Credit where credit is due and visa versa. Vesper Cortex

[cks]

Credit where credit is due and visa versa.

I am finishing up my installation of a new Vesper Cortex VHF/AIS system.To say I am excited about finishing everything up would be an understatement.
The system looks like it will meet my expectations.

Unfortunately, Vesper’s customer support falls woefully short.

I installed the system myself. Before I initialized the system I downloaded the Cortex Monitor and initialized that. I thought this was part of the initial install. While it gave me three free months which is followed by a maintenance fee. I was mistaken to think this was part of the initialization.
My boat is wintered stored for a little while longer, just in time to eat up the 3 months free monitor which obviously was never used.

I contacted Vesper customer support. After a back-and-forth I was given the impression that if I sent my serial number to Vesper customer support, they would extend the time so I would have my first three months for the start of the season. And then they reneged on their offer.

As a Grand Banks owner who is used to excellent customer service from vendors like Grand Banks, Simrad (Auto pilot) and Furuno, this was definitely not the customer support that I would have expected from a high end product mfr. like Vesper. Especially when one spends $2,500 for a radio w/ AIS.
Just sayin….

 

[Retriever]

Years ago I had a Vesper XB8000 fail and had excellent customer service from Vesper and Milltech Marine near Seattle. They replaced the unit free, with little hassle, and loaned me a unit while they were diagnosing mine.

Vesper was recently acquired by Garmin. How recent was your customer service experience? I wonder if your initial contact was pre-acquisition and your more recent contact was post-acquisition. I'm not sure when exactly the sale happened, but it was announced in early January of this year.

 

[cks]

That was EXACTLY the kind of excellent customer support I had anticipated. I purchased this winter just before the Garmin acquisition.

 

[magna 6882]

I think we are going to see a continued reduction in garmin support. As they expand there product lines by buying everyone up they will ultimately feel the customer has no value. The nice thing is this will open the doors for other companies to build more market share.
I have had poor luck working with there support center a few times and get better help here on the forums

 

[Comodave]

I just took out the Garmin equipment and put in new Raymarine. I have had wonderful support from Raymarine over the years.

 

[sunchaser]

dks
Pardon my ignorance, but why a maintenance fee?

 

[Iggy]

dks
Pardon my ignorance, but why a maintenance fee?

Yes, why?

 

[Shrew]

So you activated a 3 month trial with no intention of using the service beyond that trial period. You also activated the trial during the winter months, when you had no intention of using the trial. Now you're asking to extend the same 3 month trial that you didn't use and have no intention of continuing. Since they refuse to extend the trial you already exercised, it's their customer service that you're criticizing.

Just buy the service, or lick your wounds for a making a short-sighted mistake. There is no need to try and trash the company's support over something that they shouldn't have to own to begin with.

 

[magna 6882]

So you activated a 3 month trial with no intention of using the service beyond that trial period. You also activated the trial during the winter months, when you had no intention of using the trial. Now you're asking to extend the same 3 month trial that you didn't use and have no intention of continuing. Since they refuse to extend the trial you already exercised, it's their customer service that you're criticizing.

Just buy the service, or lick your wounds for a making a short-sighted mistake. There is no need to try and trash the company's support over something that they shouldn't have to own to begin with.

I believe where the OP got mislead was the need to start the service to confirm the install was correct.I am not speaking from any experience with cortex but garmin does not go out of there way to warn customers.I wonder of one didnt confirm the system worked and later found it didn't then how would that affect warranty? The only real solution is dont by some of these products until boating season.

 

[TedD]

Credit where credit is due and visa versa. Reply.

We appreciate the comments about our Monitoring app. We are always concerned when someone is not happy with our products or services (in this case).

We have tried to make it clear to our customers, that when they install the Cortex on their vessel, and then use the Monitor app to pair it to the Cortex, that the free 90 day trial period is beginning, (even allowing it to begin later).

