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gpspassion
93402 Posts |
 Posted - 24 oct. 2008 : 20:20:19
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Index : 1. Introduction / 2. The Move to High-Sensitivity / 3. High-Sensitivity Galore
4. Full List of GPS Chipsets and GPS Systems
1. Introduction : Until 2005, Garmin GPS systems, be they handheld (eTrex, G60/G76), mixed (GPSV), car (SP2610, C320) or Marine (GPS276) used a "low sensitivity" Garmin chipset, with little correlation power. This meant long acquisition times (you could help by giving an approximate position), frequent loss of position in difficult environments (dense urban areas, forests with thick tree cover, etc...) and no operation at all (coated windshields). On the other hand the position was very stable as the module could only work with "clean" signal.
Continued in this article on the portal.
Questions, comments ? |
Discounts and Assistance/Réductions et Assistance (Club GpsPasSion) / Où commencer? |
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dequardo
255 Posts |
Posted - 24 oct. 2008 : 21:01:46
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| Thanks. I've bene wrestling with a vexing problem on (first) a 255 and now a 255W. BOTH will suddenly lose all sta acquistion seemingly at random. This happens many miles and hours into a trip after a full signal. The fact it happened on two different units is very disconcerting. Both run Bravo chips. |
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gpspassion
93402 Posts |
Posted - 24 oct. 2008 : 21:33:33
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Strange indeed, haven't seen it on the 255, the 550 or the Oregon, will keep an eye open for that. Are they both running v2.55 ? Are you able to have both with you to see if they have the same problem concurrently ? Since the GPS module is totally integrated in the STM Cartesio platform, there might be some prioritizing of CPU/Ram resources or a memory leak that cuts off the GPS temporarily.
It's probably best to call their chipset the STM Cartesio as the "bravo" was (probably) the less powerful STM Teseo. |
Discounts and Assistance/Réductions et Assistance (Club GpsPasSion) / Où commencer? |
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SergZak
USA
1761 Posts |
Posted - 24 oct. 2008 : 23:53:30
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| Excellent info gpspassion...thanks for the writeup. It's good to have all this info in one place rather than dispersed through various threads. |
nüvi 3490LMT, nüvi 3790LMT, nüvi 765T, nüvi 855, nüvi 760, nüvi 750 |
Edited by - SergZak on 25 oct. 2008 00:06:27 |
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gpspassion
93402 Posts |
Posted - 25 oct. 2008 : 00:27:00
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Thanks, yes it always takes longer than you'd think when you get started but it's nice to have it once it's done ;-)
Just realized I forgot the SP550 and nüvi 5000. I'm also wondering if I didn't get it wrong for the nüvi 2x0, most models with the STM Teseo and some unconfirmed with the MTK...will check around. |
Discounts and Assistance/Réductions et Assistance (Club GpsPasSion) / Où commencer? |
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gpspassion
93402 Posts |
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SergZak
USA
1761 Posts |
Posted - 25 oct. 2008 : 17:29:46
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| My nuvi 200 has the MTK v1 GPS FW, same as my newer 760 (dual mic holes in the unit's casing). My older 750 has the SiRFstarIII. I believe my Vista HCx also has the MTK v1 chipset but can't 100% confirm that until after the weekend. |
nüvi 3490LMT, nüvi 3790LMT, nüvi 765T, nüvi 855, nüvi 760, nüvi 750 |
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gpspassion
93402 Posts |
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albaran
France
46 Posts |
Posted - 27 oct. 2008 : 10:41:31
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| my nuvi 200 (FNAC 11/21/2007) has the MTK chipset, updated to 2.80m firmware. |
nuvi 200, soft 5.00, audio 2.20, logiciel GPS 2.90m |
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gpspassion
93402 Posts |
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louchem
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 31 oct. 2008 : 16:49:38
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I just purchased a Venture HC in the last two weeks and I've come across something interesting. I had a problem updating the firmware on the unit, which you can read about in this Groundspeak topic. After doing some digging on the web I learned how to run the diagnostics on my Venture HC and was surpirsed to see it was running Bravo version 3.
