Maptech Charts

Norman_E

Norman_E

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I bought the Chart Navigator software and the Maptech Turkish Waters chart a few years ago. It is licenced for three installations, and was on my old laptop and had to be transferred to a new one about a year later, and reinstalled after problems caused me to to reinstall the operating system. I bought a new lightweight laptop recently and wanted to move the software to it. Maptech just refuse to give me an activation code because I have already installed it three times. :mad: Even Microsoft are not that mean!

I have just put Seaclear software onto my main desktop PC to test it. I have found charts by http://www.1yachtua.com/nauticalcharts/index.asp which look as if they may be a good substitute. Does anyone here use them, or have a better idea? I only use the PC software & charts for passage planning, never for navigation.
 
Write to Maptech and advise them that counting your operating system re-installation is an unfair term and that you will issue proceedings against them through the County Court small claims track.

They will quickly change their mind as the cost to you is small and the cost to them of attending court will be significant. They will almost certainly not want to attend, in which case you will win your case by default and also recoup your limited costs from them.

Every time I have ever mentioned the small claims track to a company, a satisfactory outcome has been immediate! ;)

Richard
 
Maptech are in America, and I suspect they will just ignore it. Their charts for Turkey were poor anyway, and appeared to be scans of paper charts from more than one souce, as the appearance often changed as you went from chart to chart.
 
That is very poor service from Maptech. You can use Maptech charts on Memory Map, if needed the MM licence can be 'migrated' on their website to reformatted or different PCs.
 
I too had to migrate my Maptech charts to a new system. I thought they weren't working so asked Maptech for a new installation key. The key they gave me was the same as the original key (which I already knew). If you know your original key, try that.
(My problem turned out to be something different which I eventually sorted.)
 
alahol2 said:
I too had to migrate my Maptech charts to a new system. I thought they weren't working so asked Maptech for a new installation key. The key they gave me was the same as the original key (which I already knew). If you know your original key, try that.
(My problem turned out to be something different which I eventually sorted.)
Click to expand...

I searched, but do not have it. I think I had to get the key over the phone and typed it straight in, so it was never written down.
 
OpenCPN - the way forward

Norman.
I was also a Maptech Offshore Navigator user but recently changed to OpenCPN. Unlike you I do use the software for Navigation (With paper chart backups I hasten to add) but I wanted the AIS overlay which OSN doesnt have.

So I decided to follow the herd and give OpenCPN a try.

It seems to be a great piece of (Free) software. It read all of my existing bsb charts for Greece and Turkey without any fuss. (recent encrypted bsb4 charts require an OpenCPN plug in)

I must confess I havent used it on the water yet but at the moment I cant think of any OSN features that arent in OpenCPN therefore I cant think of any reason to go back to OSN.

If Maptech are giving you the cold shoulder what have you got to loose by downloading it and giving it a try ?

Edit - sorry just reread your post - I guess its your charts that are locked. If they are old BSB they may not be encrypted and would work with OpenCPN without a license key
 
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Odd - I have done many updates of computer while using maptech OSN and charts and have had no problem whatsoever persuading them to activate for a different computer. Hmm.

I suspect I will change as they seem to have no UK distributor any more (?) and their heart is not in it for Europe. E.g., getting tidal updates out of them is a war of attrition.
 
Encrypted Maptech charts are licensed to a physical machine; reloading the operating system does not affect the activation code.

If your charts have previously been licensed on the laptop you are now using then Maptech should be able to give you the previous activation code that works on your laptop if you have lost it.

If they refuse they must be suspicious that you have not previously licensed them on that laptop.

Re the comments above from Affinite about OSN, I have made the same transition to OpenCPN and love it, especially the AIS display. However, you still need to have a valid licence for the BSB4 charts.
 
My problem is that I want to put the chart onto my new 11" screen laptop and take it off the old 15.6" one, as the new one is much lighter to take with me, so I guess that the old laptop code might reload it there but not on the new one.
 
Norman_E said:
My problem is that I want to put the chart onto my new 11" screen laptop and take it off the old 15.6" one, as the new one is much lighter to take with me, so I guess that the old laptop code might reload it there but not on the new one.
Click to expand...

I may be totally wrong but I seem to think that the registration code is portable. I don't remember the registration procedure going on-line, or you can run the procedure without going on-line. Certainly the registration code on my new machine was the same as the old one.

These are the instructions I was given from Maptech:

"With Maptech software and Memory-Map software closed,
insert the BACD02 Chart CD into the drive.
Windows 7 has a tendency to open an Auto Play box.
If it does, choose to "Open Folder to View Files".

