Garmin GPS 38, Owner'S Manual

Page 1: ...Owner s Manual Reference GPS38 Personal Navigator GPS 38 Man Rev B 7 23 98 4 31 PM Page 1 ...

Page 2: ...nual including photocopying and recording for any purpose without the express written permission of GARMIN Information in this document is subject to change without notice GARMIN reserves the right to change or improve their products and to make changes in the content with out obligation to notify any person or organization of such changes or improvements GARMIN GPS 38 Personal Navigator AutoLocat...

Page 3: ...f the unit and provides a quick start orientation to the GPS 38 It has been designed to acquaint you with the unit and provide a basic working knowledge necessary to use the unit in typical conditions Section Three provides a detailed reference to the advanced features and operations of the GPS 38 in a topical format This allows you to concentrate on a specific topic quickly without reading throug...

Page 4: ...iate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accor dance with the instructions may cause harmful interference to radio commu nications However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to other equipment which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to tr...

Page 5: ...Off 16 SECTION THREE Reference Satellite Page 15 19 Position Page 20 Creating and Using Waypoints 21 27 GOTO and MOB Mode 28 TracBack Navigation 29 30 Creating and Using Routes 31 36 Compass and Highway Page Steering Guidance 37 39 Map Plotting 40 43 Menu Page and Auxiliary Functions 44 52 Simulator Mode 53 Appendix A Messages Time Offsets 54 55 Appendix B Map Datums 56 57 Appendix C Specification...

Page 6: ...ated Time of Arrival ETA The time of day of your arrival at a destination Estimated Time Enroute ETE The time left to your destination at your present speed Grid A coordinate system that projects the earth on a flat surface using square zones for position measurements UTM UPS and Maidenhead formats are grid systems Ground Speed The velocity you are traveling relative to a ground position Latitude ...

Page 7: ...play from a submenu page to a primary page M Captures a position and dis plays the mark position page G Displays GOTO page with the waypoint highlighted for GOTO operation Pressing GOTO twice activates MOB E Confirms data entry and activates highlighted fields to allow data entry Q Returns display to a previous page or restores a data field s previous value U D Selects alphanumerical characters an...

Page 8: ...ing alkaline batteries Rechargeable Ni Cad or lithium batteries may also be used Note that the battery level indicator is calibrated for alka line batteries and Ni Cad or lithium batteries will only show battery life at partial scale To install batteries 1 Remove the battery cover by turning the thumb loop at the bottom of the unit 1 4 turn counter clockwise 2 Insert batteries into position The ba...

Page 9: ...anac a timetable of satellite numbers and their orbits stored in the receiver s memory the GPS 38 can determine the distance and position of any GPS satellite To use this almanac data your GPS needs to know where you are or be given the opportunity to find itself Once you initialize the unit to this position the GPS 38 will usually compute a fix within a few minutes Remember this process is only n...

Page 10: ...tellites in view The GPS 38 will now continuously select the best satellites in view to update your position If some of the satellites in view get blocked or shaded the receiver can simply use an alternate satellite to maintain the position fix Although a GPS receiver needs four satellites to provide a 3D fix the GPS 38 can maintain a 2D fix with only three satellites The GPS 38 s Satellite Page w...

Page 11: ...y the Satellite Page with the EZinit prompt ready for you to select one of two initialization methods Select Country allows you to initialize the receiver by selecting your present position from a list of coun tries in the GPS 38 s internal database Usually pro vides a position fix in a few minutes AutoLocateTM allows the GPS 38 to initialize itself and calculate a position fix without knowing you...

Page 12: ...te and has never acquired a position fix Initialization Troubleshooting If you have trouble initializing the receiver or getting a position fix check the following Does the receiver have a clear view of the sky If there are large buildings rocks mountains or heavy tree cover the receiver may not be receiving enough satellite signals to calculate a fix Have you selected the right country state from...

