On Sun, 22 Apr 2007 21:05:13 -0500, "KLC Lewis"
wrote:

the Cap'n charts are on CD's

The Cap'n should be able to use NOAA's free, down loadable BSB charts.

"Roger Long" wrote in
:

I've seen all the warnings that there are no refunds for unlock codes.
Wadda you bet that, after spending an hour waiting on the support
phone line tomorrow, they tell me I'll just have to purchase another
unlock code?

Now that I've spent all this money, is managing this thing going to be
the never ending nightmare of frustration that Micro$oft has beaten us
into accepting as the human condition?

--
Roger Long



In your position, Roger, I would not HESITATE to ask them if they'd seen
you on the Titanic programs and use that position to get your GPS
unlocked....subito!

If I were a marine electronics manufacturer and a marine architect,
especially one involved with finding the truth of Titanic, called to
complain about his little handheld GPS...knowing the people he even may
know in the marine community, I would be sending out a NEW GPS already
programmed with the MASTER unlock code to ALL the charts so this person
could use it while he is at sea on the next TV voyage.

To do otherwise would be just SUICIDE, not to mention really STUPID!

Larry
--

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 22 Apr 2007 21:05:13 -0500, "KLC Lewis"
wrote:

the Cap'n charts are on CD's

The Cap'n should be able to use NOAA's free, down loadable BSB charts.


Possibly. It comes with all of the US on the CD's, you would really only
need additional charts for outside these areas, Caribbean, etc.

Roger Long wrote:
I feel a little better. My adventure into Garmin world left me with
two GPS units registered. One was a ghost with a unit ID matching
the serial number of the real one and a serial number that came from
God knows where. Since you can only get the charts to unlock with
two units, this meant that I wouldn't be able to load them into a
back up GPS when I purchase one.

I wrote and email to technical support asking them to please kill the
ghost GPS. Immediately after, I went back to the Garmin site and my
account to look around some more. The ghost GPS had already
disappeared! It clearly wasn't a case of the fastest technical
support response on the plant becaust it was less than a minute since
hitting the sent button. The Garmin system must have automatically
checked, figured out that something was bogus, and killed the record.

Cool.

(I'd still buy something else though)

It's easy to confuse the Unit ID with the serial number of the unit.
However, connecting the unit to a laptop or PC with Mapsource installed
searches for and displays the Unit ID, since without this, no connection is
established to enable data, map or chart transfers between.the unit and the
PC,

Unlock codes require the unit ID, area code, and software code (type), for
Garmin to generate the unlock codes. Unlock codes that will often work with
the PC will not unlock maps/charts for the instrument, although unlock codes
for the specific instrument will unlock maps/charts on your laptop or PC.

The reference codes that are supplied with the software you buy, eg
Bluecharts, have to be supplied to Garmin, together with your unit ID,
before they can supply you with an unlock code for that instrument, and ONLY
that instrument. True, Garmin allow you 2 sets of codes with your software,
and it would seem that you would have to re-register your 2nd instrument
(when you buy it) and explain to Garmin that you have mistakenly supplied
them with the wrong unit id the first time you sent the info to them,
otherwise they will assume that you already have 2 instruments and have
used up your allocation of unlock codes.

I don't see the point of buying a second unit, since you will already have
the charts on your laptop and some of these on your handheld GPS. Garmin
however do recognise that some people will own 2 GPS mapping units, hence
their software allows 2 such installations.

One tip Roger. When selecting charts to upload to the unit, you may overlook
the fact that some larger area charts contain smaller area charts, ie the
same area is covered on 2 or more charts, but be aware that the detail
contained in the small area chart can be substantially greater than that
contained in the large area chart, so that zooming in to a large area chart
does not give you the same amount of detail as using the smaller area chart.
I therefore tend to ignore large area charts when uploading and instead use
more small area charts in my instrument (a GPSMAP60CS).

I have also found that road maps, (City Select and City Navigator) over-ride
the BlueCharts when loaded to the same unit, and you have to untick such
maps in the Map Page before you can use the BlueCharts. This can be a
nuisance in coastal areas when you may have used the road map to drive down
to the marina and want to use the BlueChart to navigate out of the marina
and along the coast. This may be specific to my particular instrument, but
it's worth checking if you are faced with a chart with no detail!


Dennis.

Yes, the card reader looks just like a removable thumb drive to the
computer. You can transfer files back and forth using Windows Explorer.
Mine is a Targus TGR-CDR25 and it has got to be the most useful computer
item I ever got for ten bucks. It has slots for four different kinds of
cards.

I think Garmin puts all its copy protection encryption in the file written
to the card. All the maps go in one big file and the GPS or Map Source
program then reads the unit ID numbers included in the file and compare them
with the hardware. I'll be very surprised if you don't find that you can
make as many backups as you want for the GPS(s) you are using or make back
up files on your computer disk that can then be used to make new cards
later. I'll bet you can't view the maps on your laptop though. Please let
me know if you can.

