Customer Reviews

Garmin BlueChart Americas Saltwater Map CD-ROM (Windows)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Although the packaging offers coverage of the U.S., Canada, Caribbean, and South America on this expensive CD, you can only unlock a very limited "region" with your original purchase. Says Garmin tech support, "When you purchase BlueChart, you're entitled to one free region, and then additional regions can be purchased for $116.65." The word "free" here reflects Garmin's generally abysmal use of language found on their Web site, a labyrinth of obfuscation tangled in their arcane and ultra-paranoid "unlocking" technology and hidden prices. Unlike their Topo and City Navigator CDs where you get a lot of maps for your money, BlueChart gave me a limited sliver of southwest Florida for my purchase price. When I went to load Cape Cod, I discovered I would need to pony up another $116 for this small region. To unlock everything on this CD would costs many, many thousands of dollars, and nowhere is this clear to the unwary consumer.

What is especially grating in all this is that Garmin relies on U.S. government maps and GPS satellites that we taxpapers have already paid for. I find the marketing of Blue Chart really deceptive, especially given the important public safety implications of nautical mapping.

I would add that boat-towing travelers and nautical siteseers will need shoreside mapping and road info, for which these charts are useless, so you'll need additional map products and memory cards to show roads, parks, dining, and local amenities. Buyer beware.

The Garmin "Bluecharts" are vector charts, which means they use mathematic algorithms to store all the lines and features of a nautical chart. I have steered away from these in the past because they tended to give up a lot of detail vs. "Raster Graphic" charts, which are essentially photographic images of paper charts.

With "Bluecharts" they have gotten to a level of detail (including multiple colors) that they look almost as good as a paper charts. The advantages of vector charts is that they take up much less room on your hard drive and run much faster on a PC. This is important when you are zooming in and out to see your depth or proximity to a wreck while moving on a boat.

I use mine with an eTrex Legend and am able to load most of the detail (depth, obstructions, nautical aids, etc) onto the handheld. For the full look of charts, I connect the GPS unit to my laptop. The package also includes tidal charts, which are much more detailed and accurate than the little tide chart booklets I used to use. Overall, it makes navigation a breeze...your boat is automatically represented on the chart and you have many simple tools to calculate distance/time to a given destination. It also incorporates additional information on Marinas and service locations.

The Garmin application the charts run on, "MapSource" allows you to easily switch between map types. I have "Americas Bluechart," "MetroGuide" (streetmaps), and "Tides and Marine Services," all without having to reconnnect the GPS unit.

The only hassle is the "Unlock" process, which is a bit time consuming and involves providing the Garmin website with a bunch of codes, including the serial number of my GPS unit to unlock a set of charts from the CD-ROM. I'm not sure, but I think it will only work with that specific unit, which worries me a bit as I am thinking about buying a second unit for backup.

I'll cut right to the chase--if you have a Garmin GPS unit that is MapSource compatible, and use it on the ocean, buy this CD! Garmin's Water Ways & Lights CD is a total joke compared to the BlueChart CD. The level of detail is an exact duplication of NOAA paper charts--very, very accurate and very, very detailed. I use this software with my GPSMAP 162, and the only drawback is that with the detail level set to high, it slows the screen redraw rate down considerably. but, when you're actually on the water, this isn't even noticeable. Bottom line--this is a great product.

be aware that this chart system, unlike the road map versions, includes an unlock code for only a small portion of the coverage area. if you want more areas, you pay a new unlock code for each one.

As of 10/16/06 V8.5 is the most current version, and that it what was shipped to me.
Once you install the CD you get to only choose from a rather small area. Like 1/4-1/2 of your state (for me, Orlando-Key west). This was a HUGE disappointment. City navigator gives you the ENTIRE US map on DVD for streets, that's 2 gigs of data, so why does Blue Chart only give you like 20megs of bluechart data on a CD. It just doesn't make sense.
This software is pricey, but necessary for boating.
All and all I'd like to give it 3 stars for making me feel ripped off but I gave it 4 stars because the product itself is actually very good.

