Now that Garmin have stopped allowing 3rd party charts to run on their units I thought it best to spend a few more hours perfecting the export of MP files directly to the IMC (and thence to Lowrance).

The plan, I am told, for GPSMapedit is for it ultimately to support export to the IMC, but meanwhile I had a little fiddle with the export schema and cobbled something together myself a year or so ago.

I've had a lot of emails recently asking how to do this - its on my website.

So if you have a collection of MP format homemade charts you can port them across to Lowrance very easily, and then go and buy a GPS plotter that actually does what you want, rather than what Garmin wants.

Here's some direct output from GME to the Insight Planner (via IMC) - It really does work rather well, and should help put a smile on the face of all the stranded Garmin homebrew brigade who now have to find another platform. Drop me a line if you want some guidance or the latest files.

Well done Garmin.......

T

I saw your FB-update, quite to the point. :) Good work on the MP-conversion.

AnglingCharts wrote:
Times are changing... A couple of years ago I was on the verge of dumping Lowrance and move to Garmin, just because Garmin supported 3rd party maps better! Then came public IMC and Lowrance got a much better option.

So Garmin has dropped support? In new firmware or just in newer units?

Really stupid move...

/Martin

I can confirm this for the echoMap series. Such units also have a longer ID (10 numerics, 39********). It must be the Firmware.

It is indeed the firmware. My Garmin charts have been working faultlessly on the first Echomap units to come out last year - but ones with 2015 firmware are locked to "Garmin only". Needless to say, there is already a "workaround", but quite honestly I really cant be bothered buggering around anymore. Lowrance have made chart creation so easy now that, for all their faults, they actually deserve the extra business.

If people want to buy a GPS for use on Irish Lakes then I'm recommending that they steer well clear of Garmin. I imagine the situation will be the same in a lot of other countries too. The move seems to have added value to 2nd hand Garmin GPS plotters though, people will simply be hanging onto them if they are using non-Garmin charts.

Garmin system ID's have always been 10 digits I believe Jorg, they are what I use for locking charts to units. You may be getting mixed up with the serial numbers.

Garmin appear to have taken very careful aim at their own foot before blowing a hole in it. It remains to be seen whether there is method in their madness, or vice versa.

T

I see only one reason for Garmins move; they have their own version of community mapping coming up. With Navico and Navionics both using community sourced data, there is no way Garmin can keep up with todays policy of "professional" collection of data as their only source. They will have no choice but to try and counter this, and the logic way would be for them to start their own version of Insight Genesis or Autochart. We know that they have the skills and software needed to do this already, and it would be the logical move from a business point of view. Garmin is now the ONLY one of the major brands that does not allow some sort of community sourced data on their chartplotters, and that will kill their business in the long run.

Very likely - and they'll have the benefit of seeing how the competition have done it. Interesting times ahead - and probably too many fish in the pond. Three different sets of OEM community mapping systems, all locked to 3 different platforms, with no way to share chart data.

The maritime industry has moved forward on the back of a set of common standards, this is exactly the opposite, and I fear it will be to the detriment of all.

T

My opinion is, that Garmin not plan a own platform for user chart creation. Garmin wants sell itt commercial bluechart, Topo etc. cards.

The answer to a german user from the Garmin supports was only "Use our bluecharts", not "wait for our new projects".

Downgrade is not possible, v2.30 is no more available for echoMap - this is a perfect mousetrap.

The sort of mapping we use are not important to a lot of users, as long as they can make out "safe depth" on their chartplotter they are happy. But for fishermen, especially in freshwater, Garmin is taking heavy hits to their sales already due to this policy. It will change in one direction or other, but it will not happen soon. Garmin has spent a lot of money over the last 7-8 years or so to get back in the top three of the marine industry. 4-5 years ago I would not even consider buying Garmin due to their crap sonar, it was worse then Raymarine, but today that is not the case.

Remember where Garmin comes from. Their core-business has way thougher standards for mapping then the marine industry, especially the part of the marine industry focusing on leisure-users. Getting the board of Garmin Inc to allow data into their products that they have litle quality-controll over is not something that will go down without a strugle. But I`m confident it will happen, or Garmin will revert back to saltwater cruisers as their main base of customers and all that money spent on R&D to develop/ buy tech used mainly in freshwater and/ or by fishermen will be a vaste. Vasting money is not good business, not even for Garmin.

Erik

Not sure I'd agree (but would be interested to know !) about having tougher standards than the marine industry. I don't recall ever seeing a Garmin unit on any Solas compliant vessel operating commercially in the real world. IMO and IHO set our standards, both of which are somewhat in a different league. As for charting, a lot of the sea charts are produced using data licenced from the relevant local hydrographic office. To my knowlege Garmin don't actually do any survey work, so which part of the operation would be to a higher standard than say the BA ?

I seriously considered dabbling with a Garmin Sidevu unit, but kicked that whole idea into touch when I saw the issues with charts and sidescan post-processing capability.

If the plan is for customers to only use genuine Bluecharts, as Jorg suggests, then Garmin had better start surveying pretty soon. Aside from the Shannon there are an awful lot of lakes in Ireland, none of which they have any of their own data for.

T

I was thinking about their equipment for airplanes. :)

They survey (or pay for surveys) in quite a few US-lakes as we speak. But yes, at least in the pile of rocks I call home they buy their data from two sources.

Yup,

things are run a little differently over in the colonies. Many of the lakes this side of the Atlantic will take rather more than a 40kt whip round with a bassboat. We are looking at decades of work in frequently dangerous waters - which they probably arent planning on doing. Even simply getting the shorelines if they decide to go the "zero-contour" route isnt as easy as they'd think. Interesting times ahead - personally I'll leave em to it and plod on with my good ol' HDS Gen 1 (ok...theres a bit of other kit as well........)

T