Page 13: ...Page provides a visual reference of satellite acquisition and position As the receiver locks onto satellites a signal strength bar will appear for each satellite in view with the appropriate satellite number 1 32 underneath each bar The progress of satellite acquisi tion is shown in three stages No signal strength bars the GPS 38 is looking for the satellites indicated Hollow signal strength bars ...

Page 14: ... graphic display at the top of the page indicates your heading only while you re moving with the track and speed indicated below The graphic compass tape reflects your heading only while you are moving The rest of the page shows your current position in three dimensions latitude longitude and altitude The GPS 38 uses this basic information to mark exact positions as waypoints which help guide you ...

Page 15: ...ter highlight to the next character space 5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the word HOME is displayed 6 Press E to complete entry of the name 7 Press the D key once to return the field highlight to the SAVE field 8 Press the E key to confirm that you want to save the position as a waypoint named HOME The mark position page will now be replaced by the Position Page or the page displayed prior to pressi...

Page 16: ...ion along with a resettable trip odometer are continuously displayed in the middle of the page with the time of day displayed below Now let s change the display to the Map Page and watch the track log of our walk 1 Press the P key to change from the Position Page to the Map Page Your current position is shown as the diamond in the middle of the screen The dark circle below the diamond represents t...

Page 17: ...with the Compass Page As you begin walking again the Compass Page will display nav data and graphic steering guidance to the destination The bearing BRG and distance DST to the waypoint are displayed at the top of the page right below the destination waypoint field The distance dis played is always the straight line distance from your present position to the destination waypoint The bearing indica...

Page 18: ...ith each mark representing 0 05 miles of course deviation If you do get off course by more than the selected scale an arrow prompt will appear at the end of the scale to indicate the direction you are off course For more information on setting the CDI scale see page 47 When you are one minute away from the destination based on your current speed and track over the ground the GPS 38 will alert you ...

Page 19: ... satellites marking a position and navigating to a destination The last page available from the primary page sequence is the Menu Page which provides access to the GPS 38 s waypoint management route track log and setup features The 11 submenus are divided into categories by function To select a submenu from the Menu Page 1 Press P or Quntil the Menu Page appears 2 Use the U or D keys to highlight ...

Page 20: ... ve now gone through the basic operation of your new GPS and probably know a little more than you think about how it works We encourage you to experiment with the GPS 38 until it becomes an extension of your own navi gation skills If you encounter any problems using the unit or want to take advantage of the GPS 38 s more advanced features refer to the reference section To turn the GPS 38 off 1 Pre...

Page 21: ...ticular satellite the corresponding signal strength bar will be blank and the sky view indicator will remain highlighted in reverse video Once the receiver has found the satellite a hollow signal strength bar will appear indicating that the satellite has been found and the receiver is collecting data from it The satellite number in the sky view will also change from reverse video to normal present...

Page 22: ...enough satellites for a 2D or 3D fix Not Usable the receiver is unusable possibly due to incorrect initialization or abnormal satellite conditions Turn the unit off and back on to reset Simulator Simulating Navigation the receiver is in simulator mode EZinit Option Prompt The Satellite Page also provides access to the EZinit prompt whenever a position fix has not been calculated the unit must be i...

Page 23: ...ain the internal memory for 3 months in the event that the batteries are removed or totally discharged Screen Backlighting The GPS 38 s automatic backlight feature illuminates the screen display for a user defined interval the default is 15 seconds after every keystroke When backlighting is on a bulb icon will appear at the bottom left of the sky view To turn the screen backlighting on or off 1 Pr...

Page 24: ... to measure the total distance traveled while navigating To reset the trip odometer 1 Highlight the TRIP field 2 Press E followed by L 3 Press E to finish Altitude Display When the GPS 38 is acquiring satellites or navigating in the 2D mode the last known altitude will be used to com pute your position If the altitude shown is off by several hundred feet you can manually enter your altitude for gr...