Please see the attached screen shot which comes up after creating the monitor account.

We would like your members input about this?
We wanted to make it clear that the trial period was beginning, but perhaps it is not.

What do you think?

We want to make the out of box experience for our customers as pleasant as possible, and for everyone to enjoy all of the benefits of the Cortex immediately. We also wanted to allow our customers to have an adequate length of time to trial the service, before we began charging for the subscription.


One member, in response to this post asked "why a maintenance fee?" I'd like to clarify that.

There is not a maintenance fee for any of our Vesper products. The Monitoring app is using a cellular based data service, which we do have to purchase from suppliers to be able to provide our monitoring services to our customers.

I hope this helps to illuminate the issue a bit, and we look forward to your feedback.

Ted D

Customer Support
Vesper Marine- Garmin

 

[Airstream345]

I self installed a Cortex (replacing a perfectly good Vesper 8000) and found their customer support to be outstanding.

Recently the base unit refused to upgrade. I worked with support through Vesper’s portal and after a number of tests, sending logs, etc they determined it was a hardware issue and shipped me a brand new unit.

Excellent service.

The monitoring app is separate from the onboard app. While that is confusing it’s very clear when you are starting the free trial for monitoring.

 

[Porgy]

We have tried to make it clear to our customers, that when they install the Cortex on their vessel, and then use the Monitor app to pair it to the Cortex, that the free 90 day trial period is beginning, (even allowing it to begin later).

I found that to be perfectly clear. It’s as clear or better than other types of products that offer free trials.

 

[Iggy]

Thank you, now I understand better of what's going on. I to have the Vesper 8000, so the trail period was a little confusing since there is none.

For what its worth and it may help others. I did have a problem with my 8000 after I moved it from one boat to another. I had it in my head that that both the marine radio and AIS could use the same VHF antenna. They make splitters, right? So no problems. Well...........

Now I installed it on my new boat and bought another VHF antenna. Friends were telling me, one minute I was on their GPS and than gone. I called Vasper and they asked, what is the VSWR? It was high so they said you have the wrong antenna. By luck on may last boat I bought a broad band VHF antenna without knowing better. On this boat I bought a narrow band. I ended up installing a true AIS antenna. Off the top of my head marine VHF is 156hz and AIS is 158Hz.

The real point is, Vesper found the problem within minutes which was very helpful.

 

[cks]

Full disclosure here.
Yep, I know I made an error.
I realized as soon as I did it that I chose an incorrect path to Vesper Cortex initialization.
Vesper is absolutely correct with their information.
I own it.

However, I was greatly surprised, and remain so, that Vesper chose to reject my request. My interpretation of Vesper’s inquiry for the S/N of the M1 for the cloud engineer to review was perceived by me as a positive action. Based upon that request I had anticipated that this subscription would be adjusted or cancelled so I may resubscribe. Anyone who received this type of response might have come up with a similar expectation.
This is the crux of my frustration and it will remain so.

Thank you Vesper for making a fine product. It is the juxtaposition of such a fine product compared to being so very disappointed by what I perceive is poor customer service and being wronged. ( and continue to do so) that prompts such a visceral response. It would have taken so little effort on their behalf and the result would have been a post on this site about how great Vesper’s customer service is, even when the customer makes a bonehead decision.

To be clear, the cost of the service was NEVER the motivation for my response.

I stand by my assertion the Vesper made a bad customer service call and will inform others to take heed when inquired upon. I truly wish Vesper would reverse their decision.

I fully intend to utilize the monitor and move forward from here.

 

[Airstream345]

cks - you make a fair point. That would've been an easy fix in what is otherwise a good service reputation. Maybe reach out to Ted?

 

[Billeilers]

I had a Vesper Xb -8000 which I installed myself. I had a problem ( which I caused myself) while sailing in Maine and they called me from New Zealand. Got me on line again. Outstanding service!

