Intermittent problems

[Nauti-Cats]

Last weekend I was using our 230 in an INT event. Towards the end of day one, actually the last rider, the stargazer started acting up. We were finishing a pass and it shut down the speed. The display showed "no gps". Yes there were clouds but the cloud cover had been thicker earlier in the day. I finished the day hand throttling the last rider. The next day, no issues with more clouds/storms.

Another issues that has happened a couple of times is the push button keypad. Something will happen and the entire pad is non-functional. Can't even shut the engine off. I killed the engine by pulling the lanyard. Reset it and everything works.

Thoughts?

[DanielC]

My understanding is the stargazer system uses Doppler shift to figure out speed. For Doppler shift to work, you have to be moving to or away from a satellite. That means satellites directly overhead, or off to the side are useless, because you are not really moving away or to them.

The problem is satellites that work best for getting Doppler shift signal are low on the horizon, and they have a much weaker signal than satellites overhead.