Page 25: ... Page will appear showing the cap tured position and a default 3 digit waypoint name To change the default position name 1 Highlight the Waypoint field 2 Press E key to begin entry of the name Pressing the L key will clear any existing data 3 Use the arrow keypad to enter a waypoint name 4 Press E to confirm the waypoint name The field high light will move to the route field If you d like to add t...

Page 26: ...u the closest points of safety in your area at a glance The nearest waypoints page will also let you retrieve a waypoint definition page or GOTO a selected waypoint right from the list To review the waypoint definition page of a highlight ed waypoint from the list 1 Press the E key To return to the nearest waypoint page when the Done field is highlighted 1 Press the E key To go to a highlighted li...

Page 27: ...To select a highlighted waypoint as a destination press the G key 3 Once the GOTOwaypoint page appears press the E key to confirm the selected waypoint as your destination To delete all user defined waypoints 1 Move the cursor highlight to DEL ALL WPTS 2 Press the E key A warning page will appear asking if you are sure you want to delete all user defined waypoints and routes If you want to continu...

Page 28: ...Press E to begin entry of the position 5 When finished press E to confirm and save your coordinates The default waypoint comment UTC date and time of creation will appear and the highlight will move to the DONE field 6 Press the E key to return to the Menu Page Waypoint Definition Page Use the waypoint definition page to review rename or delete stored waypoints and to create new waypoints manually...

Page 29: ...aypoint from the reference waypoint Remember to use the E key to begin entry and confirm each field The coordinates will be calculated and saved for your new waypoint 10 Highlight the DONE field and press E to return to the Menu Page The GPS 38 s advanced waypoint and planning fea tures allow you to create new waypoints and practice navigation without ever stepping foot outside If you create a new...

Page 30: ... creation To change or add a comment 1 Highlight the comment field 2 Press E to begin entry of your comment 3 Enter the comment and press the E key to confirm Renaming Deleting Waypoints The rename and delete function fields are located at the bottom left of the waypoint definition page you ll need to use the L key to move the highlightout of its main scrollingsequence The waypoint comments field ...

Page 31: ...oint field 1 Highlight the waypoint name field and press E 2 Press the L key to clear the name field 3 Use the arrow keypad to scroll through the waypoints 4 If you have more than one waypoint that begins with the same letter or number you must use the R key to move to the next character positions as needed Only the first char acter match is listed for each character set 5 Once you ve found the de...

Page 32: ...ee page 36 To cancel an active GOTO 1 Press the G key 2 Move the field highlight to the CANCELGOTO prompt at the bottom of the page 3 Press E Man Overboard Function The GPS 38 s man overboard function MOB lets you simultaneously mark and set a course to a position for quick response to passing positions like the spot where your hat blew overboard To activate the MOB mode 1 Press the G key twice Th...

Page 33: ...k log page 3 Highlight the CLEARLOG option 4 Press E The clear log confirmation page will appear 5 Highlight the Yes prompt and press E To activate a TracBack route 1 From the Menu Page highlight the TRACKLOG option 2 Press E to access the track log page 3 Highlight the TRACBACK option and press E Once the TracBack function has been activated the GPS 38 will take the track log currently stored in ...

Page 34: ...eiver is turned off or you lose satellite cover age during your trip the TracBack route will simply draw a straight line between any point where cover age was lost and where it resumed If the changes of direction and distance of your track log are very complex 30 waypoints may not be enough to accurately mark your exact path The receiver will then assign the 30 waypoints to the most significant po...

Page 35: ...er seg ments called legs The waypoint you are going to in a leg is called the active to waypoint and the waypoint imme diately behind you is called the active from waypoint The line between the active to and the active from waypoint is called the active leg Whenever you activate a route with the GPS 38 it will automatically select the route leg closest to your position as the active leg As you pas...

