#@%$! Garmin

[catalinajack]

So, what experience have you had with them? Have you used their customer service or no need to do so? If you believe they are underrated, help raise that rating by elaborating. Main reason I believe they're downrated is service history and perhaps that has improved.

I installed a Simrad suite five years ago. I have no experience with their customer service cuz it was plug and play from the first day and not a single problem since.

 

[FWT]

B&B: Good points. To save some electrons I won't hit the "quote" option.

Good point about software vs hardware. But you cite Microsoft, and I'll cite them back. I am typing this on a Dell desktop that is roughly a decade old, and running W10. I have not checked to see if it can handle W11, but its a 50-50 bet. I have chosen to buy "up" on PC purchases with more horsepower than needed today, because in the end its cheaper and easier to keep the PC working longer using more horsepower tomorrow. During the decade I'm on my third keyboard, second hard drive, and second power supply. Old software works on new operating systems for a long time.

Maybe I'm just grumpy. But many have more than one MFD on the boat, at costs of let's say $5k each. That's a lot to have to discard after 4 years, it seems to me. I wasn't thinking of using Garmin, but I'd avoid that track record. But that's just me.

 

[BandB]

I dunno if I'd say never, but if they're going to plan a set service life to save support costs it should be based on the users. If 95% of people replace X device by the 10 year mark, it's likely not worth supporting longer than 10 years even if they could. But if they say "well, if we end support at 5 years, people will have to buy a new one sooner" then it's a problem.

What do they do when the old equipment just isn't compatible with the new software? They have to continue to make improvements in order to make sales.

I'm sure they look at the percentage of people still using the old but don't think they approach 95%. Problem is there are minimal revenues tied to the old. Perhaps they should consider something more like a subscription plan, an annual cost, a maintenance plan? Would you pay an annual fee for extended support?

I can't imagine any technology that it's worth supporting ten years from a vendor standpoint. With technology moving so rapidly, it's really difficult to continue to support old systems. It's very costly to build backward and forward compatibility.

I don't have the answers, just know the difficulties and costs.

 

[DDW]

I dunno if I'd say never, but if they're going to plan a set service life to save support costs it should be based on the users. If 95% of people replace X device by the 10 year mark, it's likely not worth supporting longer than 10 years even if they could. But if they say "well, if we end support at 5 years, people will have to buy a new one sooner" then it's a problem.

If they are planning a shorter than market standard support life for the product, that should be prominently featured in their marketing literature. How many people would buy a Garmin product if it said on the label, "support will end in 3 years"?

 

[Barking Sands]

Would love to know the answer to that question also! Please let us know what you discover.


I also run OpenCPN on a laptop as a backup. Sure would be nice to have one seamless system, that does not cost a fortune, at both helms. Oh - and a lifespan of >4 years would be nice as well...

Ok..I was in the garage earlier and set it all up on the bench. The two units do recognize each other. I can not send the Navionics Vision+ maps from the 923XSV to the 741XS. I do think I could have viewed the G2 Vision card on the 943XSV since it was an option but I didnt do it. I just wanted the Navionics stuff to go to both.

The 741XS is a used unit that came with the boat. I attempted to update the software but was unable since it was registered to the PO. I opened a chat with a Garmin tech and he said he would start the process to reach out to the registered owner of the 741XS and if there was no response within 3 days they would send me an email to re-register the unit in my name and then I could do the update. I then asked him about the displaying the new charts on the 741XS when networked with the 923XSV and he said it would not. I will take that as a no and a no from Garmin and my own attempt.

The next question is do I sell the two 741XS and buy another new unit?
Retain the two 741 units and still network them and use the 741s as displays for the Radar and maybe autopilot control and other things like camera display, Fusion control?

I am leaning towards just getting another newr unit. The 923XS was not as big as I thought it was going to be. Maybe need a larger screen.

 

[markpj23]

... I can not send the Navionics Vision+ maps from the 923XSV to the 741XS. .... I opened a chat with a Garmin tech ... then asked him about the displaying the new charts on the 741XS when networked with the 923XSV and he said it would not. ..

Many thanks for this research!


As the line from the movie goes.. " I am SHOCKED, SHOCKED to hear that .." the new charts will not display on the old equipment.