I also feel that once you buy their overpriced software, that you should be entitled to updates for it. But of course you are not. You have to go and plant down more money to Garmin if you want the next version.

Don't get me wrong, Garmin is a great company with great software, I just wish they weren't so greedy.

I ordered this CD ROM at the end of April 2006. I received version 7.5 from Amazon.com. Garmin is now shipping v8.0 which is a free upgrade (install the 7.5 version, unlock your region, then order the free v8.0 upgrade CD ROM from Garmin's website.)

This map installs easily using the MapSource software on your PC. On the iQue, you can load both the City Select detailed maps and the BlueChart maps into the unit at the same time. If the BlueChart maps are loaded for an area that has the City Select maps loaded, the City Select maps are displayed by default. Switching between the two map sets can be very confusing at first, but is easy once you know the trick.

To switch map sets on the iQue 3600, go to map view. Press the menu button (second icon from the right at the very bottom of the screen), select Options then Preferences. Make sure that you have "Maps" selected in Preferences. Change the drop down box from "General" to "Detailed Maps." Now, here's the trick: Once your detailed maps are listed in the window, click the menu button again! Now you can enable all maps, disable all maps, enable only the BlueChart maps, or enable only the City Select maps.

If you're a boater, you should never leave home without your GPS (the Coast Guard can find you more easily if you provide them with your GPS coords if you get into trouble.) And, having a BlueChart map loaded into your GPS gives you buoy information, channel information, water depths, depth contour lines, etc., and much more! It's like having a NOAA chart in the palm (no pun intended) of your hand which also shows your exact location at all times.

Amazon doesn't specify which version of BlueChart you will get. Amazon sent me version 9.0. I later found out that the current version is 9.5. Garmin now charges $75 to upgrade from 9.0 to 9.5. The charts are good, but Amazon should tell you which version you are getting.

There aren't many choices for nautical chart software for the Garmin 76cx so I sprung for the Bluechart Americas package expecting it would cover at least a few of the 10,000 lakes up here in Minnesota. Well, they did manage to cover Superior and even Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake, but they missed a little something called the Mississippi River (at least the northern half) and the other 9,997 lakes. What's unbelievable is the unlock process. Holy cow! I can choose to unlock the Rainy Lake area for the $100+ I spent for this package but if I want Lake Superior it's another $100+!! Wow, I wasn't expecting that I would get all of the Caribbean or Lake Titicaca (Peru) for the initial price but I certainly expected they would include the only two lakes covered in Minnesota for the same price. What a colossal rip off! It's pretty rare to find blatant examples of unfair business practices in this day and age but I think this falls in that category. Incredible!

I bought this product for my portable Garmin GPS. The description is very poor and leads the user to believe it covers all water in a certain "unlocked" area; not! You don't get inland lakes. So I paid for soemthing I can't use or return. I called Garmin customer service and they were very sarcastic when I asked them why this didn't include lakes. I wanted Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee. His was reply was that the BlueChart was for oceans and that last time he checked, Tennessee wasn't on the ocean. I ended up buying yet another map set that should include the inland lakes. Garmin is a great product and I love my GPSmap 60csx but their customer support needs to be more knowledgeable about their own products. Plus, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE better explain the map coverages!!!! It seems like a nasty trick to get you to buy maps.

I cannot believe that anyone would ethically sell outdated charts. Avoid unless you find the latest version available. Storms and tides change the oceans, and new wrecks and hazards may be present.

AVOID!!! Version 5.5

Update 5/14/06: Do not believe reviewers that tell you to keep old charts or old software versions. For your own safety, insurance, and liability reasons you need the latest charts. There may be an obstruction or security zones added. It is the responsibility and requirement by the coast guard that each boat owner have current charts. Notice to mariners and other updates as well... I can tell you that in the coastal waters in Florida sometimes the Hurricanes cause bottom contour changes that could render you aground... Be safe!