GPS question for 1997 Albin TE

[KathyN]

We've just purchased a 1997 Albin 31 TE which has a Northstar 952XD GPS--original equipment. It comes with Navchart chips for all of Florida and the Bahamas, but none for the Chesapeake Bay, our home grounds. It has a 5" display, which we found a bit on the small side on our sea trial, so we will likely be upgrading in the near future, but hopefully not IMMEDIATELY. So our thought is to get possibly a used navchart chip of our area to use until we can make a decision on what to get as an upgrade. Does anyone know of a source for used chips? I've checked eBay, and there's nothing currently listed. Someone mentioned a club or organization where you can trade chips.........anyone know of such a thing? I appreciate any advice anyone can give us.

KathyN

[KathyN]

We ended up buying a new NavChart chip, shipped straight from Navionics. The display size now seems "okay" to us, but we can't seem to get it to display the depths in feet rather than meters. We live two hours from where the boat is now, so we won't be able to do further testing until this weekend, but we're hoping that if we switch the speed read-out to mph from knots, it may change the depth readings as well. Will find out this weekend.

KathyN

[jcollins]

Check out chapter 11 of the manual.

[KathyN]

Thanks, John, for your-as always-quick reply and offer of help! I wish we could actually test it out, but we're not there right now, and we didn't get to test this on Sunday. I have read the entire chapter several times; it doesn't mention changing the depth readings at all, but I'm hoping that the fact that the distance readings are changed when you change from knots to miles per hour, hopefully all the measurements will be changed from metric. I'm thinking that it ought to, although I think many boaters (including my husband, which is how it got set to knots rather than mph) prefer to use the "knots" designation for tracking their speed and certainly in this country there are very few who would opt for the meter designation for depth. There HAS to be a way to change that in the software (which is what Navionics said when I called them thinking I'd perhaps got the wrong chip). We'll see! And again, thanks for your help!

KathyN

[JackK]

It seems unlikely to me that changing the distance unit would affect the chart details. However, I read the manual to your unit and could not find a settings page similar to my Furuno which allows you to set the units for all items individually. Here's what the setup page looks like on the Furuno.



The manual for the 952vx doesn't mention depth settings even in the chart details section which is where I would expect to find it. Maybe a call to Northstar support before you return to the boat could solve the problem.

Jack

[RobS]

Depth? Do you mean Speed? I had the Northstar 951 and it was a stand-alone chartplotter, not a radar or sounder/fishfinder. I thought the 952 was just the newer color model of the 951. BTW the 951 and 952 are both top notch chartplotters and the most desired in their day and still sought after by many.

[JackK]

Rob -

Depth contours on the chart not sounder readings.

Jack

[RobS]

Rob -

Depth contours on the chart not sounder readings.

Jack

Thanks for clearing that up Jack - been a tough 2 days - brain is mush....

[RobS]

I had a few free minutes, a call to Northstar tech support advises that it should change with this:

Star Key>User Customization>Display Options>Dist/Speed Units

So I think you're on the write "Track" - No Pun intended

[KathyN]

Wow....you are all very kind to put so much effort into finding our answer, which I hope we'll have tomorrow when we get back to the boat! Yes, we're "hoping" that changing the distance WILL also change the depth markings on the contour charts from metric.

I'm delighted to read the high marks for the 952; we had originally thought we'd upgrade quite soon, but it seems QUITE good already--always assuming we don't have to translate from meters to feet when reading depths!

I'll let you know how it goes............

KathyN

[KathyN]

An update to our "problem" with the Northstar 952X showing the depth contour figures in meters only; went to the boat yesterday. I changed the dist/speed to mph and it didn't help. Still only meters on the contours. By changing other different settings, I can make the numbers disappear completely, or the lines, or the color land mass indicator, but I can't change the readings to feet. Do you suppose the chip I got only HAS meters? Or perhaps my software version CAN'T make the change? But why in the world would it DEFAULT to meters, when the packaging it came in shows the markings in feet in all the chart images that can be read (with a magnifying glass) and the company is LOCATED in Massachusetts?

I called Navionics last week about this problem and was told "All our charts have both feet and meters. It has to be changed in your equipment. It will still show up to 25% of the markings in meters, even when it's set to display feet." My chart shows a very few--less than 5%--in feet (as in "19' reported 2000"). I also called Northstar, and was given the same information about the display settings>distance/speed being where I should go, but it just isn't there. I simply can't imagine that there is no solution to this. After we move the boat closer to home this weekend, I will be able to go over during the week and sit at the helm, turn it on and call Northstar and ask them to actually walk me through it, but I really thought I had the solution from what they told me--and several others--last week!

KathyN

[Carl]

Since you are keeping your boat on KI, next time you are over there, BOE marine has a new place on the left hand side going east. It is right across 50 from the old Boaters world. Ask for Jim, and he will help you out. They are good people, and a great time to establish a relationship.

[KathyN]

Thanks, Carl! I'll do that. It's nice to know there's another marine store over there, and if they are knowledgeable, so much the better.

KathyN

[KathyN]

Yesterday I spoke with both Navionics and Northstar (again) about our problem of not being able to set the depth contour readings to feet rather than meters, and the bottom line is that we can't do it. Navionics no longer uses only the NOAA charts, but also uses "other source data" for their charts, and that other source is in meters. So that's the default ("because we are an international company")!! Some chartplotters can change it to feet, but some can't, including "some" of the Northstar units. And there's no update of software for the units that would make it work (Northstar told me they "no longer support that unit with updates of the software because of its age"). I find it hard to believe that this American company (Navionics) would make a chart of the Chesapeake Bay--ninety-nine percent of which will be sold to Americans--with the default depth contours shown in meters. And that they say that chart is "compatible" with the Northstar 952. That's a misrepresentation of the truth.

So now we're shopping for a new chartplotter! Not happily.

Thank you all who have put time into trying to help us sort out the problem.

KathyN