 

[Iggy]

Ok..I was in the garage earlier and set it all up on the bench. The two units do recognize each other. I can not send the Navionics Vision+ maps from the 923XSV to the 741XS. I do think I could have viewed the G2 Vision card on the 943XSV since it was an option but I didnt do it. I just wanted the Navionics stuff to go to both.

The 741XS is a used unit that came with the boat. I attempted to update the software but was unable since it was registered to the PO. I opened a chat with a Garmin tech and he said he would start the process to reach out to the registered owner of the 741XS and if there was no response within 3 days they would send me an email to re-register the unit in my name and then I could do the update. I then asked him about the displaying the new charts on the 741XS when networked with the 923XSV and he said it would not. I will take that as a no and a no from Garmin and my own attempt.

The next question is do I sell the two 741XS and buy another new unit?
Retain the two 741 units and still network them and use the 741s as displays for the Radar and maybe autopilot control and other things like camera display, Fusion control?

I am leaning towards just getting another newr unit. The 923XS was not as big as I thought it was going to be. Maybe need a larger screen.

I kept my two 741s as back up. So last year around May I called them because I was not able to do a firmware update. I was told that I had the latest and they are no longer supporting it. It lest thats what I was told.

 

[Barking Sands]

While looking through all the details on the 741 various screens I saw that this unit was from 2014. I don't think anything has ever been updated so once I get it registered I will see if I can do an update. But even if I can't I was struck by how well the 8 year old 741xs worked next to the brand new 923xsv. Yes the screen was slightly more pixelated,, not as sharp. Yes the 923 with the brand new Navionics vision plus displays a massive amount of other details right on the plotter screen in comparison. If you toggle for all the options to be displayed it will show everything that Navionics typically showed us all points of interest from Active Captain plus other details. Each on screen icon clickable to show eateries, POI, bridge info, anchorages etc etc all with phone numbers, details, sharp photos, user ratings and on and on. With everything on its enough to choke up the screen with with more info than you can handle. But it's easy to just toggle on what is needed. But the 741xs was perfectly usable, especially with an old g2 vision card.

I am really just rambling here...just trying to make sense of this in my head. Its now clear that this was Garmins goal for sometime. To put Navionics, Active Captain, crowd sourced quick draw maps and other basic Garmin Nav info all inside thier units. It's a ton of data. I am sure it would choke up the old 741xs processor. All this data on the plotter lets a cruiser use a single device vs a plotter and tablet side by side as so many have grown accustomed to. Imo it frees up that tablet or phone to do other things while under way. It's perfect for cruisers and loopers. Practically useless for a commercial vessel.

Is Garmin guilty of some unscrupulous activities as some seem to suggest? At this point I don't think so. To me it looks like for the last number of years they have had a plan for progress that would coalesce to a single destination at some point. That seems to be here with the Navionics Vision +. It seems obvious that to get to this point, especially given the various acquisitions, there would be casualties. However I am betting that this current format will be the format for the foreseeable future. I could be wrong about that. But I am going to bet that this new 923xsv using the new Navionics Vision + will likely be usable and supported for some time. I guess one thing to watch for is future Garmin acquisitions.

 

[Iggy]

I kept my 741 rather than sell them for most of the same reasons. My boat even come with an 12 yr. old Simrad MFD, but want the 741s as backup units too. Its not a bad unit at all. Its the size of the screen for me.

As mentioned, my new boat came with Simrad. I wanted Garmin, but as time went on I found Simrad to be better.

Other small plus for Simrad. The my boat came with a 10yr old radar that used "their" ethernet cable. I wanted to upgrade, but I though I would have to replace the cable too. Nope, Simrad made a adapter and used the same cable.

 

[Barking Sands]

I kept my 741 rather than sell them for most of the same reasons. My boat even come with an 12 yr. old Simrad MFD, but want the 741s as backup units too. Its not a bad unit at all. Its the size of the screen for me.

Really me too. My eyebulbs are not what they used to be and I need as big of a screen as I can afford..lol. Cant see anything up close without those cheaters-->

 

[ranger58sb]

If they are planning a shorter than market standard support life for the product, that should be prominently featured in their marketing literature. How many people would buy a Garmin product if it said on the label, "support will end in 3 years"?

Good point. As it happens, various reading had already suggested to me that "long term support" and "Garmin" wouldn't happen in the same sentence...

So I went back to Furuno for our suite build-out. As long as the Garmin stuff works, fine. If it craps out, I'll have non-Garmin options. Very heavily influenced by their apparently very short term support windows.

