Nick Taylors blog

24 hours after posting about my problems re-registering and updating maps on my Garmin StreetPilot 7500, they have fixed my problem, I confess I dug my heels in a bit, sending them an email reminding them how I use their products, how long I’ve used them for (since 1995), how much I’ve spend and how many times I’ve recommend people buy Garmin for their good quality products and great customer support.

Anyway, I got an email from them saying that they’ve registered the device for me and they also threw in a free upgrade to City Navigator North America NT 2010, which is great, and that’s what started this thing in the first place.

So, while a little slower than usual, Garmin support came through again. Thank-you Garmin, I shall continue to recommend your products!

I’m trying to spend some money with Garmin, but they won’t let me.

I’m a fan of Garmin GPS receivers, particularly devices like the GPSMap 478, a wonderful chart-plotting GPS. I also have a StreetPilot 7500, a nice large-screen GPS that I use in the truck. I’ve spend thousands on Garmin hardware and maps since my first Garmin device, a GPS 12, back in 1995. If you count the devices I’ve bought for others and my referrals that total is well north of $10,000.

A while ago, maybe in mid-late 2007, Garmin updated their internal systems at my.garmin.com. I had multiple GPSes registered with them, including the StreetPilot 7500. The old system was never brilliant, I blame the DRM they have around the mapping data, but that’s another subject…

Anyway, I want to upgrade the 7500 to the latest version of City Navigator North America NT, the 2009 update. To unlock the maps, you have to have a registered device. During Garmins update to my.garmin.com my previously registered 7500 disappeared. Now, when I try to register it again my.garmin.com rejects my serial number.

I’ve been extremely happy with Garmin support through the years, in fact they managed to next day me a replacement mapping CDROM when I was out of the country, starting trans-Sahara trip, to replace a damaged disk. They have been pretty responsive so far with my registration problem, until I received this today (the issue had been passed to their IT department)

We have contacted our IT department and requested another update. To answer your questions:

We have stressed the importance of getting this matter resolved and I am hopeful that we can get this matter resolved quickly. Thank you for your patience in this matter.

As this issue has been outstanding for 3 weeks, I’d love to know what the “IT Department” are doing. The very phrase makes my blood run cold, and I’m in IT guy! Some transparency would be greatly appreciated.

Ideally, I’d like to know what IT have done in the 2 weeks since they received this ticket from their support guys, what they are planning to do and why they can’t escalate it.

Remember, all I want to do is give them about $100 for new maps. All I need is a valid serial number.

I hope I don’t have to start buying and recommending other brands if they can’t resolve this. If anyone from Garmin feels like helping, the case number is KMM12787676I15977L0KM. Thanks!

For years I’ve used the Garmin GPSMAP 478, it’s got me across the Rub ‘al Khali, seen service in the Sahara and been all over the USA. It’s a fantastic piece of equipment, rugged, robust and reliable. I’ve not had a single problem with it in the last 3 or 4 years. It’ll do turn-by-turn navigation and chart-plotting – an essential feature not just for mariners, but also for those of us who explore the more remote parts of the world. The 478 has served me well and I have no hesitation in recommending it highly. I only had two minor criticisms - it’s be nice to have a slightly larger screen and let’s stop using the proprietary Garmin Data Cards. 

Well, there’s a new kid in town. The Garmin GPSMAP 640 looks like it’s going to be the new favorite of overlanders. It addresses both of my issues with the 478. It takes SD cards, and the display is a 13.2 cm (diagonal) with a resolution of 800×480 WVGA (the 478 is 9.4cm on the diagonal and has a resolution of 480×320). It’ll calculate faster than the GPSMAP 478, with SD cards it can support more memory, but it is a bit bulkier (15.0 x 10.2 x 4.8 cm vs the 478 at 14.5 x 8.1 x 4.8 cm). 

There is also a GPSMAP 620, which is physically the same at the 640, but doesn’t support the XM Radio and XM Weather (which I use frequently, very handy having radar overlays when you’re in the mountains in the summer), and doesn’t come with any maps preloaded. It also costs $200 less at MSRP. 

For XM Radio and XM Weather, you’ll need the new GXM40 antenna (with the very odd MSRP of 267.84). It seems the old GXM30 won’t work with the 640, and you’ll have to transfer your existing XM subscription to the new antenna. 

The GPSMAP 640 isn’t available until Q1 2009, with an MRSP of $1199 (but already available for pre-order from around $950).

As soon as Ram Mounts have their brackets ready, I’ll get one ordered.

I’ve finally installed Mobile APRS in the Green D90. I’ve had static APRS working, but it was time to integrate GPS into the system; particularly useful when we head out to remote locations as we do most weekends.

The original plan was to simply send the trucks current coordinates as acquired by the GPS via a TNC to the radio and out, to be picked up by other stations and relayed to an igate and from there onto the internet where many various sites show your position in near real-time.

This would have been a very simple setup consisting of a Garmin GPS16HVS, an OEM unit that basically integrates the GPS and antenna into a single unit without a display, a Kantronics MT-1200 TNC and an Icom IC-2200 single band radio.

However, I ran out of time (I wanted it working for our Utah “Hole in the Rock” trip), and didn’t want to go back to Radio Shack for another 2.5mm 3 way jack so I dug out my “spare” Kenwood TM-D700A, which has a built it TNC and would save some time during the configuration.

With the Kenwood radio, the system simply consisted of the GPS16 connected to the D700A radio.

Installing the GPS16 was a small problem. It comes with a magnetic mount, which, of course, is no use in an aluminum-bodied Land Rover Defender (actually, it’s Birmabright). The green D90 is a bit old and beat up anyway, so I wasn’t too bothered about drilling the roof. I drilled 4 holes for the GPS16 and another 4 for the cable passthrough (a waterproof marine-grade “Cable Clam“, made by Blue Sea Systems and available from from West Marine), and simply fed the cable through.

The GPS16 ships with an RJ45 connector, and I can’t imagine what use it has except for factory testing. After cutting it off, there are basically 2 sets of data wiring and also power wires in a very compact space (as described in the manual – PDF link). It’s a simple job, but fiddly connecting the power to my usual 45A Anderson Powerpole connectors and a 3-way 2.5mm jack. Initially I forgot that the data ground has to be cross connected to the ground, so the GPS did not switch on.

I removed the 2.5mm jack and connected an DB9 socket so I could connect a terminal to the GPS16. It was about now I realized that it wasn’t powered on (there is no indicator light to show this), but I was amising myself watching the NMEA sentences appear on my terminal. I also downloaded the Garmin SNSRCFG software, which enabled me to play with a ton of settings in the GPS16. I just made sure the data it was acquiring was correct before disconnecting it and putting the 2.5mm jack back on.

Then, I connected the jack to the radio and to my delight I saw the GPS indicator flashing, meaning that the radio was receiving telemetry from the GPS. Fiddling with a few settings on the radio, to configure it to take position data from the GPS and override the manual co-ordinates I’d entered earlier, I saw the “MY POS” indicator flash up, showing that APRS data was being transmitted. A drive around the block and a quick visit to db0anf, and I could see my position being updated in near real time. Success!

You can see my position updates here.

Overall, the Garmin GPS16 and Kenwood TM-D700A radio is a great combination for hands off APRS work.

I do have a few more steps to finish this little project, including making a small breakout box for the GPS16, which will have switched power and a connection for both the radio (via a jack) and terminal (via a DB9). And then I’ll have to do it all again for the black D90!