Our problem is a Garmin "feature!"

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Forum Readers,

I have a reasonably new 547xs which is working fine except for one issue.  Up to this point I have been using it as a passive chart.  Recently I decided to use "Go To" navigation.  I had a lot of trouble using this feature, and the documentation is, in a word, poor.  When I finally backed out from my problem all of the buoys had lost their associated text.  For example just outside of Ft. Lauderdale, FL there is a red buoy labeled "2" Fl R 2.5s.  That text is now gone.  Upon further reflection this probably happened after the software update of June 16th and I just did not notice it.  It was on that date that I installed software ver. 6.40. 

From a post on the forum The Hull Truth I learned about a Garmin new "feature."  The forum user named "guineaman" had the same problem.  He was told by Garmin that the text was deliberately removed by Garmin.  To quote him: 

"Thank you for contacting Garmin International.  I'm happy to help you with your navaids.  Unfortunately those will no longer show up all the time no matter what settings you change.  You will have to scroll over the navaid to get information on it."

Garmin claims that customers were complaining that the screen had too much "clutter" so in the interest of customer satisfaction the text was removed.  For a more detail listing of the issue please turn to:  http://www.thehulltruth.com/marine-electronics-forum/770547-garmin-547xs-lost-buoy-text.html  For even more blow by blow comments send an e.mail message to me at Bob@s-i-inc.com.  I have some comments that I don't want to display here so that is why the e.mail request.

Cheers,

Bob

[Stu Jackson]

A few choice words come to mind

Unconscionable

Dangerous

Illogical

Stupid

Ridiculous

Moronic

Crowd-sourced

Lowest common denominator

A$$holes



Wow, that's like printing a map but leaving the street names and towns off it!  Clutter???

Truly brain dead.

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

A few choice words come to mind...

Wow, that's like printing a map but leaving the street names and towns off it!  Clutter???

Truly brain dead.

This has more of the earmarks of lawyers rather than technical decisions. If it had been to reduce clutter it would have gone into the menu item that reduces detail rather than just "cease and desist." Just my guess. There are a number of law suits that are involved with Garmin and their products.  I have no idea if this has any bearing on this issue.

Bob

[Stu Jackson]

Bob,

We have a Garmin GPSMap 76Cx, maybe 10 years old, back when they gave you the charts on a disc and you had to buy the "unlock" code.  Unfortunately, they stopped supporting that method, which was dumb on their part, 'cuz while I'd want to buy more regions from them, they can no longer sell them to me.  A truly poor business model = F your own customers.

What really gets me riled, though, is they take the FREE charts that our government provides its citizens (since they were made with our tax dollars), and then Garmin makes them proprietary and asks you to pay for them all over again and at exorbitant rates.

That said, I really like my GPSMap 76Cx, but I would do my research and homework first before I bought ANY OTHER make or model of a chartplotter.

Thanks again for the heads up on this issue.

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Forum Readers,

This morning I sent a five page memo detailing all of my interactions with Garmin tech support and my 547xs to the tech support supervisor.  About an hour later I got a call from Chad Wittman, Marine Product Support Supervisor.  He listen to my recounting of the memo that he had read and understood well.  He could not have been more sympathetic to my plight.  He said he was surprised to learn of this, but after he had read my memo and before his call to me, he checked with engineering.  He said everything I had said was true.  He agreed that the navaid information should not have been removed.  After the call he said he would issue a request from tech support to engineering to have the feature returned.  He said he would keep me posted.  I sent him an e.mail message just to state my understanding of the conversation.  He responded with this e.mail note:

"Hi Robert,

It was my pleasure speaking with you today.  I have already submitted the links to both forum's and the request to engineering; I will absolutely keep you posted as I hear updates.

Thank you again for your time and explanation of the situation."

I have every expectation that he will follow through.  I feel much better about Garmin and their tech support operation.  I once ran a software company and his job is not an easy one.

Cheers,

Bob

[britinusa]

Nicely done Bob!

Paul