"Roger Long" wrote in message
...

"KLC Lewis" wrote

FWIW, I have two Garmin GPS units -- one on Essie, one on the Trophy 180,
and they both set up easy as pie. I don't recall ever having to
"register" either unit to get them working, and I have a bluechip card
that I use in both of them, depending upon which boat is going out. Never
a problem.

That's very interesting. Maybe the chips, which are the same price as
equal coverage area unlocks from the CD, are more swapable from GPS to
GPS. I went with the CD so I could do trip planning on the computer at
home and because you can get an unlock code for a new area in minutes
instead of waiting for a chip to arrive in the mail. You could do it with
a laptop via WiFi somewhere.

When you unlock a region on the CD, you have to enter the information for
your GPS at the same time. The software then encrypts the data card so
that the maps will only unlock in the two GPS units you entered
information for.

Can you stick your data card in a USB card reader (available for ten bucks
from Radio Shack) and read the charts back into Mapsource on a computer?
I'm curious but I'll bet not. The would have killed the rational for
buying the CD if they allowed that.

I wonder if you can make a back up copy of your data cards with a card
reader. I'll bet they have figured out a way to prevent that as well.

--
Roger Long


Ah, I see now. That probably is the difference. I'll have to get that reader
(does it allow writing too? Special software?) and see if will allow me to
make backups. I have a card for Lake Michigan and another for Southern
California (obviously not much use to me anymore, as long as I'm here), and
would hate to lose them. On the other hand, though, I have The Cap'n and its
charts, so a loss of bluechip data doesn't leave me in the dark. And since
the Cap'n charts are on CD's, if I lose the computer I can always rebuild
them.