I can't imagine any technology that it's worth supporting ten years from a vendor standpoint. With technology moving so rapidly, it's really difficult to continue to support old systems. It's very costly to build backward and forward compatibility.

Agree.

OTOH, "technology moving so rapidly" is often misleading. Increased or improved capability can be good things, but they can also be ho-hum (and nonsensically expensive) for many who don't really need those advances.

Contrast the guy who buys a new phone when the old one breaks... versus the guy who buys a new phone every time a new model is introduced. Yes, the new model may bring additional capabilities to the table. Yes, many people who don't need/want or can't afford those capabilities can be well served with the older stuff.

We're going to have a new TZT3 MFD installed. I haven't identified anything new that I really enthusiastically care about, compared to our earlier NN3D. Most of our current focus is more about external issues I could have done differently before -- flush mounting instead of bracket mounting, fishfinder within the MFD instead of a separate unit -- and those are more about available real estate than they are about the technology itself. Wireless? What for? Et cetera...

-Chris

 

[rslifkin]

What do they do when the old equipment just isn't compatible with the new software? They have to continue to make improvements in order to make sales.

I'm sure they look at the percentage of people still using the old but don't think they approach 95%. Problem is there are minimal revenues tied to the old. Perhaps they should consider something more like a subscription plan, an annual cost, a maintenance plan? Would you pay an annual fee for extended support?

I can't imagine any technology that it's worth supporting ten years from a vendor standpoint. With technology moving so rapidly, it's really difficult to continue to support old systems. It's very costly to build backward and forward compatibility.

I don't have the answers, just know the difficulties and costs.

It depends on what we define as "support". I would expect that at some point in the equipment's life, it'll stop getting new software, as a new user interface or some new feature or something may just not be practical or possible on the old hardware. But I'd expect chart updates (and another data updates) until it's either old enough that most people wouldn't be using it anymore or there's a reason it can't reasonably be supported.


So in the Garmin case, it's reasonable to say "units older than X hardware won't support the new charts, but there will still be updates for the old style charts they do support until Y date a few years in the future". But if they say "oh, sorry, we only make these new charts now, if you've got a unit that doesn't support them you're SOL" that's poor business.



In general, stuff like a chartplotter has a longer working life than something like a cell phone. By the time a phone is a few years old and needs a new battery, people will often upgrade instead of spending money on a battery for a 4 year old phone. But with a chartplotter, if you don't need some new feature a new one has or have another reason to upgrade, it's common to see something in use for 10 - 15 years before it gets replaced. Cutting off support for new chart and other data before then artificially shortens the lifecycle of the product.



Interoperability between generations of stuff and parts support for old hardware is a concern too. If a newer plotter integrates fine with an older one, it's easier to drop hardware support for the old one (as someone can just replace 1 unit in a system if they have a failure). But if you'd have to replace the whole system, longer hardware support is needed. Users get annoyed when 1 piece of a big system breaks at 4 years old and they have to replace everything if they can't hunt down a used replacement.

 

[sunchaser]

Excuse the rant BUT...


7612xsv chartplotter bought by PO for $3700 a mere 4 years ago is now incompatible with the new Navionics charts. And all that remains is for me to wait until the G2 / G3 charts are no longer updated for this unit so I can toss it in the trash...

Ditto OCD's # 5 post. Maybe you don't need new charts. No need to trash a perfectly good (radar too?) plotter. In a pinch get a bargain basement laptop and load Coastal Explorer. Then you can get new charts every few years for a reasonable price and if really curious compare to the Garmin when in spotty areas.

 

[Hippocampus]

Our new to us boat had old (e series) stuff from RM. boat we sold had axiom we put in a few months before selling because the prior e series failed and having something that worked was a necessity. We were doing international cruising at the time. So when it came time to replace the electronics on our new to us boat had no interest in using RM. I have a very negative view of garmin. You enter garmin world and they nickel and dime you. That plus the limited service life puts me off. Although the interface is intuitive it’s a PIA to get things the way you want if your a outlier in how you like to look at things. So garmin was a no go.
Didn’t want to drop the boat bucks on furuno at the level it makes sense so went with Simrad. Had some troubles modifying things to look the way I wanted. Emailed them. Got a response within 30 minutes. Had another issue and emailed them. They told me to call and gave me a phone number. When I had time and was on the boat I called. They walked me through the issue on the phone. Yes, I got good service from RM if I drove up to New Hampshire and was in their face but so-so if I was in the Caribbean. However to date and it early days Simrad has been very helpful.

