How charts work in NavNet 3D

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I have been using the system for a few years and will be heading south this year. I need to add Bahamas charts and it wouldn't hurt to update the east coast charts. I've been looking for the Bahamas charts and ended up fairly confused.

I see options to purchase charts from various sources. But they refer to C-map Jeppeson and Mapmedia and various other acronyms. Also mention of both low res and high res sat photos. I am also interested in the Explorer charts and some of the info suggests they are based on these but I can't seem to understand the connection.

I've read and understand the process for adding and deleting charts from the MFD. it is knowing what to buy and what I will get that confuses me. Can anyone provide a concise summary of the various chart types and suppliers for NN3 and how to choose? And pros and cons of various types.
 
I'll give it a try...

Mapmedia is the company that formats charts in the MM3D (MaxSea Time Zero) format used by Furuno NN3D products and MaxSea software. They convert from data obtained from other sources, such as NOAA (free US charts), C-map (subsidiary of Jeppeson), Navionics and Explorer(?). So any chart you will use must be in Mapmedia 3D format, but the content may derive from various sources. To see what is available you can get at the Mapmedia list from Furuno's product page, or from MyNavnet.com, or Mapmedia.com. For the Bahamas, charts are available based on Explorer, C-map, and Navionics data; your choice. I have no experience with these; perhaps others will offer recommendations.

To buy these charts, first download the chart from the above sources. If it is not a free chart you will have to purchase a decryption key for that particular chart package and version, and your unit's ID number. These are available at the usual suspects - one easy place is Defender. Then copy the chart to an SD card and transfer it to the MFD, and enter the key. (This process is well documented.)

You should review all of the charts you currently have on the MFD to determine version numbers. There will be many files that need updating if you haven't done so recently. This would be a good time to prune the installed charts and keep only the ones you will be using (allow for changes/emergencies). There have been some changes to the coverages of some of the charts, so do check what is available.

There is a single low-res satellite file for the world. The hi-res satellite files are for much smaller areas. There are free hi-res sat photos for the US. Some of the non-free charts include sat photos. You need to be selective about sat photos - disk space is limited.

I put a list together of the free charts available for the US, including the coastal (but not Mississippi River) sat photos. This may help you get organized with these. This was current as of a few months ago, and probably still is. (BTW there is an issue with the new tides info with the current firmware release (2.07) which will be fixed in the next version - see the thread Tides and Current information.)

Greg
 

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Thanks CarinaPDX. That does help. Follow up question. The Bahamas charts are available in three formats. For all three, the description says they include "standard res" sat photos. Then there is a separate item that can be purchased that is only the "high res" sat data. Has anyone looked at the difference between the high and standard res data for any region and could you comment on the value of buying the high res?
 
Sorry- can't help with the different sat photo offerings.

This isn't a highly trafficked forum so info not specific to Furuno products can be hard to find here. I strongly recommend that you take a look at Cruisers Forum for answers to your questions. If you look at this thread you will find that the Explorer charts are considered the most accurate for the Bahamas: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f12 ... 77485.html Needless to say with all of the shallows in the Bahamas accuracy is the most important consideration. If you can't find info regarding sat photo images there then start a new thread. It is best to use the Google custom search under the search tab to locate content. There are quite a few Bahamas cruisers active on the site, and a lot of knowledgeable Furuno owners as well.

Greg
 
Within days of posting with my attached list of currently available charts, new versions were released. A good thing, but it made my list obsolete. So here is the current list of available free charts for US users, including all high res photos. It does have the items I have loaded on my MFD8 marked with an "X"; feel free to change it for your installation. It is in .rtf (Rich Text Format) so most text editors will do the job.

Greg
 

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Agreed - thanks Greg. One enhancement (sample attached) I made is to track the actual version number by device (I have an MFD8 and 2 laptops). I wish there was "push" notification of when charts have been superseded - at least for the laptops. Any chance of that Johnny?
 

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Japan has NavNet.com (mynavnet) setup for checking your software and charts for most up to date version. It works okay, but MaxSea is said to be working on a better website solution.
 
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