Page 36: ...e of the route is indicated below the way point list The bottom of the route definition page features several function fields which let you copy clear invert or activate the displayed route Routes 1 19 are used as storage routes with route 0 always serving as the active route you are navi gating If you want to save a route currently in route 0 be sure to copy it to another open route as it will be...

Page 37: ...to the active or TracBack route and want to save the route for future use To copy a route 1 Highlight the route number field and press E 2 Enter the route number to be copied and press E 3 Highlight the COPYTO field and press E 4 Scroll through the available routes and select a destination route number Only open routes will be available as choic es Press the E key to copy the route 5 Press the P k...

Page 38: ...it during navigation and save as an entirely new route from the original You will have to copy the active route to an unused storage route to save it since new route or TracBack activation overwrites route 0 To activate a route 1 Select the route definition page and press the E key to activate the route number field 2 Enter the route number to be activated and press E 3 Move the field highlight to...

Page 39: ...op nav igating or invert the active route without using the route definition page To invert a route from the active route page 1 Move the field highlight to the INVERT prompt 2 Press the E key to invert the route To clear the active route from the active route page and stop route navigation 1 Select the CLEAR prompt 2 Press the E key to clear the active route Editing Routes Once a route has been c...

Page 40: ...e route will be overwritten by a new route activation If you add delete or change the first or last waypoint of a route the default comment first and last waypoint will automatically be updated after your changes On Route GOTOs At the beginning of this section we mentioned that the GPS 38 will automatically select the route leg closest to your position as the active leg This will give you steering...

Page 41: ... and direction you are off course The Highway Page is well suited for boating and other activities with higher speeds and straight line courses to a destina tion Both pages provide a digital display of the bearing and distance to the destination along with your current speed and track over the ground as well as a course deviation indicator CDI You can select the desired navigation page at any time...

Page 42: ...resent position while the d bar the moving vertical line on the scale indicates the direction and distance you are off the desired straight line course To stay on course steer toward the d bar until it is cen tered on the position diamond The default setting of the CDI scale is 0 25 miles with each mark representing 0 05 miles of course deviation If you do get off course by more than the selected ...

Page 43: ...rse relative to the position diamond on the CDI scale To stay on course simply steer toward the center of the highway If you do get off the desired course by more than 1 5th of the selected CDI range the exact distance you are off course will be displayed where the CDI scale setting nor mally appears see the example at right If you get too far off course the highway has disappeared a message box w...

Page 44: ... of the Map Page are used to display various navigation data including the bearing and distance to a destination waypoint and your current track and speed over the ground The two fields at the top corners of the map show your bearing and distance to one of three selec table destinations an active destination waypoint a high lighted on screen waypoint or to the panning target crosshair If you are n...

Page 45: ...w keys to move the map in any direction As you begin to move the map a crosshair will appear This crosshair will now serve as a target marker for the moving map The distance and bearing to destination will now be replaced by the distance and bearing from your present position to the target crosshair As you pan around the map you ll notice that the target crosshair will snap to on screen waypoints ...

Page 46: ...k to the zoom or pan function field Once a waypoint has been selected in the map field its distance and bearing from your present position will be dis played at the top corners of the Map Page You can also review its waypoint definition page or select it as a GOTO destination by following the same steps outlined above for waypoints highlighted on the map field To get the most out of panning you ll...

Page 47: ...get crosshair as an instant GOTO destination Similar to the MOB mode this function will mark and instantly set a course for a new waypoint called MAP To go to the target crosshair 1 Press the G key to capture the position 2 Press the E key to confirm the MAP GOTO If you want to save the MAP waypoint be sure to rename it as it will be overwritten the next time a map GOTO is executed Marking a Waypo...

Page 48: ... TO field and enter the destination waypoint Press the E key to calculate the range and bearing to the destination waypoint 3 Highlight the DATE field and enter the date for your desti nation Press the E key to display the sun information Message Page The message page displays all current messages in the GPS 38 There are two types of messages temporary alerts eg approaching a waypoint and conditio...