 

[tpbrady]

After using Coastal Explorer for about 2 weeks in 2006 in a 22ft C-Dory, I decided I would never go back to using anybody’s MFD. The large screens, controlling the system with a trackball, route planning, chart updates, and the fact we could watch a DVD on a rainy night sealed it. I have bought the software once, paid for one update, and only bought Canadian charts in 16 years. The MFD I have is a Garmin 4212 (came with the boat) and it is used for sonar and radar. It’s the 3rd nav backup after a Raymarine a67 using NOAA charts, and Navionics on an IPad.

Tom

 

[slowgoesit]

I dunno if I'd say never, but if they're going to plan a set service life to save support costs it should be based on the users. If 95% of people replace X device by the 10 year mark, it's likely not worth supporting longer than 10 years even if they could. But if they say "well, if we end support at 5 years, people will have to buy a new one sooner" then it's a problem.

If they are planning a shorter than market standard support life for the product, that should be prominently featured in their marketing literature. How many people would buy a Garmin product if it said on the label, "support will end in 3 years"?

The issue that I have is that a company may offer support for say, 10 years. But when does that 10 years start? If someone buys the hardware in the first year it came out, than he's good for almost 10 years. . . That's GOOD! The problem comes in when people buy in the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th etc year. Do you think they are going to come out as DDW says at 9 years and say "Heh, buy our great hardware now! But be aware that we will be discontinuing support for it NEXT YEAR!" No, of course they're not going to say that, but I think that when spending what a typical MFD chartplotter costs, it should be supported for at least 10 years from when the LAST HARDWARE is sold . . . Otherwise they need to disclose that the last guy that buys it will only have support for a month or so. . .

 

[rslifkin]

The issue that I have is that a company may offer support for say, 10 years. But when does that 10 years start? If someone buys the hardware in the first year it came out, than he's good for almost 10 years. . . That's GOOD! The problem comes in when people buy in the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th etc year. Do you think they are going to come out as DDW says at 9 years and say "Heh, buy our great hardware now! But be aware that we will be discontinuing support for it NEXT YEAR!" No, of course they're not going to say that, but I think that when spending what a typical MFD chartplotter costs, it should be supported for at least 10 years from when the LAST HARDWARE is sold . . . Otherwise they need to disclose that the last guy that buys it will only have support for a month or so. . .

Yes, I'm thinking of support lifecycle as years after product sales lifecycle. So if the target is 10 years and they sell it for 4, the first units would be supported for 14 years.

 

[amapola]

I have the Garmin 5212 which is still relevant but I also have an iPad Pro with Navionics and Aqua Maps.

 

[DDW]

The issue that I have is that a company may offer support for say, 10 years. But when does that 10 years start? If someone buys the hardware in the first year it came out, than he's good for almost 10 years. . . That's GOOD! The problem comes in when people buy in the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th etc year. Do you think they are going to come out as DDW says at 9 years and say "Heh, buy our great hardware now! But be aware that we will be discontinuing support for it NEXT YEAR!" No, of course they're not going to say that, but I think that when spending what a typical MFD chartplotter costs, it should be supported for at least 10 years from when the LAST HARDWARE is sold . . . Otherwise they need to disclose that the last guy that buys it will only have support for a month or so. . .

It is a little more insidious than even that. On the 9th year into their 10 year product cycle, they have the next one well along in development, to be introduced the next year. If I'm buying, I want to wait for that new product because in any circumstance, it will be supported longer. But they keep those introduction plans very secret, because they don't want to freeze sales of existing inventory. So if I buy, I get old product, with a short support life.

I've been on the other side of the table too, working for a company that had a 30 day full refund for any reason policy. A result of that was anytime a product was upgraded (or the price lowered) you were going to get 30 days of sales back, guaranteed.

 

[rcsomany]

A different experience

I have had a Garmin 7612xsv since mid-2015. I have been planning my routes on an old iPad and uploading to the 7612xsv for execution. Last summer, I was introduced to the Navionics iBoating Android app, which I liked enough to buy a one-year subscription.

I was keen to abandon the iPad and change to the iBoating app but I was slowed down by two problems. First, I had no way of migrating the scores of planned routes from the iPad app to the Android app. Second, I could find no way of uploading routes planned with the iBoating app from the Android tablet to the 7612xsv.

