Does HomePort support Bluechart installed from a CD?

Hello,

I'm new to this forum and I have tried to search for an answer to my question but could not find any...

I have installed BlueChart 2008 on my computer and wonders if HomePort will work with this installation or if it requires to read the marine maps from a SD-card?
BlueChart shows up in MapSource as it should, but BaseCamp does not support BlueChart so I thought about HomePort.
If there were a trial version I would have tried that before asking, but can not find any.

I don't know if it does or doesn't, but I don't know why you would want to.

The plotters with built in maps (I can speak for the 42XX and 52XX) allow you to copy the built in maps to an SD card. Homeport will read these maps. They do not need to be unlocked by region for a fee as was required with BlueChart and MapSource.

You paid for the maps when you bought the plotter and your only additional cost is about $10.00 for a 2GB SD card.

BTW: HomePort will not read maps from the computer's internal hard drive. Only from external media such as an SD card. People have posted that it will read from USB thumb drives but I have not tried it.

I don't know if it does or doesn't, but I don't know why you would want to.

The plotters with built in maps (I can speak for the 42XX and 52XX) allow you to copy the built in maps to an SD card. Homeport will read these maps. They do not need to be unlocked by region for a fee as was required with BlueChart and MapSource.

You paid for the maps when you bought the plotter and your only additional cost is about $10.00 for a 2GB SD card.

BTW: HomePort will not read maps from the computer's internal hard drive. Only from external media such as an SD card. People have posted that it will read from USB thumb drives but I have not tried it.

Thanks for your reply!

I have a Garmin Colorado 300 so I have no built in maps in the plotter. But maybe it is possible to create maps from MapSource and send to a SD-card and then read from this SD-card into HomePort?!
The reason why I ask about HomePort is that I use MapSource today and I'm curious to see if HomePort has more features than MS. But then I need to be able to see the maps in HP.

Does anyone know if there are any major differences between MS and HP when it comes to marine related features?

I don't know if it does or doesn't, but I don't know why you would want to.

One of reasons could be to print maps or route on maps. As far as I know, HomePort doesn't support printing for maps on SD or device.

Thanks for your reply!

I have a Garmin Colorado 300 so I have no built in maps in the plotter. But maybe it is possible to create maps from MapSource and send to a SD-card and then read from this SD-card into HomePort?!
The reason why I ask about HomePort is that I use MapSource today and I'm curious to see if HomePort has more features than MS. But then I need to be able to see the maps in HP.

Does anyone know if there are any major differences between MS and HP when it comes to marine related features?

I have both and continue to use both to some extent.

Being an "old time" computer guy, I like the user interface and operation of MapSource better. You create and save files just as you would in a word processor or spreadsheet. Homeport stores information internally.

Each has its good points and its not so good points. Mapsource lets you know how many turns there are in a route. Homeport does not. Hardware devices have a fixed limit on turns so it's important to know this.

That said, I find myself using HomePort but occasionally exporting routes to MapSource to take advantage of its features and then importing them back into HomePort.

At $30, there's little reason not to buy it and try it. I've wasted far more on useless products in my day.