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zoe

GPS: Nuvi 760w







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Hey all,
My Nuvi 760w has the FM transmitter built in but no matter what FM station I tune it into, it never seems like it has enough power. It's all static and like fuzzy...
I've tried moving the GPS around to no avail..

Anyone got any suggestions?

Thanks
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chris.young

GPS: Garmin Nuvi 750







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My 750 is the same way. The FM Transmitter is just really weak in all models. You can purchase a battery opperated FM Transmitter that will plug into the headphone jack and works great. Hope this helps
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ja97

GPS: Garmin Nuvi 760







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I have the Nuvi 760 and have no problems with the transmitter. It works as long as I have the station set to what the Garmin says it should be on. I don't use it though because I have another FM transmitter hooked up; but I did try it.
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roadrider01

GPS: Nuvi,760







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I have a 760 and have also found no problem with the FM transmitter when set to the proper station. Maybe yo have a defective unit. Perhaps a call to Garmin help desk might be in order to see what they have to say about it.
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rosskimbley

GPS: Garmin Nuvi 670







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Had the same problem until I plugged the traffic antenna in and all came good.
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dtilley5

GPS: Garmin Nuvi 760







Post Re: Nuvi 760w Fm transmitter problem..     
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zoe wrote:
Hey all,
My Nuvi 760w has the FM transmitter built in but no matter what FM station I tune it into, it never seems like it has enough power. It's all static and like fuzzy...
I've tried moving the GPS around to no avail..

Anyone got any suggestions?

Thanks


1 Make sure the antenna is fully extended
2 I think the 760 transmitter is not quite as good as the 660
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BertB

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I experienced the same problems with the FM transmitter.

The solution
The solution is remarkable simply in theory, but requires some trail and error.
The fact is that the FM transmitter is plenty powerful, but is limited based on the country (Locale) that is set when initiating the unit.
Legislation varies from country to country and so does the maximum allowed FM Power output.

How can I see what power output is used?
On the main screen press on the battery sign (when on external power press left from clock) continuously for about 10 seconds. A diagnostics screen will appear. Use the Next button (lower right) to go to the Audio Output Test Page.
If you press FM power you will see your current settings. In most European Community countries this will be 90 dB. You can change the settings by pressing the Up or Down buttons. Tapping the High Pwr will set it to 115dB directly..
The problem is storing these settings. Once you exit, the unit will revert to the settings allowed for the country you have selected.

So you just select the first country which allows maximum output?Not necessarily, because changing the country also changes (amongst other things) the road sings used.
So the trick is to find a country with good FM power settings AND the right road signs. After extensive trail and Error I have figured out the best setting for The Netherlands.

How do I change the country settings (locale)?
Before switching the unit on, press the right bottom part of your screen. While keeping it pressed, turn on the unit. Keep the right bottom part pressed (also during the booting process) until a question is shown asking if you want to delete all user data.
Press Yes (only Home data and various settings (Bluetooth, keyboard layout etc) will be wiped). Now you can select your country.
Be aware that once the country and languages are selected, you might have to change the time zone as well . This can be done in the normal setup screens of the unit.

So what do I nee to do?
For Dutch (and countries using similar road signs) users: select Moldavia and check that power is now 106 dB (coming from 90!). I was not successful in setting it to 115 dB but 106 dB is enough to get noise-free reception on my radio.
For America: Select Canada and check /change the power settings.





lzep

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I have read on GPS forums about the problem with the terrible FM transmitter on the Garmin nuvi (I have the 680 model). Unfortunately I didn't do any investigating before I spent the extra for a model with this lame feature. I tried one of the suggestions someone had about resetting the country of origin to a country which may allow a higher transmitter output. This did not work for me; perhaps that person had a different rev. of software which actually changed the power output.
I did read that you could go into a diagnostic mode and actually change the output power but unfortunately you can not save the changed setting. I used this very useful tactic to determine if I could find out what changed in the transmitter section when the different power settings were engaged.
After much tinkering I found that by lifting pin 4 of the IC marked BHTX or pin 6 of the IC marked S79 (same electrical connection) it would transmit at a higher power. I hope this helps those of you who do not like listening to hissing with your music. I tried to include a picture of the IC layout but have not figured out how to do that here. I don't know if this modification will cause any detrimental effects to the FM transmitter but if it totally destroys it, I'll call it a model 650. Remember your warranty is garbage if they can determine that you 'went in'.





Jeff G

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BertB wrote:
was not successful in setting it to 115 dB but 106 dB is enough to get noise-free reception on my radio.
For America: Select Canada and check /change the power settings.


BertB,
This FM transmission tip fixed my FM Transmitter strength from totally unuseable to almost perfect.

Thank you





bb liger

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Hi all,
I have a garmin 765T and I found the following ways to get around the under-powered FM transmitter (w/o open up the unit)

1) Find and tune tune your radio and gps to vacant FM frequency in your area.
Note: The distance between your gps and the car antena is crucial here. If your gps is far away from the antena then it's pretty much useless.

2) Use the old tape with 3.5mm jack that used to come with the car kit for portable CD player and plug that input into your gps audio output jack.

3) Buy at stronger portable FM transmitter and plug that into your GPS audio output jack (like some other members have mentioned)

4) If you don't listen to FM radio via your car antena (this apply to people with digital XM Sirus owner) then simply unplug your antena coaxial cable in the back of your stereo unit

I used method #1 and got pretty good result (98% static free) but then I end up using method #2 b/c I don't use the tape deck in my car anyway and that's 100% static free Very Happy Have Fun!!!







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