(If it doesn't open an Auto Play box, open Computer.
Right-click on the cd/dvd listing and choose Open.)

Find the file Register.exe, and right-click it, choose "Run As an Administrator."
Click the Register Chart CD button.
Then choose the middle choice of registration, "On this Computer, Not Connected to the Internet".
Click Next

No harm in trying?
 
alahol2 said:
I may be totally wrong but I seem to think that the registration code is portable. I don't remember the registration procedure going on-line, or you can run the procedure without going on-line. Certainly the registration code on my new machine was the same as the old one.
Click to expand...
It isn't portable. They are licensed to a specific machine. To be more accurate - 2 machines. A single license gives you the right to install on two machines (for a safety backup machine). When you try to install on a third one it will fail. I am a long standing OSN user and have upgraded machines many times and simply asked to be allowed to install on the new machine.
When Memory Map were the agents in the UK it was no problem - Mike Evans was the man and he gave you new activation code. However I have done it once since with the US contact and again there was not problem.

However, I suspect that OSN will not be a good solution in Europe now that they have ditched Memory Map as agent. (Actually I don't know who ditched who.) I too will probably be forced to a new system.
 
This is their actual message to me. I wonder how many other software companies insist on the strict terms of the license agreement for a product they don't even sell any more, though they do list an all Mediterranean chart at a big price.

Hello.

We are unable to generate an activation code for you.



The MEE product line was discontinued in 2007.

You have already installed the program the maximum number (3) allowed per the license agreement you clicked "I agree" to.



Newer MED charts are available here:

http://www.maptechnavigation.com/water/digitalcharts/index.cfm?infopg=buy&area=Mediterranean










Jeff

Technical Support Specialist

KPM Marine, LLC
d/b/a Maptech Navigation
www.maptechnavigation.com/support

Technical Support - 978.834.9953
Customer Service - 978.834.9950
Sales Only - 877.334.2628
 
Have you actually tried talking to them, as opposed to communicating on-line or by email?

If you explain your problem and that you are the original purchaser of the charts, they might play ball and give you a new code.

It is very easy for them to say "No" by computer, not so easy in person or on the phone.

Even if you switch to OpenCPN you will still need the charts properly licensed on the target machine so worth persevering.

Good luck.
 
Norman_E said:
This is their actual message to me. I wonder how many other software companies insist on the strict terms of the license agreement for a product they don't even sell any more, though they do list an all Mediterranean chart at a big price.
Click to expand...

I make no judgement as to whether it is right, but it is the rule rather than the exception that, where a new product supercedes a discontinued one, new installations of the old one aren't permitted.

As I said, Maptech were helpful to me, allowing me to reinstall above the initial license limit as I upgraded computers. However I was not asking to install charts 5 years out-of-date for which there was a replacement.

As I say, I am not defending this, but it is not unusual commercial behaviour. I too will probably be looking for a cheaper solution soon.
 
I have not tried talking to them as they are in the USA, and all I used them for was passage planning, which I can now do on Open CPN or Seaclear with cheap charts from Yachtua. I am however very puzzled by Maptech's last e-mail to me in reply to my pointing out the poor way they deal with customers, which was "Again, the UKHO decrees the number of installations.". As they appear to have no presense in the UK, let alone a head office that one has me stumped.

I can only say that a company that treats its customers the way Maptech do is likely to find that they lose them.
EDIT: When they were in the UK, they were helpful.
 
BlueChip said:
UKHO =Uk hydrographic Office
Click to expand...

Odd, because the underlying charts appear to be German ones! (though there may be some UK ones)

If they are UK ones it explains a lot. In the USA all of the US Government produced charts are freely available to download. The taxpayers paid for them, and are therefore entitled to have them and use them for their own safety. Here we pay to produce them and then they are sold or licensed back to us at outrageous prices. For example Raster Charts at £1,100 per area for a one year licence.
 
Norman_E said:
Odd, because the underlying charts appear to be German ones! (though there may be some UK ones)

If they are UK ones it explains a lot. In the USA all of the US Government produced charts are freely available to download. The taxpayers paid for them, and are therefore entitled to have them and use them for their own safety. Here we pay to produce them and then they are sold or licensed back to us at outrageous prices. For example Raster Charts at £1,100 per area for a one year licence.
Click to expand...
.

The UK taxpayer has not paid the full cost of droggies charts which is why you have to pay. All the taxpayer has paid is for the ones used by the government. If you didn't pay then taxes would have to go up to meet the shortfall in income to droggy. The US sitation is almost unique and results in millions of non chart users subsidising the users. Then a lot of US political logic is wierd
 
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