Page 49: ...ts and routes while at home To select an operating mode 1 Highlight the MODE field and press E 2 Use the arrow keypad to select a mode and press E Date and Time Setup The date and time field is located directly below the mode field Because the time shown is UTC time you will need to enter a time offset to display the correct local time for your area To determine the time offset for your area note ...

Page 50: ...ustable for 0 15 30 60 120 and 240 seconds The 0 setting will keep the screen backlighting on as long as the unit is on NOTE the default 15 second backlighting setting will pro vide the longest battery life Whenever backlighting is on a bulb icon will appear on the Satellite Page To set the backlight timer 1 Highlight the LIGHT field and press the E key 2 Select the desired setting Confirm the set...

Page 51: ...are available for use see the map datum listing in appendix B you should only change the datum if you are using maps or charts that spec ify a different datum than WGS 84 To select a map datum 1 Highlight the MAPDATUM field and press E 2 Select the desired setting Confirm the setting by pressing E CDI Scale Settings The course deviation indicator CDI scale definition field lets you select the rang...

Page 52: ...c heading 1 Select the USER MAG option and press E 2 Enter the degrees and direction of magnetic variation 3 Press the E key to confirm the magnetic variation value Map Setup and Orientation The map setup page lets you select map orientation and specify what items are displayed The map may be oriented to north up the direction of current travel track up or the direction of an active route leg desi...

Page 53: ...n the Map Page The default setting of 250 points provides good resolution with minimal screen clutter The maximum setting is 768 points Once you ve reached the maximum number of track points the older points will be lost as new points are added Note that adjusting the track points displayed will not affect whether or not the receiver records a track log or the ability to cre ate a TracBack route T...

Page 54: ... in hours minutes and seconds and press the E key Managing and Clearing the Track Log The rest of the track log setup page displays the per centage of available memory currently used to store track log data and function fields to clear the track log memory and activate the TracBack feature To clear the track log 1 Highlight CLEARLOG and press E 2 A warning page will appear asking you to confirm yo...

Page 55: ...NMEA setting Once a NMEA output setting has been selected with or without RTCM input the NMEA field will become highlighted NMEA formats 0180 0182 or 0183 1 5 or 2 0 are available To select a NMEA format 1 Press E to begin a NMEA selection 2 Select a format and press E DGPS Interface The last two format settings allow the differential ready GPS 38 to accept RTCM DGPS corrections in RTCM 104 versio...

Page 56: ...f the beacon receiver field a status message will keep you informed of DGPS activity A Tuning message will be displayed while a beacon signal is being tuned Once the beacon signal has been tuned a Receiving message will be displayed If a beacon signal is tuned and no corrections are being received a No Data message will be displayed If a beacon signal cannot be tuned a No Status mes sage will be d...

Page 57: ...enter track speed and position 1 Highlight the TRACK field and press the E key 2 Enter a track heading and press E 3 Highlight the SPEED field and press E 4 Enter a speed and press E 5 Highlight the POSITION field Position Page only and press E 6 Enter a position and press the E key The GPS 38 does not track satellites in simulator mode Although you can create and save waypoints and routes while u...

Page 58: ... Try the unit again later possibly in a different location Read Only Mem has Failed The permanent memory has failed and the unit is not operable Take your unit to an authorized GARMIN dealer for repairs Received an Invalid WPT A waypoint was received during upload transfer that has an invalid identifier Receiver has Failed A failure in receiver hardware has been detected If this message persists d...

Page 59: ...nted waypoints to make room for new entries Time Offset Chart The table below gives approximate UTC time offset for various longitudi nal zones If you are in daylight savings time add one hour to the offset Longitudinal Zone Offset Longitudinal Zone Offset W180 0º to W172 5º 12 E007 5º to E022 5º 1 W172 5º to W157 5º 11 E022 5º to E037 5º 2 W157 5º to W142 5º 10 E037 5º to E052 5º 3 W142 5º to W12...