 

[cks]

I truly wished I had the same response. Like you, my situation was self inflicted.
Unlike you they chose a different path. Perhaps it’s Garmin’s influence? I haven’t a clue. All I can tell you is it would’ve taken little to no effort to rectify the situation and then this post would have a completely different tenor.

 

[Billeilers]

Yes, it was pre Garmin. But I have had pretty good service from Garmin also. Particularly when I wanted to something with the chart plotter and “knew” there must be away but couldn’t figure it out. They have always come to the rescue!

 

[Helmsman]

Now I installed it on my new boat and bought another VHF antenna. Friends were telling me, one minute I was on their GPS and than gone. I called Vasper and they asked, what is the VSWR? It was high so they said you have the wrong antenna. By luck on may last boat I bought a broad band VHF antenna without knowing better. On this boat I bought a narrow band. I ended up installing a true AIS antenna. Off the top of my head marine VHF is 156hz and AIS is 158Hz.

The real point is, Vesper found the problem within minutes which was very helpful.

Just an FYI, VHF is 156 MHZ but AIS is 162 MHZ. Morad makes a 6db 159 MHZ antenna that folks will use for both VHF and AIS. Of course, the "best" solution is a separate antenna for each. If I were operating on lots of big water I would opt for two antennas. I opted for the Morad. However, i wont be installing for a couple of months.

My concern with the Vesper are the radios. I bought a tethered one and a remote one. I am not using the system yet. The install has been pushed back to early summer. However, in several discussions, as recently as two days ago, people who have them are super concerned about issues with the radios, and Vesper's failures to address them. The Cortex people have addressed some issues through their development schedule.

We will see what my experience is with them once installed and will report back what I find. I will be pretty irritated if I spent $1,150 on radios that don't function properly. A lot of money to get what I consider a critical piece of safety equipment that doesn't work. I suppose at that time they would become expensive little display screens that are otherwise not effective.

 

[bowball]

Just an FYI, VHF is 156 MHZ but AIS is 162 MHZ. Morad makes a 6db 159 MHZ antenna that folks will use for both VHF and AIS. Of course, the "best" solution is a separate antenna for each. If I were operating on lots of big water I would opt for two antennas. I opted for the Morad. However, i wont be installing for a couple of months.

My concern with the Vesper are the radios. I bought a tethered one and a remote one. I am not using the system yet. The install has been pushed back to early summer. However, in several discussions, as recently as two days ago, people who have them are super concerned about issues with the radios, and Vesper's failures to address them. The Cortex people have addressed some issues through their development schedule.

We will see what my experience is with them once installed and will report back what I find. I will be pretty irritated if I spent $1,150 on radios that don't function properly. A lot of money to get what I consider a critical piece of safety equipment that doesn't work. I suppose at that time they would become expensive little display screens that are otherwise not effective.

I have the Vesper Cortex as well, using it for AIS, intercoms and anchor alarm. For my primary VHS radios I use Icom. Cortex is a nice B+ AIS so the VHS is almost thrown in.

 

[CarlF]

I have had Vesper AIS over 10 years and have found their support outstanding.

I installed a Cortex and have been very happy but it’s important to remember it’s a new product with a lot of new technology outside of Vespers comfort zone (such as VHF and cell). Some features have only been recently released such as loud hailer support. There are still some teething problems that Vesper has promised more updates. Maybe they should have delayed the release to get everything perfect - but small companies don’t usually have that flexibility.

I also suspect that Vesper has some staff shortages. Every technology company is struggling with this. Or try calling an airline!

I expect this will all settle down over the next year with some more Cortex updates. In the meantime I can live with a few rough edges. I use it every day.

And as an aside, I find Garmin support very good. For me, much better than Raymarine which has had ups and downs over the years. Just yesterday I was debugging another SeaTalk networking problem.

 

[BandB]

Full disclosure here.
Yep, I know I made an error.
I realized as soon as I did it that I chose an incorrect path to Vesper Cortex initialization.
Vesper is absolutely correct with their information.
I own it.