Since the cards can be easily written to, I'll bet that the first GPS you
insert them in writes it's unit number to the card and they won't thereafter
work in other units. You probably "registered" without realizing it.
Garming is putting us through all this to keep a hot gray market in copies
from developing.
--
Roger Long

Roger Long wrote:
Yes, the card reader looks just like a removable thumb drive to the
computer. You can transfer files back and forth using Windows Explorer.
Mine is a Targus TGR-CDR25 and it has got to be the most useful computer
item I ever got for ten bucks. It has slots for four different kinds of
cards.

I think Garmin puts all its copy protection encryption in the file written
to the card. All the maps go in one big file and the GPS or Map Source
program then reads the unit ID numbers included in the file and compare them
with the hardware. I'll be very surprised if you don't find that you can
make as many backups as you want for the GPS(s) you are using or make back
up files on your computer disk that can then be used to make new cards
later. I'll bet you can't view the maps on your laptop though. Please let
me know if you can.

Since the cards can be easily written to, I'll bet that the first GPS you
insert them in writes it's unit number to the card and they won't thereafter
work in other units. You probably "registered" without realizing it.
Garming is putting us through all this to keep a hot gray market in copies
from developing.
--
Roger Long


I too have had so much hassle with Garmin and BlueChart
because of their piracy paranoia that I would seriously
think twice before continuing with this brand. Having
purchased a GPSMAP 172C and the Atlantic BlueChart, plus a
data card to write the relevant Adriatic charts to that I
had paid for, I was ready to set off with my notebook PC for
my boat in Italy.

As I had a few hours to spare I idly put the CD into my
desktop and found that I had to jump through all the on-line
hoops to register and get my unlock codes - a procedure I
could never have embarked on if I had left it to when I was
on board without any internet connection.

Then, after three weeks the unit failed - no power-up. When
I was back home I tried to contact Garmin, to be put on hold
for hours. My e-mails went unanswered. Eventually, after an
incredibly frustrating series of attempts to get a response
I did manage to contact someone in the European repair
centre in the UK who told me to send the unit to them. Here
things got better, I received a new unit in short time at no
cost - other than my courier cost to them.

Then the problems began again. The data card would not read
- I had to again jump through the unlock code hoops on-line
again; now my second unit allowance is used.

I have noticeable chart errors for the northern Adriatic -
possibly these are fundamental errors in the original
Italian charts, although a friend with C-Map does not have
them. I reported them to the Garmin cartographic group -
without acknowledgement. I did note a later upgrade to my
set of charts but have no intention of having to pay for it,
which I would have to do, even if I hadn't used up the
second permitted unlock code.

No, never again Garmin.

BrianH.

"Dennis Pogson" wrote

One tip Roger. When selecting charts to upload to the unit, you may
overlook
the fact that some larger area charts contain smaller area charts, ie the
same area is covered on 2 or more charts, but be aware that the detail
contained in the small area chart can be substantially greater than that
contained in the large area chart, so that zooming in to a large area
chart
does not give you the same amount of detail as using the smaller area
chart.


Are you saying that, if you have both charts loaded and active and zoom in,
the unit will give priority to the large scale chart and suddenly present
you with no detail as you sail into a bay or harbor? This is a very
important point because it could lead to loss of a boat and life in a high
stress situation. Having to suddenly go back into set up and turn off the
large scale chart just as I'm entering a harbor would probably be enough to
lead me to Ebay the whole thing. I'll check this on mine but I'd appreciate
your (or other Garmin user) clarifiying as these kinds of operation are not
always consistent.

The road / chart conflict I know about. That's why I'm segregating road and
marine data on two separate data cards.

--
Roger Long

"Charlie Morgan" wrote

If you connect your GPS to the USB port on your laptop and connect to
Garmin's
website, it will automagically get your serial number for you.

It would have been nice it it had said that on the web site instead of
telling me to look for serial numbers in places where they weren't. A big
note to register the GPS first would also be good. I followed the other
directions properly except for registering first and it didn't send back an
error message but simply made up a bogus serial number.

In you other post you mention that it is easy to delete units. I just went
back and through the site and don't see any choice for doing that. I tried
right clicking, hitting the delete button, clicking "More Information", etc.
If it's there, they don't make it very obvious.

I'm beginning to think that the underlying system is better and more robust
than the poor web site design would indicate though.

--
Roger Long

Roger,

on my 276 I had to
1. hit menu twice
2. select the "set-up" choice from the list of tabs (all of this from
memory as I no longer have this unit)
3. then hit menu again and on the bottom of the window is something
like "system information".


hope this help.

Ed Reiss

"Larry" wrote in message
...

In your position, Roger, I would not HESITATE to ask them if they'd seen
you on the Titanic programs and use that position to get your GPS
unlocked....subito!

If I were a marine electronics manufacturer and a marine architect,
especially one involved with finding the truth of Titanic, called to
complain about his little handheld GPS...knowing the people he even may
know in the marine community, I would be sending out a NEW GPS already
programmed with the MASTER unlock code to ALL the charts so this person
could use it while he is at sea on the next TV voyage.

To do otherwise would be just SUICIDE, not to mention really STUPID!

Larry
--

Yeah but....then they would expect him to hold up that Garmin GPS every
close shot Roger was in and give a blurp about how he couldn't have done
anything without his trusty tool.