Page 60: ...67 Easter Island 1967 European 1950 European 1950 Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Gibraltar Greece Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland European 1979 European 1979 Austria Finland Netherlands Norway Spain Sweden Switzerland Finland Hayfrd Finland Hayford Finland Gandajika Base Gandajika Base Republic of Maldives Geod Datm 49 Geodetic Datum 49 New Zea...

Page 61: ... Oman Oman Ord Srvy GB Old Survey Grt Britn England Isle of Man Scotland Shetland Isl Wales Pico De Las Nv Canary Islands Ptcairn Ast 67 Pitcairn Astro 67 Pitcairn Isl Prov S Am 56 Prov So Amricn 56 Bolivia Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Peru Venezuela Prov S Chln 63 Prov So Chilean 63 S Chile Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Qatar National Qatar National Qatar Qornoq Qornoq South Greenland R...

Page 62: ... using the GPS 38 in below freezing temperatures use lithium batteries for longer battery life Extensive use of screen backlighting will significantly reduce battery life Specifications subject to change without notice Meets IEC European Community Specification 529 IPX7 for protection against immersion for 30 min utes at a depth of 1 meter With optional GARMINGBR 21 Beacon Receiver Input Subject t...

Page 63: ...bols PC Interface Cable Part No 010 10141 00 PC interface cable with 9 pin D seri al data connector The following interface formats are supported by the GPS 38 for driving three NMEA devices UNIT VIEW NMEA 0180 NMEA 0182 NMEA 0183 version 1 5 Approved sentences GPBWC GPGLL GPRMB GPRMC GPXTE GPVTG GPWPL GPBOD Proprietary sentences PGRMM map datum PGRMZ altitude PSLIB beacon rec control NMEA 0183 ve...

Page 64: ...2 D DGPS Interface 51 Date and Time Setup 45 Deleting Routes 33 Differential GPS DGPS defined 2 Displaying Items on the Map Page 49 Distance and Sun Calculation 44 DTK defined 2 E EZinit 7 Editing Existing Waypoints 26 Editing Routes 35 ETA defined 2 ETE defined 2 G Getting Started Tour 9 Glossary 2 Going To A Waypoint 28 Grid defined 2 Ground Speed defined 2 H Highway Page 37 I Index 60 Initializ...

Page 65: ...ypoints 25 Removing Waypoints from Routes 36 Renaming Deleting Waypoints 26 Routes Active Route Page 35 Activating and Inverting 34 Clearing 33 Copying 33 Creating 32 Editing 35 Routes continutd On Route GOTOs 36 Removing Waypoints From 36 Route Navigation 31 S Satellite Page 6 Scanning Waypoints 27 Screen Backlighting 19 46 Screen Contrast 46 Skyview Display 16 Specifications Wiring 58 Starting S...

Page 66: ...ting 26 Going To A Waypoint 28 Mark and GOTO with Cursor 43 Marking And Saving 21 Nearest Waypoints Page 22 Pointing at On Screen 42 Reference Waypoints 25 Removing from a Route 36 Renaming Deleting 26 Scanning 27 Wrist Strap Attachment 4 X XTE defined 2 Z Zooming and Panning 41 62 APPENDIX D Index GPS 38 Man Rev B 7 23 98 4 34 PM Page 62 ...

Page 67: ...erein are exclusive and in lieu of all other warranties expressed or implied including any liability arising under warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular pur pose statutory or otherwise This warranty gives you specific legal rights which may vary from state to state To obtain warranty service call the GARMIN Customer Service department 913 397 8200 for a returned merchandise track...

Page 68: ...N Corporation 1200 E 151st Street Olathe KS USA 66062 GARMIN Europe Ltd Unit 5 The Quadrangle Abbey Park Romsey UK SO51 9AQ Part Number 190 00112 00 Rev B Printed in Taiwan GPS 38 Man Rev B 7 23 98 4 34 PM Page 64 ...