Garmin Network Updater

[jamiepyoung]

Has anyone got a Garmin Network Updater I could borrow.

Ideally in a Brighton, or London....

Thanks

 

[jfm]

I think I have a spare 2 slot garmin card reader. It might be on the boat , which I've just left, but I'll look at home later tonight. I think this performs same function unless you know differently?

 

[jfm]

I think I have a spare 2 slot garmin card reader. It might be on the boat , which I've just left, but I'll look at home later tonight. I think this performs same function unless you know differently?

Yes I have it here in London (EC4A). You're welcome to borrow or buy* it. I can mail it to you. It connects via Garmin's Cat5 cable and also needs a power supply (* at 1/3rd the retail internet price, whatever that is, and delivery is free). It is brand new, never used, and includes the Cat5 and power cables)

I stress it is the card reader not the network updater. You'd expect it to do exactly the same thing and indeed I use it to update the software on my Garmin 80xx and GMI20 instruments after downloading the updates onto a SD card from Garmin's website. But I cannot confirm that it will work with your set up.

 

[jamiepyoung]

Hi jfm

Thanks for replying.

You say it connects via a Cat5? I've got a GFI 10 and GMI 10 that I want to update, which are both connected via NMEA 2000 cables....

I'm not sure yours is compatible.

Maybe someone can advise?

 

[jfm]

Hi jfm

Thanks for replying.

You say it connects via a Cat5? I've got a GFI 10 and GMI 10 that I want to update, which are both connected via NMEA 2000 cables....

I'm not sure yours is compatible.

Maybe someone can advise?

Ah, ok. You'd need to Cat5 connect it to a Garmin plotter, then the plotter talks to the GMI10 and GFI10 via N2k. Then the updates would work their way along both the Cat5 and the N2k cables

If you don't have a plotter that can do Cat5 (on planet Garmin this is called "Garmin Marine Network") then my gizmo is no use and you need the thing you first asked for. Sorry!

 

[Robg71]

Slight thread drift...
Did you not go for the black box system JFM.
I was going to ask you what you thought about them.
are they a huge improvement over the older MFD... I like the joystick control. Means I can mount the screens in the roof out the way.

 

[jfm]

Slight thread drift...
Did you not go for the black box system JFM.
I was going to ask you what you thought about them.
are they a huge improvement over the older MFD... I like the joystick control. Means I can mount the screens in the roof out the way.

No, I chose the normal 8000 series. The functionality is the same (unless I'm missing something - happy to hear) but the non black box screen sizes fitted my dash better so basically I made the choice on aesthetics. The non black box gives me more computers/processors/redundancy and less sharing but I doubt that matters really.

Overall the Garmin 8000 whether black box or not (and equiv from other makers) are streets ahead of the generation before. But only in a boy's toy's way, because of course a 10 year old plotter is perfectly ok to navigate with. The graphics, animation, trick features etc are way more advanced on previous generations and the double touch feels intuitive now that we are all used to iPads etc. To get the best from the new graphis you must fit the 10HzGPS mushroom, not 1 Hz, but that's easy. The one proper improvement of the latest gear (well, 2009-2010 onwards), as opposed to boys toys improvement, is digi radar. That is seriously better than analogue radar in discerning targets and dealing with rain etc

I have a couple of the "GRID" joysticks but have not yet fitted them. I'm not sure I ever will, because as you may recall I religiously set up my dashboards so the screens are within arm's reach when sitting in the helm/nav chair. I realise I'm in a minority of perhaps 1/10th in doing that but I don't see any other sensible way to mount a touchscreen. So the joysticks are a solution to a problem I don't have. But I might fit them one day for the hell of it.

 

[Robg71]

Perfect, Thank you. Its the series I was looking at, and could not see anything the black box did over and above...
I may still look in to it, but need to do more research, as if I mount screens up above, in the flybridge front void, joystick to control, and no touchy feely... Then I may get away with other screens that don't cost 6k and have no touch control...

 

[jfm]

Perfect, Thank you. Its the series I was looking at, and could not see anything the black box did over and above...
I may still look in to it, but need to do more research, as if I mount screens up above, in the flybridge front void, joystick to control, and no touchy feely... Then I may get away with other screens that don't cost 6k and have no touch control...

Yup, makes sense. It's nice to have lots of screens but suddenly you notice they are 5 or 6 grand each and suddenly your nav system becomes 30-40k. So if you can get a couple of clever boxes then some "slave" cheaper screens that's worth thinking about. when budgeting you need (imho) to include wind measuring transducer (essential in my book), powerful radar, AIS Tx, and fuel measuring gear, plus a few things I've probably forgotten, and all those things add up to quite a lot of doughage in addition to the basic screens.

 

[Robg71]

Cheers, will start a new thread nearer the time.