Garmin Data Cards

[morpheus]

My Garmin 3210 chart plotter is about eight years old now and they use the Garmin Data Cards, we are going through the Panama Canal next year and are having a hell of a job in sourcing the cards. On talking to Garmin they tell us that the data cards are no longer supported by them and there isn't any unlock codes available to download off of the CD's we purchased.
I appreciate that they have now gone over to the SD and Micro SD cards but considering the thousands of units they have sold over the years you would have thought that they support the product for ten years or so.
Does anyone know where I can source data cards, I have tried Landfall Navigation, ebay with no luck.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by morpheus

My Garmin 3210 chart plotter is about eight years old now and they use the Garmin Data Cards, we are going through the Panama Canal next year and are having a hell of a job in sourcing the cards. On talking to Garmin they tell us that the data cards are no longer supported by them and there isn't any unlock codes available to download off of the CD's we purchased.
I appreciate that they have now gone over to the SD and Micro SD cards but considering the thousands of units they have sold over the years you would have thought that they support the product for ten years or so.
Does anyone know where I can source data cards, I have tried Landfall Navigation, ebay with no luck.

IMO - You are better off buying a used iPad and getting their Garmin charts. At least that is updated chart info.

[NewMoon]

Have you looked on eBay? With just a quick look I see at least a couple of data cards there, for the SE and SW Caribbean.

[morpheus]

Thanks zboss and New Moon, I thought about an iPad but only as a back up as I was concerned with the accuracy of in built GPS.
I need data cards from the Pacific side of Panama all the way through to Grenada

[zboss]

Hmm.. are those data cards Compact Flash? If so, you can get a reader and a blank small card. Examine the folder structureof an existing old card. If the folder structure is the same as a modern card, you may be able to copy the data from the modern card over to the CF card.

I copied my data card over to a backup and use the backup in the chartpotter.

[roverhi]

The Caribbean cards used to turn up regularly on Ebay. If you have the time to hang out and wait, an east and west Caribbean card should do you up. IIRC, they were going for around $150 each.

When I talked with Garmin people at the boat show a couple of years ago, they said they could burn data cards if you provided the card with a suitable capacity. Might check and see if they will still do that if you can find a card with enough capacity. Assume it could be a blank or write over a pre-burned card.

Here's an Eastern Caribbean Card on Ebay now:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GARMIN-BLUEC...66ab9c&vxp=mtr

[zboss]

Originally Posted by roverhi

The Caribbean cards used to turn up regularly on Ebay. If you have the time to hang out and wait, an east and west Caribbean card should do you up. IIRC, they were going for around $150 each.

When I talked with Garmin people at the boat show a couple of years ago, they said they could burn data cards if you provided the card with a suitable capacity. Might check and see if they will still do that if you can find a card with enough capacity. Assume it could be a blank or write over a pre-burned card.

Here's an Eastern Caribbean Card on Ebay now:
Garmin Bluechart Southeast Caribbean MUS030R Data Card Marine Chart 010 C0044 00 | eBay

So that gives credibility to my supposition that the data formats are the same between the old cards and the new cards. You should just be able to download the new data and add it to your old card... I would experiment first on a card that is not you existing card.

[NewMoon]

Originally Posted by zboss

So that gives credibility to my supposition that the data formats are the same between the old cards and the new cards. You should just be able to download the new data and add it to your old card... I would experiment first on a card that is not you existing card.

I don't know specifically about the data format, but the Bluechart data card itself is a unique Garmin proprietary format. It can be read by a PC, but only with the USB-attached Garmin Data Card Reader. Drivers for this reader work only with 32-bit Windows systems, not with W7 64-bit or newer. Garmin wisely switched from this format to SD cards with its 4000-series chartplotters maybe 8-10 years ago.

As far as I have been able to tell, the Garmin BlueChart data cards sold containing charts cannot be written to, but there are blank ones of various sizes than can be written to. I use one to save routes and waypoints from my 2006C chartplotter, than transfer them to a W7-32bit computer using Garmin's Homeport software. From there the info can be moved to an SD card and made available to newer chartplotters.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by NewMoon

I don't know specifically about the data format, but the Bluechart data card itself is a unique Garmin proprietary format. It can be read by a PC, but only with the USB-attached Garmin Data Card Reader. Drivers for this reader work only with 32-bit Windows systems, not with W7 64-bit or newer. Garmin wisely switched from this format to SD cards with its 4000-series chartplotters maybe 8-10 years ago.

As far as I have been able to tell, the Garmin BlueChart data cards sold containing charts cannot be written to, but there are blank ones of various sizes than can be written to. I use one to save routes and waypoints from my 2006C chartplotter, than transfer them to a W7-32bit computer using Garmin's Homeport software. From there the info can be moved to an SD card and made available to newer chartplotters.

I copied my chartplotter data and the new G2 data card out to another SD card and then combined the different card folders into one. Then, I created an ISO image and mounted it on my mac so I can use it for homeport.