HomePort, Oregon 400c, and internal BlueChart

Former Member over 15 years ago

Hi,

I'm looking for a way to view a chart, and create waypoints and routes, from the convenience of my laptop prior to a trip. Seems like HomePort can do all this and more. But will HomePort be able to use the BlueChart map pre-loaded in my Oregon 400c? I have only the map that came with the unit ... no CD's or other purchased maps.

If it IS possible to use the Oregon's internal map with HomePort, is it just a matter of transferring the pre-loaded .img file to the laptop or other storage media?

Just want to make sure I'll be able to do what I intend prior to purchasing HomePort. Thanks in advance for the help!

Pete

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

Oregon 400c and Homeport Issues

Just got Homeport and purchased another version of Blue Chart g2 (download) to try to make Homeport run standalone. So far it will only display the pre-loaded version of g2 from the 400c. This means it is slow, will not allow you to work with copies of the g2 map, or back yourself up.

Everything seems pretty good with the 400c. It is a good alternative to a full up chart reader and GPS. So far the Homeport has been a little flakey!

Garmin sent out a message to the effect that the naming coventions are different for the Homeport environment and that by changing them the downloaded version of g2 should execute from the SD device they sent with Homeport. SO far -- it doesn't work.

The ideal case would be to be able to copy the g2 version from the handheld to the SD chip without having to buy it again. You should be able to save a copy as a backup and re-load it to new chips if you corrupt one. Again saving or moving anything but overlay information DOES NOT WORK!

As long as you are connected to the PC via USB and Homeport can "see" the g2 pre-load you can still work. But it is suppose to enable you do all of the things above, especially if you have purchased and additional g2 to run stand alone!

Any help would be appreciated -- I am frustrated at this point!

0 rwidman over 14 years ago

What about when the charts are wrong?? As with Moriches Bay on Long Island, they have not even been close for over 5 years. It would be REALLY nice to edit the bouys 26 thru 28 in Moriches bay and put them where they belong.

You can't live life based on what "possible mistakes" one can make. We would all be locked up in rubber rooms.

Well, that's debatable and varies from situation to situation, but a company has to "live" based on possible liabilities and allowing the chart to be modified by a user could lead to a lawsuit, justified or not.

You can write on your paper chart and it's pretty obvious, but changes to an electronic chart would be hard to prove.

Since the electronic chart is based on "official" paper charts, the place to start is with whoever is responsible for those paper charts.

I know you're sophisticated enough as a user to create waypoints on your chart where the bouys actually are.

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

Good news! Got another download from Garmin with the correct naming convention and extensions for the microSD to work with Homeport. Now, just as advertised I can run Homeport on my desktop using the g2 on the microSD to drive the map display. So far all of the routes entered are savable too! I did have to purchase a download of the g2 beyond the one pre-loaded in my 400c to make this work right. Seems there is no way I can find to copy the pre-loaded g2 on to a microSD inside the 400c and transfer it to the desktop to execute with Homeport. This means an additional $160.00 investment beyond that of the 400c itself as well as that for the Homeport sw. But at least I can do what I want to do now, plan on a stand-alone version on my desktop and move the routes, etc. to the microSD an over to the 400c in turn