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Long Day With Garmin

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Novi
1st Mate

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Canada
59 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/26/2012 : 18:59:28

I seemed like a good idea:

I was dusting off my garmin and connected to the myGarmin site to look to see if my charts had an update available. I use the BlueChart Marine SD chart in a Oregon 450t. To my pleasant surprise there was a free update available for the Canada g2 charts.

I followed the instructions, downloaded the file, put the card back in my handheld and voila - no charts. So back on to the myGarmin site to retry the download where I am presented with the message that this card is not the original card associated with my device and that I can't download the charts.

After spending over an hour on the phone with a number of ernest Garmin support staff I am presented with the "only" option to mail my corrupted card to the Garmin Mother Ship and the will send me a new one - the catch is because I am in Canada I would have to pay shipping, duty and taxes. Insult to injury.

I asked why a new download file can't be arranged as free as the update was supposed to be, but that request had to escalate through two managers before a new file was provided. Finally the new download worked - sigh!

Sorry for the rant - all is well in the end and my GPS is working. Just be warned if you plan on updating a Garmin SD card make sure you have a LOT of time on your hands.

C25 - Westfalia
1981 SK/SR #2425 Nova Scotia

Todd

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2012 : 06:48:43

I have 2 Garmin devices...a 1450T in my Jeep and a Zumo on my bike. I've had a couple other Garmin's in my cars in previous years. I've always had good luck with WebUpdater and POILoader. I've found Map Updates to be too much $$$ compared to just buying a new unit every 3 to 4 years.

However...I bought my Zumo 450 three years ago. It was on a closeout, making the 550 the top model and the new 650 was coming out the next year. Got a great price on the 450, like $299 for it. On a whim, I paid $35 for the extended warranty, something I usually do not do. It has paid off big time!

Back in November, the rubber buttons started to crack and one fell off, exposing the circuit board and killing the weatherproof features. My extended warranty was good till this March, so I sent it in. A month later, I got a brand new Zumo 550! New unit, new maps, everything. Sweet...a model upgrade, new unit, new maps... after using my 450 for almost 3 years. That $35 was so worth it.

When I scored my 450 on closeout, the Zumo 550's were going for $699. The only difference over the 450 is XM capable and Bluetooth so you can connect your phone....gives you caller ID and the ability to call places through the unit. Also, it speaks street names...rather than just say "turn left in 1/4 mile" it'll say "turn left in 1/4 mile on Main Street".

Of course, the latest model, the [url="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=135"]Zumo 665[/url]....that beauty is nice! Big, widescreen, all the bells and whistles for only $799.....

Edited by - Joe Diver on 04/27/2012 06:52:19

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2012 : 07:42:48

Life sure was a lot simpler using paper road maps . . .

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2012 : 14:45:05

Boy I don't agree with that....having to fold/unfold...pull over to safely look or re-route...pretty singular purpose item.

I put in an address before I pull out of the driveway. After that, I don't ever need to look at it again. It will talk to me and tell me where/when to turn. It has traffic built in and tells me if there an issue ahead. It will even route me around it. Anywhere I am, no matter how lost I get, I push one button "Go Home" and it tells me where to go. If I need gas, I hit a button for that and it will present me with the closest gas stations, routing me in if needed. If I'm hungry, I just choose the type of food I want, and it presents me with the closest places, routing me in if needed. I can even call the place with one touch. There are millions of POI's (Points of Interest). You can make your own files, or go to POI Factory and download tens of thousands of them...like red light camera files that pop up warnings when you approach an intersection...or Pilot Travel Centers...or Rest Stops...or Walmarts....or Walgreens.... you name it, you can find it.

Can a paper map do all this? Not even close....

Can I live without it? Of course...I can live without my iPhone, MacBook, Kindle, Vita, TV, DVR....etc....but why? They're such great tools to enhance the whole experience....I love my GPS's and for cars/bikes.....best thing to come along in many years.

Edited by - on

Novi
1st Mate

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Canada
59 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2012 : 15:57:06

I agree that as a whole, technology is great. The problem is the headache and frustration when something that has such great potential, inexplicably stops working.

I work in IT (mostly database design and reporting) and there are many times where there seems to be a ghost in the machine. Thats when the tool becomes the task.

I love my tech - without it this forum wouldn't exist - but there are many times I'm with OJ and look back at the simple way and smile. This year I'm going to make a point of going GPS free enough times to knock the rust off my navigation skills. Of course I'll wait for a sunny day and 10knts of breeze rather than get the paper chart out in the north Atlantic fog... gotta love that GPS on the nasty days.

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2012 : 17:11:23

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Novi
 Thats when the tool becomes the task.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I'm in server engineering....the task is my whole job.....