Here's the screenshot
So, I'm wondering if the reason I can't connect to update the firmware is because my unit is not using the same chipset as the past eTrex H series units. Has anyone seen a unit with Bravo version 3 before? I've corresponded a bit with Garmin tech support but I don't know how forthcoming they will be. |
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gpspassion
93402 Posts |
Posted - 31 oct. 2008 : 21:06:24
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Welcome to the forums.
Interesting, but I don't think we ever really figured out what "Bravo" stood for for sure. Originally we thought it was a Garmin chipset, but it seems to be the STMicro platform not the MTK that's been used (so far) on the eTrex series.
What is the GPS FW version installed on your eTrex ? You can see that in the system settings\about. That's a good way to tell normally. |
Discounts and Assistance/Réductions et Assistance (Club GpsPasSion) / Où commencer? |
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SergZak
USA
1761 Posts |
Posted - 31 oct. 2008 : 23:10:46
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| I think I recall seeing the "Bravo" on my original eTrex Vista (gray-scale unit from years ago) & really don't know what to make of this "Bravo" listing that keeps showing up...maybe it's Garmin-speak for the mainboard/motherboard version? My Vista HCx also has this "Bravo" but it's listed as version 2, unlike that of louchem which is version 3. My HCx's GPS chipset was recently updated to v2.80 (as my nuvi 760 which uses the same MTK chipset) via WebUpdater. |
nüvi 3490LMT, nüvi 3790LMT, nüvi 765T, nüvi 855, nüvi 760, nüvi 750 |
Edited by - SergZak on 31 oct. 2008 23:18:53 |
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gpspassion
93402 Posts |
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louchem
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 31 oct. 2008 : 23:58:58
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Thanks for the welcome, gpspassion. I've been a lurker for a while now on the boards and I really enjoy the info shared here. I don't really know too much about the nuts and bolts of these systems, much of what I've learned is from forums like this.
I was under the impression that the eTrex series used a Mediatek chip when I purchased the unit. The whole thing is a bit confusing and I don't know why Garmin doesn't just come out and say definatively.
One of the interesting parts of the whole ordeal is that I was able to update my system software version to 2.8 using the WebUpdater. So, I know the server connection is working but it gives me an error when I try to grab any chipset updates.
Here's the screenshot of my software version page
As you can see it does not show the GPS SW version on this screen as it has with past eTrex units. The only way I could find out the firmware version was through the diagnostics page. I've had users who have older Bravo version 2 varities of the Venture HC post screenshots of their software version page and it shows system software version as well as GPS SW version. So, something is definately different in the newer shipping units. |
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SergZak
USA
1761 Posts |
Posted - 01 nov. 2008 : 01:08:26
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quote:
Originally posted by louchem
I've had users who have older Bravo version 2 varities of the Venture HC post screenshots of their software version page and it shows system software version as well as GPS SW version.
Did the bravo version and the displayed GPS chipset version coincide? The reason I ask is because my "Bravo" version is listed as version 2 yet my GPS software version is listed as 2.80 and was detected/updated as v2.80m (MTK). Like I said in my last post, I have a feeling this "Bravo" version has nothing to do with the GPS chipset...but then again, I could be very wrong as well. 
quote:
So, something is definately different in the newer shipping units.
I have heard reports of GPS chipset versions no longer being displayed even on the maintenance/diagnostic screens on newer units with the newest updated unit software (firmware). Perhaps Garmin is doing this (blocking the display of the GPS chipset version) for a reason...maybe because they are now using different GPS chipsets from different manufacturers and have no positive way to ID them in the system software because of this difference...just thinking aloud here. |
nüvi 3490LMT, nüvi 3790LMT, nüvi 765T, nüvi 855, nüvi 760, nüvi 750 |
Edited by - SergZak on 01 nov. 2008 01:29:31 |
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[GUIDE] Sorting through the GPS Chipsets on Garmin