In the past couple of weeks, I found solutions to both of these problems. I extracted the routes with the "email gpx file" function in the iPad app and opened the gpx file attached to the email with the iBoating Android app and the routes all appeared. Uploading to the 7612xsv is via a new version of the Garmin ActiveCaptain Android app, which will synchronize with supported chartplotters, of which the 7612xsv is one.

Through that one subscription, I now have access to iBoating on multiple devices that all synchronise automatically:
• Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphone. The screen is too small for detailed route planning but I see it being handy when the evening's conversation turns to navigation topics. You basically have your chart folio and routes in your pocket. For example, the automatic route function can be used to quickly get an idea of the length of a route being discussed.
• Nexus 7" tablet. I take this in the dinghy when exploring complicated archipelagos. Since the app tracks location I have a continuous fix and the track can be saved for future reference/discussion.
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1" tablet. This is now a large enough screen to plan on but this tablet also acts as a remote for the chartplotter itself. I have a rugged case, mounting bracket, and sunshade for it. This eliminates the need for a second chartplotter on the bridge. Inadequate screen brightness can be a problem in bright sunlight, however.
• Windows 11 Surface Book running the iBoating app under the BluStacks Android emulator. This will replace the vintage iPad as my new route planning tool. The Surface Book has a 13.5" screen that detaches from the keyboard to make a standalone tablet. At home, plugged into a docking station, it drives two external monitors - a 24" and a 27". I put the iBoating app on the 27" monitor and run a browser and other Windows apps on the 24.

Since I had all the hardware, the only cost was the annual subscription (currently $21.99 USD). I was pleased with the economy of the solution and impressed that the old 7612xsv still has some life left in it.

 

[markpj23]

I have had a Garmin 7612xsv since mid-2015. I have been planning my routes on an old iPad and uploading to the 7612xsv for execution. Last summer, I was introduced to the Navionics iBoating Android app, which I liked enough to buy a one-year subscription.

I was keen to abandon the iPad and change to the iBoating app but I was slowed down by two problems. First, I had no way of migrating the scores of planned routes from the iPad app to the Android app. Second, I could find no way of uploading routes planned with the iBoating app from the Android tablet to the 7612xsv.

In the past couple of weeks, I found solutions to both of these problems. I extracted the routes with the "email gpx file" function in the iPad app and opened the gpx file attached to the email with the iBoating Android app and the routes all appeared. Uploading to the 7612xsv is via a new version of the Garmin ActiveCaptain Android app, which will synchronize with supported chartplotters, of which the 7612xsv is one.

Through that one subscription, I now have access to iBoating on multiple devices that all synchronise automatically:
• Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphone. The screen is too small for detailed route planning but I see it being handy when the evening's conversation turns to navigation topics. You basically have your chart folio and routes in your pocket. For example, the automatic route function can be used to quickly get an idea of the length of a route being discussed.
• Nexus 7" tablet. I take this in the dinghy when exploring complicated archipelagos. Since the app tracks location I have a continuous fix and the track can be saved for future reference/discussion.
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1" tablet. This is now a large enough screen to plan on but this tablet also acts as a remote for the chartplotter itself. I have a rugged case, mounting bracket, and sunshade for it. This eliminates the need for a second chartplotter on the bridge. Inadequate screen brightness can be a problem in bright sunlight, however.
• Windows 11 Surface Book running the iBoating app under the BluStacks Android emulator. This will replace the vintage iPad as my new route planning tool. The Surface Book has a 13.5" screen that detaches from the keyboard to make a standalone tablet. At home, plugged into a docking station, it drives two external monitors - a 24" and a 27". I put the iBoating app on the 27" monitor and run a browser and other Windows apps on the 24.

Since I had all the hardware, the only cost was the annual subscription (currently $21.99 USD). I was pleased with the economy of the solution and impressed that the old 7612xsv still has some life left in it.

Wow - I can't help thinking about all the "unnatural acts" you have to go through to arrive at your destination. Kudos to you for having found a way. I may look into doing this although I am leery of running n Android emulator on a Windows product.


Makes me long for the days when Garmin BlueChart ran on my laptop for route planning and export to the MFD was easy-peezy...

 

[Nepidae]

Garmin

It is a shame that people like you post before you have done your research.

Here (https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/8807#devices) is a list, and YES the 7612xsv is on it, for 1 of their chart kits.