However, I was greatly surprised, and remain so, that Vesper chose to reject my request. My interpretation of Vesper’s inquiry for the S/N of the M1 for the cloud engineer to review was perceived by me as a positive action. Based upon that request I had anticipated that this subscription would be adjusted or cancelled so I may resubscribe. Anyone who received this type of response might have come up with a similar expectation.
This is the crux of my frustration and it will remain so.

Thank you Vesper for making a fine product. It is the juxtaposition of such a fine product compared to being so very disappointed by what I perceive is poor customer service and being wronged. ( and continue to do so) that prompts such a visceral response. It would have taken so little effort on their behalf and the result would have been a post on this site about how great Vesper’s customer service is, even when the customer makes a bonehead decision.

To be clear, the cost of the service was NEVER the motivation for my response.

I stand by my assertion the Vesper made a bad customer service call and will inform others to take heed when inquired upon. I truly wish Vesper would reverse their decision.

I fully intend to utilize the monitor and move forward from here.

You installed. You read that it started your 90 day free period. I just don't grasp then why you feel so entitled to more time. They don't know whether you're using it or not. I'm sure the majority of those who get trials would like to have them extended for free. You contracted when you went beyond that first screen. I don't know why you think anyone would have had a similar expectation. I sure would not have. I subscribe to free trials all the time. Some I don't use during the trial period, but I fully understand they end and are a one time deal.

 

[CarlF]

I will be pretty irritated if I spent $1,150 on radios that don't function properly. A lot of money to get what I consider a critical piece of safety equipment that doesn't work. I suppose at that time they would become expensive little display screens that are otherwise not effective.

You seem determined to not like the Cortex before you’ve even tried it.

First - It’s a great AIS - with a better display and controls than anything else on the market. Really innovative. If you don’t care about the AIS, there are better and cheaper radios on the market.

I use the Cortex VHF every day but my primary VHF is an Icom. The Cortex splitter makes it easy to have both radios on the same antenna. I think this is the best way to use the Cortex.

The only “problem” I’ve heard about with the Cortex VHF is that the squelch adjustment isn’t fine enough for some. Vesper says a fix is coming but this is at most an annoyance that has no impact on “safety”. It hasn’t bothered me.

 

[Helmsman]

You seem determined to not like the Cortex before you’ve even tried it.

First - It’s a great AIS - with a better display and controls than anything else on the market. Really innovative. If you don’t care about the AIS, there are better and cheaper radios on the market.

I use the Cortex VHF every day but my primary VHF is an Icom. The Cortex splitter makes it easy to have both radios on the same antenna. I think this is the best way to use the Cortex.

The only “problem” I’ve heard about with the Cortex VHF is that the squelch adjustment isn’t fine enough for some. Vesper says a fix is coming but this is at most an annoyance that has no impact on “safety”. It hasn’t bothered me.

Not determined at all. Just basing my perceptions on what I have read in several forums, and some concerns elicited by reviewers. When I bought it there were reported issues. Some have been cleared up. You just mentioned one. But, I still bought it, thinking there would be some time for the manufacturer get it right.

On another (pay) forum, I was PM’ed two or three days ago and told that I shouldn’t be so optimistic about the Cortex with the radio specifically being mentioned as an unreliable part of the tool kit. This was by a Cortex user (and extremely savvy electronics guy) that has had it installed for about a year. Some users have few problems, others have enough that they don’t rely on it. He certainly doesn’t and is extremely upset with Vesper. I will know pretty quickly when I install it whether it is a reliable part of my setup. If I find that it isn’t then it was a waste of $1150. No other way to put it. If it works well, then great. I will have gotten what I paid for.

 

[Airstream345]

This thread has gone sideways with opinion. I’ve been using cortex as my primary VHF/AIS for 6 months and it’s been extremely reliable. Any issues I’ve had were addressed quickly by Vesper support (including shipping a replacement M1).

