to go in the middle of my first half marathon ever, I had to guess my pace (for the first time in my life).

It worked out, but I think I'm going to use my REI dividends / 20% off on a Forerunner 410.