Garmin G3 Chip

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I am new to Garmin Chart plotters and the G3 charts.

My Chart-plotter is a Garmin GPSMAP 7400/7600 Series running the 15.00 software.

i purchased the following two charts:
HXUS604X ($219.99)
and
VCA501L ($389.95).

After downloading and installing both, it appears to me that I should not have bought the VCA501L chart, since all the same details are on the HXUS604X chart.

So, Could I have saved almost $400.-? OR is the VCA501L chart better in terms of details and features?

Also, how do these charts get updated by Garmin? Automatically or do I to take any action to make it happen?
 
The VCA501L is a “Vision” map. The HXUS604X is not. The Vision features include aerial photos of marinas and high resolution satellite imagery etc. Thus the higher price. With G2 maps you also needed the Vision version to get auto routes. Now that comes with the standard G3 version. You do not need both. I only use VCA501L and the equivalent for Alaska.
I believe you get free updates for one year and a prorated reduced price for a few years after that. You have to download/ purchase the updates yourself.

Curt
 
Curt,

If I remember correctly, the HXUS604X was sold as having the auto routing feature.

I will investigate that.

Thanks
 
Here is a copy/paste from Hodges Marine, the company that I purchased my chip from............

Garmin Bluechart G3 Hd - Hxus604x - Us All & Canadian West - Microsd/Sd
Garmin Bluechart G3 Hxus604x Us G2 (Entire Us) Microsd &

BlueChart® g3 HD - HXUS604x - US All & Canadian West - microSD™/SD™

Coverage

Provides detailed coastal coverage of the U.S., including the East Coast from Key West, FL, to the Canadian border, and the West Coast from Puget Sound to the Mexican border; Alaska; Hawaii and major inland rivers; the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Mexican border and the Mexican Gulf Coast to the Yucatan. Canadian coverage includes the entire St. Lawrence Seaway, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The Great Lakes are covered in their entirety as are the Lake of the Woods. Coverage includes Prince Edward Island, Anticosti Island, Vancouver Island, including the Inside and Outside Passages, the Aleutian and Channel Islands, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Cozumel, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Unparalleled Coastal Chart Coverage

Provides industry-leading coverage, clarity and detail with updated coastal charts that feature integrated Garmin and Navionics® data
Auto Guidance¹ technology calculates a route using your desired depth and overhead clearance and provides a suggested path to follow
Includes Depth Range Shading for up to 10 depth ranges, enabling you to view your target depth at a glance
Up to 1’ contours provide a more accurate depiction of the bottom structure for improved fishing charts and navigation in swamps, canals and marinas
NOAA raster cartography² is available as a free downloadable feature via the ActiveCaptain® app

BlueChart g3 coastal charts provide industry-leading coverage, clarity and detail with integrated Garmin and Navionics data. Also included is Auto Guidance¹ technology, which uses your desired depth and overhead clearance to calculate routes and provide a suggested path to follow — overlaid onto your chart. NOAA raster cartography is also available as a free downloadable feature via the ActiveCaptain app. It gives your chartplotter paper chartlike views of NOAA-surveyed areas in which individual points of interest are labeled with corresponding longitude and latitude information. Worldwide coverage is available by regions as accessory cards or via download; each region is sold separately.

Auto Guidance Technology

The Auto Guidance feature¹ calculates a suggested route using your desired depth and overhead clearance.

Here is a copy/paste of the item description.........

Garmin Bluechart G3 Hd - Hxus604x - Us All & Canadian West - Microsd/Sd
15 Reviews
Product Condition? Brand-New
Manufacturer's Warranty? Yes, Valid
Authorized Reseller? Yes
List Price: $219.99
Our Price: $176.43
You save $43.56!

If I read this correctly, the chip I purchased, HXUS604X, is supposed to have 'Auto Guidance'.
Am I missing something?
 
Larry,
For what it’s worth our Garmin g2 Vision card for Canada - Vancouver to Broughtons does provide auto guidance. It works most of the time. Will absolutely not guide into Bellingham regardless of the settings. Will guide you over the beach and through paved parking lots to enter Flounder Bay in Anacortes. It will guide you away from Gabriella Pass even though it can add 30 unnecessary miles to your trip. It will even guide you through the middle of a “hot” Whiskey Golf!
If you get auto guidance working with your g3 card, please understand that it may not be perfect. Sometimes it’s even a pain in the butt based on our g2 Vision experiences.
 
Al,
Thanks for the reply.
I have been using the G2 Vision chip for a couple of years now. We have traveled from Washington up to the Broughtons islands area.
I have found the Auto Guidance to be resistant to going thru the current passes and other areas. I have compensated by setting the go to point at the entrance of the pass. Then set a go to point in or at the other end of a pass. I find the feature useful even with some shortcomings. My main purpose in buying this chip is the updated charts. My old chip is 5 years old now.
 
Larry H":18axdkxh said:
This page at Garmin clearly shows that the HXUS604x chip has Auto Guiidance and that it is compatable with my 7212.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/37703#overview

I guess its time to sit on the phone with Garmin support.
Click to expand...

Hmm...let us know what you find out. I wonder if the compatibility is limited somehow?

Curt
 
Curt,

I will post the info I get here.

I have been too busy to call Garmin yet, but I will soon.
 
My 5215 is also listed as compatible with the G3, however, there is no visual difference between the g2 and g3 (which I downloaded). Because of age of my chart plotter, I will not see any of the bottom contour lines. Disappointing. I did confirm all this with Garmin Tech Support. Supposedly, the data is there, I just will not be able to see it.
 
Larry H":e5q3d91f said:
Curt,

I will post the info I get here.

I have been too busy to call Garmin yet, but I will soon.
Click to expand...