I have an 8616xsv and am looking forward to the most recent updates, seen here (https://www.garmin.com/en-US/MarineChart-MapPurchase/) as to what they contain. Big new addition to the kits is more frequent updates.

Here (https://www.navionics.com/usa/charts/features/garmin) is some Navionics info.

I always buy the Vision cards for the added contents.

Please people, research the product before you go off, it is a disservice to all to provide inaccurate info here.

 

[catalinajack]

It is a little more insidious than even that. On the 9th year into their 10 year product cycle, they have the next one well along in development, to be introduced the next year. If I'm buying, I want to wait for that new product because in any circumstance, it will be supported longer. But they keep those introduction plans very secret, because they don't want to freeze sales of existing inventory. So if I buy, I get old product, with a short support life.



I've been on the other side of the table too, working for a company that had a 30 day full refund for any reason policy. A result of that was anytime a product was upgraded (or the price lowered) you were going to get 30 days of sales back, guaranteed.

This is no different than buying any other electronic product. It is not planned obsolescence or lack of support. It is just the inexorable advance of technology. Sure, tech companies could keep shelves full of spare parts, just in case but consumers would be paying for that inventory maintenance.

 

[DDW]

Not spare parts. Software. And in this case data to display, the sole reason for this device's existence. Let's say you buy a TV set, and two years later it quits receiving anything, not because it is broken, but because the signals are incompatible. Happy with that?

That actually happened with TV a few years back. But most responsible vendors noted it prominently on the box so you could make an informed decision.

 

[BandB]

It is a shame that people like you post before you have done your research.

Here (https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/8807#devices) is a list, and YES the 7612xsv is on it, for 1 of their chart kits.

I have an 8616xsv and am looking forward to the most recent updates, seen here (https://www.garmin.com/en-US/MarineChart-MapPurchase/) as to what they contain. Big new addition to the kits is more frequent updates.

Here (https://www.navionics.com/usa/charts/features/garmin) is some Navionics info.

I always buy the Vision cards for the added contents.

Please people, research the product before you go off, it is a disservice to all to provide inaccurate info here.

If you're going to reference and attack a poster, please at least say who and preferably quote the part of the post you disagree with. Instead your post is an attack on an unknown person, although that may be best.

 

[catalinajack]

Not spare parts. Software. And in this case data to display, the sole reason for this device's existence. Let's say you buy a TV set, and two years later it quits receiving anything, not because it is broken, but because the signals are incompatible. Happy with that?

That actually happened with TV a few years back. But most responsible vendors noted it prominently on the box so you could make an informed decision.

So, if the software is not updated somehow, magically, the computer stops working? I don't think so. Microsoft stopped updating Windows 7 many years ago yet computers using it will still run.

 

[rslifkin]

So, if the software is not updated somehow, magically, the computer stops working? I don't think so. Microsoft stopped updating Windows 7 many years ago yet computers using it will still run.

It doesn't just stop working, but depending on the type of updates, it may become effectively unusable. As an example, if you care even the slightest bit about security, as soon as security updates ended for Windows 7, any PC running Windows 7 should have never, ever seen any form of internet connection or connection outside of an isolated network ever again.



For a chartplotter, no more functionality or software updates is generally no big deal. But no more chart updates or updates to other data feeds it may use is a problem.

 

[DDW]

Microsoft updates are not a good benchmark for anything. The last stable release of that operating system was XP3.

I'm happy to run old software, it does just what was advertised when I bought it. However when the data that drives it goes stale, and the company exclusively responsible for that data quits supplying it, you now own a doorstop, not a piece of electronics.

I will note that I can still buy a Navionics chart set for a Raymarine chartplotter purchased 18 years ago.

 

[rwidman]

It's a lot of fun for some people to bash Garmin just because they are the biggest player in the field. It's a lot like bashing Bayliner.

Garmin doesn't issue firmware updates for obsolete plotters, but as far as I know, they do issue chart updates. Not "Navionics" charts, "Garmin" charts.

As far as not supporting old equipment, you won't find Dell supplying parts or software for a ten year old computer either. It's the entire industry.

 

[bowball]

Garmin pushed the industry ahead in its user interface. Definitely 5 to 10 years ago they were a great choice, and one I would have absolutely made. Very happy they did that. Now I believe Furuno with the tz3 has leapfrogged them in UI for new installs.