Navionics cards

[KREW2]

I have just received my Raymarine c80 back from the Service Centre in Poole.
Here's the rub. They said the 4gb card that is in it is a bit too big, and a 2gb is the norm.
They sorted a problem tested it and said that the plotter was working well even with the 4gb card in it.
So, do I stick with it, or get a smaller card?

 

[PeterBoater]

A known problem with older Raymarine MFDs and larger cards. They were designed to read only 2GB cards; anything larger eventually overheats the reader power supply board and it fails. Might take years, might take months. For this reason Navionics has stopped selling Platinum+ charts on 16GB CF cards; at present they still do Navionics+ on 2GB CF cards but because 2GB cards are no longer made, they partition an 8GB card with the data on a 2GB partition. The jury is out on whether the MFD thinks this is a 2GB or an 8GB card. A 4GB card or a partitioned 8GB card is better than a 16GB card but nevertheless could in the long term be more damaging than a 2GB card. It ought to be possible to clone the data on larger card onto a 2GB card but Navionics card locking seems to make it impossible, unless someone knows otherwise?
To try to preserve the life of my MFD, I only load the quasi-2GB card with the chart data, about 750MB worth, and not the bigger sonar data set (that would otherwise nearly fill the card, as one expert said that it gives less of a load on the MFD card reader power supply). I was also told that filling the card up to the brim does not give the MFD any 'headroom' for the small amount of data it needs to put on the card, so it won't work.

 

[Refueler]

Back in the MS-DOS days and such as DiskCopy .... you could cause a disk to be the size of the copy impressed on it ... ie a 5.25 disc could be DC'd to a 3.5 disc and it would run in the PC as a 5.25 even though it was in the 3.5 drive.
HDD's could have same done to them - note we are not talking partitioning ... but making the disc act and be the smaller size. Partitioning still has the 'other section' visible ... takes me back to the old days of splitting up 40Meg drives into 8 and 32 ...

Navionics cards can be cloned .... but its not something to be advertised here.... and its not just a matter of a bit of SW and couple of cards.

One of the main problems with using larger cards in units - comes from the speed of the card vs speed of Read / Write of the unit. If you use a poor match of card to reader - then all sorts of errors can pop up. Many users save a quid or so on using the min spec card quoted for the unit .... do yourself a favour and use the best speed you can get... that's both Write and Read ... as they are separate items.


I have gear that says 8 or 16Gb max .... but happily run 32Gb ... but they are fastest cards I can source.

 

[dunedin]

Small capacity CF cards, including 2Gb, are often available on eBay. I bought one a few years ago, and see plenty available today.

However, I was using the. CF card for the software updates, it Navionics. You might have to check with Navionics if you could move your charts to a different CF card - and whether the data would fit. The encryption prevents you from doing simply.

 

[KREW2]

Thanks for the replies, Unfortunately I am not very savy when it comes to cards. I'm assuming the 2gb card I need is not available any more, I will contact Navionics tomorrow and see what they say.
Peterboater. To try to preserve the life of my MFD, I only load the quasi-2GB card with the chart data, about 750MB worth. Is this something I could do with my 4gb card?

 

[PeterBoater]

Thanks for the replies, Unfortunately I am not very savy when it comes to cards. I'm assuming the 2gb card I need is not available any more, I will contact Navionics tomorrow and see what they say.
Peterboater. To try to preserve the life of my MFD, I only load the quasi-2GB card with the chart data, about 750MB worth. Is this something I could do with my 4gb card?

Yes, you should be able to but only do it via the Chart Installer app/program. If you try to delete files via Windows etc, you could end up with an irreversibly ruined card. I recall that I used a delete/remove facility in Chart Installer to remove the sonar data (that I never used anyway). As I understand it (which might be wrong), as the boat goes along, the MFD reads the next lot of data from the card for the new surrounding area; reducing the amount of new data it has to read by removing the sonar data reduces the 'wear and tear', on the MFD reader circuits. Possibly that's clutching at straws but anything that might prolong the life of these legacy MFDs is worth trying. New generation MFDs are hardly cheap and are incompatable with legacy radars and possibly legacy autopilots, so megabucks involved. Incidentally, I see you used The Service Centre; I did too, thoroughly recommended.

 

[KREW2]

Would this be a straight replacement.
2005 dated card for Raymarine plotters for UK south to Hamburg. Comes with usb adaptor. It is on a 128mb compact flash card so even if you don’t want the charts the card is useful for doing Raymarine updates on older plotters. £20 collected or can post.

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[dunedin]

Thanks for the replies, Unfortunately I am not very savy when it comes to cards. I'm assuming the 2gb card I need is not available any more, I will contact Navionics tomorrow and see what they say.
Peterboater. To try to preserve the life of my MFD, I only load the quasi-2GB card with the chart data, about 750MB worth. Is this something I could do with my 4gb card?

Not sure why you are saying the 2Gb CF cards are not available - per post #4 above lots on eBay, for example SANDISK 2GB COMPACT FLASH MEMORY CARD WHITE LABEL 85X SPEED - UK SELLER | eBay

Might also need one of these to connect to a PC for loading - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Integral-C...26&hvtargid=pla-562698024706&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

The challenge is getting this usable as a Navionics card without paying a fortune to Navionics. Post back on here what Navionics say and we can perhaps translate into English

 

[KREW2]

Not sure why you are saying the 2Gb CF cards are not available - per post #4 above lots on eBay, for example SANDISK 2GB COMPACT FLASH MEMORY CARD WHITE LABEL 85X SPEED - UK SELLER | eBay

Might also need one of these to connect to a PC for loading - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Integral-C...26&hvtargid=pla-562698024706&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

The challenge is getting this usable as a Navionics card without paying a fortune to Navionics. Post back on here what Navionics say and we can perhaps translate into English

What I meant was one with charts installed that I can just plug in.

 

[dunedin]

What I meant was one with charts installed that I can just plug in.

Ok, yes, no chance I am afraid. But as you suggest, speak to Navionics and see what they say and report back on here.
PS. I have Navionics on both VF and SD card for different generation plotters, and know if can be a bit frustrating (and consequently too expensive to update regularly)

 

[KREW2]

I found a phone number for Navimaps. Went straight through to a very helpful man.
He told me, as as been said on here that my 4gb card would have been partitioned . He asked me how long the card has been in the plotter, I found the invoice dated 2015. He said if it hasn't damaged the plotter by now he can't see a reason why it should in the future.

 

[PeterBoater]

I found a phone number for Navimaps. Went straight through to a very helpful man.
He told me, as as been said on here that my 4gb card would have been partitioned . He asked me how long the card has been in the plotter, I found the invoice dated 2015. He said if it hasn't damaged the plotter by now he can't see a reason why it should in the future.

That will have been Lance Godefroy; indeed very helpful, as are all the people at Navimaps (formerly the UK office of Navionics)