WMassGriff Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Anyone run into the situation where the compass pointer is pointing the wrong direction and distance to your dog? If so any fixes? I did update the handheld software. Link to post Share on other sites
BlacknTan Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Go into the menu and try calibrating the compass. Link to post Share on other sites
dogrunner Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 1 minute ago, BlacknTan said: Go into the menu and try calibrating the compass. Yep, spin and turn. I don't do it every time but it usually needs it a couple times a season. Link to post Share on other sites
Cooter Brown Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 You should update the collar as well. Sometimes the Alpha can get screwy because the screen gets accidentally touched and something is changed. I've had the thing act very strangely as you describe--I figured out finally that somehow I had put it into "GO TO" mode and it thought I was navigating. When it's acting this way go to the map screen and hit the menu--the four horizontal bars in the middle. If it says "Stop Navigating" at the top tap that. That might fix it. To make sure go ahead and tell it to "GO TO" and then "Stop Navigating" just to make sure. Link to post Share on other sites
WMassGriff Posted September 13, 2018 Author Share Posted September 13, 2018 Unfortunately I have a MAC and can't update the collar without a PC! Grrrr Never thought about compass recalibration! I will give that a try. I have a email into Garmin and maybe they have some ideas too. Link to post Share on other sites
dvmweb Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Buy a cheap windows 10 laptop with a usb plug. I have a Hewlett Packard Stream. About $200. You might even find a something used for less. Link to post Share on other sites
Felix Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Yep, compass calibration. I do it every time I change locations. It takes less than 1 minute and I do it before I turn the dog loose. On mine when I turn on the hand held, once the screen comes up, I hit "Menu". There is a list of things on the menu and "Calibrate Compass" is at the bottom. Scroll down to "Calibrate Compass" hit "Enter" and follow the on screen directions. Easy Peasy. Link to post Share on other sites
oak stob Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 14 hours ago, WMassGriff said: Unfortunately I have a MAC and can't update the collar without a PC! Grrrr Never thought about compass recalibration! I will give that a try. I have a email into Garmin and maybe they have some ideas too. I took my collars and handhelds to Office Depot...they updated for less than $20 and did it quickly. An equivalent option may be available to you or...I had a one-off. Don’t know...I do know that is the route I will again take if requiring an update. I recalibrate the compass almost each time I use it or if I sense an issue....I probably over-calibrate but, turning is fun. Link to post Share on other sites
BlacknTan Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 3 minutes ago, oak stob said: I recalibrate the compass almost each time I use it or if I sense an issue....I probably over-calibrate but, turning is fun. I do the same... nearly every time. Link to post Share on other sites
WMassGriff Posted September 14, 2018 Author Share Posted September 14, 2018 Calibrated it and it seems a lot better while running the dog. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites
Chukarman Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Also, you might try moving away from your truck or other large chunk of metal that could effect the compass function. I re-calibrate the compass every time I change locations, even if it is just a few miles. Link to post Share on other sites
Becassier Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Make sure there are no magnets pulling the compass - because they will. Magnets can be found in shirt pocket closures, "clickit" reading glasses and of course old fashioned magnetic compasses. Link to post Share on other sites
E.Young Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Strangely, I've just had this happen. I just connected it with a new-to-me Garmin Fenix watch, too. Re-calibration didn't work, both are pointing 180* away from the collars. Distances are also a fair bit off. I tried to update (for the first time since I got it last year) and neither my PC nor my Mac will pick up the handheld as a drive or device and Garmin's troubleshooting instructions are pretty useless. Very frustrating. Help? Link to post Share on other sites
greg jacobs Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Mine always shows the dogs just a little to the right. However I hit an area that showed the dogs in a totally wrong direction. I walked a couple hundred yards and everything went back to normal. Must have been a black hole. Lol Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Also make sure you are holding unit flat in the palm of your hand Link to post Share on other sites
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