Add on the monitoring, anchor alarm, collision avoidance and so on and it’s a great value.

Commenting on other forum posts without direct experience doesn’t add anything to this conversation.

 

[BandB]

Commenting on other forum posts without direct experience doesn’t add anything to this conversation.

Wifey B: and does commenting on commenting on other posts add anything?

 

[magna 6882]

I like the vesper stuff and they have been available fairly easy for a question. I cant comment on service after garmin got involved but garmin has expanded in so many areas they don't seem to do anything right when it comes to customer service. I have been trying to use the vesper wifi assess to connect to an airmar weather station but gave up. I think we just have to get used to corporate type ownership and accept what we get and just continue to help each other .I needed to get the gps signal from the mfd to the fin controller and struck out with garmin. The board gave me the solution including part numbers. very simple fix.The last call i made to garmin will likely be my last. just a wast of time. now if you have a blue sea question a guy answers the phone and tell you what you need i just hope they dont get boughtup.

 

[Helmsman]

This thread has gone sideways with opinion. I’ve been using cortex as my primary VHF/AIS for 6 months and it’s been extremely reliable. Any issues I’ve had were addressed quickly by Vesper support (including shipping a replacement M1).

Add on the monitoring, anchor alarm, collision avoidance and so on and it’s a great value.

Commenting on other forum posts without direct experience doesn’t add anything to this conversation.

Thanks for your post. That is good news that your experience has been good. It is what I would expect from a vendor who supplies a product. I also agree that there is a lot of value in all of the aspects you mentioned. If the radios perform well that will be good.

I have always felt a strength of this forum is the ability to share information, whether learned through direct experience with a product or through research and other methods of discovery. I have learned a tremendous amount from others, whether they have direct experience with a product, a boat, a strategy, Or a best practice.

There is a lot of information out there, from Vesper, from electronics reviewers, from users, and from others. However, rather than create an issue here, I will bookmark this post and provide feedback on my “direct experience” with the product after I have the Vesper installed.

 

[boomerang]

Vesper support isn’t the same as it was since Garmin bought them. We had an XB8000 on our last boat and were so happy with it that naturally I thought buying the Cortex for our current boat was a good choice. It probably was but I’m not getting the support from Garmin that I got from vesper.
Issue #1 was, when I bought the Cortex last winter, I hooked it up to a power supply to do the preliminary programming (boat information) and verify our iPad & phones would connect via WiFi since we want the anchoring app and WiFi position output for charting position, just as we had with the previous Vesper.
Well, on the table at home, I programmed everything regarding boat data ,except for the mmsi number, which I wasn’t sure I didn’t yet have verified from the FCC. No big deal, I thought, I’ll add it when I get it. When Scott Neeld was kind enough to take the time to contact the FCC and release the mmsi, I applied for & acquired it. When I went to program the number in the cortex , it had locked me out of the programming mode, even though it was never completed. The Garmin “tech” was helpful enough but seemed not well versed about AIS programming in general and wasn’t able to answer the programming questions I had. The only way he could come up with for me to finish programming was to send me a complete vsm file with all of the boat data ,which I loaded in the unit to make it transmit. In the past ,vesper would send me an unlock code for their units to be able to reprogram.
Issue #2 is Cortex is advertised as having an internal heading sensor that is only for use with the cortex functions and apps and the heading data is not supposed to be transmitted via Nmea or WiFi. Come to find out , it is transmitted (HDG) and for the entire trip up the waterway, I’ve watched the boat icon follow the hdg and not the cog, which is irritating at the least since the hdg is off from the cog as much as 40° in some cases. I asked Garmin if I could at least turn the hdg identifier off and the have yet to get back to me after 5 days of a crabbing boat icon and incorrect heading vector.
I guess Garmin isn’t going to contact me. Vesper would’ve stayed on the line until the problem was resolved.