Hi Larry,

I found this on the Garmin website on G3 auto-routing.

“Your device may require a software update to have access to this feature”

You indicated you did a software update first but perhaps it didn’t install correctly or they have an even newer software version to resolve this? You can download the latest SW for free from the support website.

Curt
 
I just spent the whole morning on the phone with Garmin Customer Service - a lady named Katherine. I had purchased a LakeVu US G3 chip (LUS100F) for use in my 7212 Chartplotter. The Garmin website says they are compatible and that the G3 will work in the 7212. It did not work for me, so I called them. She confirmed that their website says that the G3 will work in the 7212. When we worked thru the install (the boat is on the trailer in my yard), and she confirmed the install, but also confirmed that it did not show the maps it is supposed to show. She put me on hold to talk to a supervisor.

Thirty minutes later, she came back on and said that the G3 will NOT work in the 7212, despite what it says on the website.

I am going up the Trent-Severn waterway in July and this time I want a chart on the 7212 (we did it last year with no chart coverage on the 7212 - used Navionics on an iPad). I asked her which product would do that for me. She said that they no longer sell any charts that will work in a 7212, and that I would need to look on-line...eBay or something.

So...if you have a 7212, you are kinda screwed. Nice. <sarcasm>

TK
 
im confused by this.

i understand that the CPU in the 5212 may not be able to draw the 1ft contour lines and hence turns this feature off from the G3 chip. However it sounds like the 5212 will still show the updated charts off the G3 SD card.

I therefore just can't imagine the newer 7212 doesnt show the updated charts (even if it also doesnt show the 1ft contour data from the G3 charts)

when you say it doesnt work: what do you mean?
plotter doesnt see the card?
no updated charts are shown?
certain features of the G3 dont work?

On the initial boot up loading screen does it list the G3 card at the bottom?
 
On boot, the G3 chart is listed as a supplemental chart, as it should. "Doesn't work" means that the cool features specific to G3 do not work. This was verified by the Garmin person. She also told me that there are no newer charts available for the 7212 from Garmin and no updates to the old charts that I own.

An additional issue is that the G3 I purchased does not cover the Trent-Severn Waterway. I was told that there are no G3 charts for the TSW, but I did not confirm that, as there was no real need to do so.

I purchased old version charts for the 7212 from Overton's and will use my iPad with current Navionics charts. That way I have redundancy as well as current data and Active Captain info. I do not use auto-routing, so I guess there is no loss there. The Navionics data is quite detailed and is essentially the G3, just on the iPad.

I did the TSW last year as part of our Great Loop using the 7212 just as a sonar display only and fuel/engine monitor, using the iPad as the principal navigation tool. My purpose for getting 7212 coverage of the TSW for this year is to have redundancy.

Planned obsolescence in electronic devices is a fact of our new e-dependent life. Oh well...
 
This problem with the G3 chart in a 7212 is similar to the problem that I am having. I purchased a Bluechart G3 for the entire US. Chart HXUS604X. according to the Garmin website, this chart is compatible with the 7212 and has the Guide To feature built into the chart. When I installed the chart, the Guide To function did not work. I updated to the latest software, but still no joy. The charts themselves do work, but they do not have the Guide To function. That is the best part of the Garmin, that it can create and steer the boat along a route. In the Pacific Northwest, this function is needed.

Now if I want to use the Guide To function, I am stuck with 5 year old charts. A dangerous situation.

I am more than a little annoyed finding out that Garmin has obsoleted my chartplotter. I have the Garmin system in my boat so I cannot do much about this, but NEVER AGAIN. I will never buy Garmin products if they cannot support them. At the Seattle boat show, the 7612 is listed as being a current product, but the man in the booth wanted to sell me on the 8000 series. Those do not fit the cutout and will have a smaller screen overall if installed using the same width as the 7212. I would not spend the money on a 7612 and then be told in a year or so that it is obsolete. Why do I have to buy a new plotter after 5 years?
 
Hi Larry,

What has Garmin said about this?

In any case you don’t need a new chartplotter. The G3 Vision chip for the NW (VCA501L) works just fine in the 7212. I use “Guide to” all the time. Certainly less expensive than a new chartplotter.

Curt
 
On Monday at 1:35 PDT hold time waiting to speak a person at Garmin support is 2 hours 11 min.
 
Hi Larry,

Per the link to the compatibility chart you sent the GPSMAP 7k series (I’m assuming 7k means the whole 7k series) offers the auto guidance feature but not the high resolution nor raster scan chart. I only care about the auto guidance feature which works as well as it did with the G2 charts. My Vision chip is the 2018 version.

Incidentally, this chart also answers the question why your HXUS604X chip does not provide auto guidance. Under GPSMAP 7k and the AutoGuidance feature it states “Only with BlueChart® g3 Vision/LakeVüg3 ultra”. My interpretation is that since the HXUS604X is not a “Vision” series it does not provide this feature on the GPSMAP 7k series.

Curt
 
Curt,
Thanks for the reply
This is very confusing. This page shows the chip I purchased. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/37703#overview

The text says : "Auto Guidance¹ technology calculates a route using your desired depth and overhead clearance and provides a suggested path to follow"

This part of that page shows compatibility : https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/37703#devices and lists the GPS 7212.

So Garmin says 'Auto Guidance' and 'compatibility' but that page does not say the Auto Guidance will not work on the 7212. For that info another page needs to be referenced.

This Garmin website is not user friendly. I am unable to find the chart you referenced by looking on the Garmin website. How did you find it?

In any event , I have spent $200 on a chart that does not work as advertised, and is not returnable and now I am looking at spending ANOTHER $450.

Why is this so complicated? It seems to be designed to drive sales of new units. (Which will not well fit the location of the old one.)
 
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