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5352 Posts

Response Posted - 04/27/2012 : 20:27:26

I work in digital media (think YouTube, Netflix) but I would not be caught dead without my paper charts and maps. I want to plan my trips, figure the angles, learn the way there and back, find the back-way. I find that the electronics have their place, but with a turn-by-turn GPS you never see the big picture and structure behind the lay of the land. And of course batteries have a limited run time, so you have another source of stress and pressure. My preference is to rely and track on paper and back up using the GPS. Its like trying to solve a math problem, giving it your best shot, then looking in the back of the book to see whether you got the right answer.
Of course back to work on Monday I'm parsing XML files and figuring out firewall specs.

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2012 : 05:01:27

The 'Toys' are great, part of the fun of being on the boat (in the truck, on a hike, etc.)

But.... when you get the 'Lost Satellite Signal' message, then it's really good to know where you are, where you're going, and how you're getting there.

Redundancy is the name of the game. We have our Garmin 192C chart plotter, Garmin 76cx handheld chart plotter, Droid GPS, Netbook with Home Port on it, as well as Chart Book, Compass, Rules, and eyballs as backup.

Paul

Edited by - on

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2012 : 05:26:19

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Voyager
 ....but with a turn-by-turn GPS you never see the big picture and structure behind the lay of the land. And of course batteries have a limited run time, so you have another source of stress and pressure.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I don't use a GPS in the boat....I have a map of the lake but I don't use it...no need.

For my car/bike...I use Garmin Base Camp. It's mapping software on my Mac's. I use it to plan longer trips, plot a route with waypoints, see the whole route or zoom in to minute details...or anything in between. Then I just upload the route to the GPS and I'm good to go.

Both GPS's have mounts that are hard wired to the vehicle's electrical system.

Edited by - on

Novi
1st Mate

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Canada
59 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2012 : 05:47:18

The fog in Nova Scotia makes a GPS/chart combo 100% required safety equipment and a plotter even better. In the spring the fog can move in very quickly and you can go from a perfectly sunny day to less than 20yards visibility in a few minutes.

In the "old" days (80's) when GPS was too expensive for my teenage budget we just had the charts, compass, watch, and a best guess at speed. Plotting in the fog was a two person job, very stressful and far from an exact science - more like desperately trying to control variables.

The good news is the fog amplifies sounds so you could hear the shore long before you're in danger of hitting it.

Edited by - Novi on 04/28/2012 06:01:57

Davy J
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1511 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2012 : 10:10:42

Been caught in thick fog three times. Even with the GPS it was sh!!s your pants scary. In-laws got stuck on an inland lake, in the fog, in their pontoon boat, overnight because they had no GPS.

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2012 : 11:20:55

Even with our GPS and iPhone based AIS, I think I'd wait out the fog on Puget Sound. It's just too busy in the waters around Seattle. I've never been caught in it on this boat, but I have on my catamaran on an inland lake with zero instruments. It was creepy ghosting along the coast trying to stay close enough to see the shore but far enough away that I didn't catch my mast in overhanging trees. Fortunately it didn't take all that long to find the launch and get the boat out of the water, but it's an experience I'd not choose to do again.

I've been out racing on a friend's boat in South Puget Sound when we were caught up in the fog. Now that was a truly frightening event. We ended up between a tug and his barge and only realized it when we saw the hawser going by. We had no idea how close the barge was to us, we didn't see it until we'd cleared it's port side by way too close of a margin. The boat had a malfunctioning flux-gate compass, and no VHF so the 80+ owner was navigating by echo location (and neither of those instruments would have prevented the near collision anyway unless the tug had hailed us on the radio, we had no idea he was even there except for vague engine noises, which were hard to hear over our own little diesel chugging away). He did get us back home eventually, with three other race boats in a line behind us following us, but man, that was hairy. Before the next race I bought a handheld VHF as well as a compass just so they'd be there in my bag if we needed them again. About a month later I bought my first handheld GPS to have it as well.

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5352 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2012 : 18:02:14

Garmin Base Camp is very cool. Whenever I plan out a long trip in LI Sound, I use it, as well as NOAA's tides and currents website to figure my expected speed made good, providing I keep to a schedule. I set up my paper chart, doing a "dead reckoning" process predicting where I expect to be at each hour of the trip. If I do this a few days ahead, I can check NOAA's wind predictions (speed and direction) to let me know whether I will sail, motor sail or motor.
With my trip planned out this way, if the fog rolls in, I can do my best to stay out of busy commercial traffic lanes. That obviously makes you cut your speed too. Then all I have to look out for are other pleasure boats. Keep blowing that airhorn!

Edited by - on

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