Garmin Chartplotter

R

rappja

Well-known member
Joined
May 13, 2024
Messages
108
Location
Benecia, California
Fluid Motion Model
R-31 CB
Vessel Name
Lily Marie II
I recently bought a 2019 Ranger CB-31. I do not have the manual for the Garmin chartplotter. Does anyone know the exact model chartplotter in this boat? I'd like to download the manual, but none that I can find are my exact model.
Thanks
 
Look in the settings and it will tell you the model. Also if you connect with active captain you will have the info there. There is also a manual built in to the units.
 
SKing said:
Look in the settings and it will tell you the model. Also if you connect with active captain you will have the info there. There is also a manual built in to the units.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I found it. BTW, my Active Captain seems to be inoperative. Is it something extra I need to add?
 
For Active Captain to work, you need to have the app on a mobile device, and have Wi-Fi connection to the chartplotter. Basically you upload and download charts and software, and other data to your mobile device, then transfer from the app to the chartplotter via wifi
 
FWIW, I would recommend not to mess with Active Captain as an update mechanism (the info there is great, just not the upgrade process). Using SD cards is much easier and more reliable in my experience, and I have heard the same from several others. Just be sure to get 32GB (not larger) cards and splurge slightly on the ultra high speed ones.
 
SJI Sailor said:
FWIW, I would recommend not to mess with Active Captain as an update mechanism (the info there is great, just not the upgrade process). Using SD cards is much easier and more reliable in my experience, and I have heard the same from several others. Just be sure to get 32GB (not larger) cards and splurge slightly on the ultra high speed ones.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Great info
 
I use Active Captain and find it easy to update software with. As in all things tech, it takes a bit of fumbling to get used to the process. Figure it out and it will be your friend.

Definitely install it and use it for your maps. Always having maps on the phone for planing is great. Use it to automatically route you and then have the distance displayed so you can guestimate time etc. also easy to see tides and current info for planing. I use it all the time.
 
Thanks. My situation is a little difficult, for 2 reasons. I have the 7600 series Garmin, so I have to add a program to make it compatible with Active Captain. Also, my unit is registered with the old owner, so I had to contact Garmin to unregister it for me, which they have done. I'm going to download Active Captain then install it when I get back to the boat.
I'm also a little confused as to compatibility issues between my unit and various generations of Garmin chart software. Do you know how to tell if I have BlueChartG3 or Navionics, and is G3 compatible with Active Captain?
Thanks.
 
rappja said:
Thanks. My situation is a little difficult, for 2 reasons. I have the 7600 series Garmin, so I have to add a program to make it compatible with Active Captain. Also, my unit is registered with the old owner, so I had to contact Garmin to unregister it for me, which they have done. I'm going to download Active Captain then install it when I get back to the boat.
I'm also a little confused as to compatibility issues between my unit and various generations of Garmin chart software. Do you know how to tell if I have BlueChartG3 or Navionics, and is G3 compatible with Active Captain?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
the 7 series (7612, 7616, etc.) are not Navionics compatible. That is 8 series only. Your plotter probably has an SD card in it for a specific area (mine did, the dixon entrance puget sound card). Mine was from 2016, and I bought an updated 2022 physical SD card from garmin. Since then, I have been able to update the charts online by using garmin express and creating an SD card with the updated chart data. I think it was $220 for the update for this year, which I purchased through active captain but then used garmin express to create the new SD card for the boat. Happy to walk through this in more detail offline.
 
dbsea said:
the 7 series (7612, 7616, etc.) are not Navionics compatible. That is 8 series only. Your plotter probably has an SD card in it for a specific area (mine did, the dixon entrance puget sound card). Mine was from 2016, and I bought an updated 2022 physical SD card from garmin. Since then, I have been able to update the charts online by using garmin express and creating an SD card with the updated chart data. I think it was $220 for the update for this year, which I purchased through active captain but then used garmin express to create the new SD card for the boat. Happy to walk through this in more detail offline.
Click to expand...
If I upgrade the software on the Garmin, does it include updated maps, or is that something I have to pay for separately?
 
That is separate
 
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