Standard Mapping chip
 

Thinking I posted this in the wrong category originally:
Friend just told me about Standard Mapping chips (also saw it in an old La. Sportsman). Looked online, but the website is kinda primitive. Anyone have experience with this? It appears that it will replace the OEM map provided by Navionics for the Lowrance Elite HDI, but since I already have a microchip in the unit, not sure if it will work correctly if I replace that chip with the SM chip. Just looking for input. I have some of the "paper" SM maps and they seems to much more current than my old maps so it intrigues me. Would also be nice to know that I'm actually running on water rather than the land shown on the Navionics maps on their chip.

Worth every penny

+1

I swapped out a perfectly good Garmin 720 to a Simrad NSS8 just so I could use the ecards. Awesome.

Does the chip download into the gps and then the chip can be removed? Or does it have to stay plugged into the unit?

Bill

You leave the chip in the unit. When you leave the area of the chip you just switch your view to whatever baseline map is included with your unit. Or remove the chip and put the one in for the area you are going to. Its really simple and they are worth every penny.

Okay, that makes sense, but just to make sure I understand what you are saying, I now have the so called Navionics Gold (which is not the real Gold card cuz I got it as a promotional deal when I bought my Elite and I have since found out that it is different from the the real Gold card). So, if I buy the SM card, I would replace my "Gold" card with the SM card until I'm out of the area that is covered with that particular SM card?

Thanks for your help Steve.

Oh, by the way, speaking of chips: I have seen/heard of a chip that purports to mark all the reefs South of Marsh Island, i.e. T-Butte, Diamond, Shell Keys, etc. and allows you to run on plank without being fearful of running up on a reef. Supposedly costs $500 and is only compatible for Garmin GPS. Any confirmation of that?

Even if I spent $500 on that chip I would putt around until all my trails were and and I were extremely familiar with the area...

Standard map would provide the detail needed, along with a trip out there with someone who is very familiar.

That $500 chip won't take the pucker factor away while learning anyway!

Cajun Bill

Yes you have it correct. You would remove the Navionics card and insert the SM card. Then when you get outside the area of the SM card just swap back to the Nac card. And to be clear. The SM cards ONLY work with the Elite 5 HDI and Elite 7 HDI. They work with any HDS unit or Simrad comparable too. Just make sure you have the correct unit before you spend $$ on SM cards.

just ordered one
 

Yeah, just got it from "the horse's mouth" i.e. Glenn at SM. Ordered the VB/Marsh Island chip and if it is what it looks like it will be, I will probably then order the combo card for Dularge/Cocodrie/Timberlier/Fouchon area. I spoke with him about the high $$ chip that I posted about. He says he is familiar with it and has even looked at in on a PC and is thinking of incorporating that in any updates he does of the VB/MI area. He said the info came from an old NOAA map that the guy figured out how to digitize and save it to a chip for the Garmin units. He'll have to do the same to get it on his cards.

Thanks for all the advice Steve.

Legend Cartography
 

Read in the latest La. Sportsman an article about using GPS in a kayak and a mapping program by Legend made for the entire La. coast that cost "only" $199 vs $299 for the Standard Mapping version for all of La. (Could have used it last week when we fished Cocodrie cuz the base map in my Elite 7 had us running on land most of the time.) Just wondering if anyone has any experience with the Legend map. I emailed the company and they claimed their aerial photos were taken in the Fall of 2013 and that they use something called "natural color imagery" while other companies use colors that they make up.

Anyone ever use Legend mapping?

Cajun Bill, what areas do you fish? or looking on getting a standard map for?

VB/Marsh Island (for which I have the SM chip) and occasionally Dularge/Cocodrie area (for which I'm trying to decide what chip to get).

The good news is with all these new products coming out the competition is bound to improve the overall products and bring costs down. The bad part is trying to figure out which way to go.

I looked at the Legend Cartography website and it looks like its a pretty darn good product. I wonder how it really compares to the SM versions. SM now has three ways you can go.
1. All LA chip has the upside of the entire coast but the downside is less resolution.
2. New mega chips that cover much larger areas than even the combo chips but have the same high resolution.
3. The individual or combo chips which of course are less cost but high resolution.

I'd really like to see the Legend chart first had so I could see how far you can zoom in before it gets too fuzzy. I have all the SM cards I need but I am tired of switching the cards between my skiff and new bay boat. Thinking about one of the new mega SM cards, all in one card, or the new Legend LA card for the bay boat. I have never forgotten to switch the cards from one boat to the other. But I suspect its just a matter of time before I get on the water and then see that the card is in the other boat. Not a huge deal since all my tracks are stored on each Simrad so even with the base mapping I could get there and back.

contact with SM this a.m.
 

I spoke to Glenn at Standard Mapping this morning (I think he is the owner of SM). He claims that the Legend maps are produced by a young guy out of Wisconsin and the only way to contact him is via email. He said that he has had peeps buy the Legend product and they have been dissatisfied with that product and went so far as to say that some of his customers have given him their legend products when they bought the new "louisiana one" card. He claims that SM is superior to the Legend card in that the SM cards have a "higher quality" which I'm assuming means higher resolution and that his photos are newer. I asked him about updates and he said that he has already updated the La. One card.

Based on your post regarding resolution, I think I'm going to ask him how I can determine if his resolution is good when zoomed in and see what he says. Glenn seems like a nice guy and I know he has been in the mapping business for awhile, he says 30 years. He also was willing to give me full credit on my VB/Marsh Island card that I had previously purchased from him and that if I am not happy with his product, he will issue a full refund, "no questions asked".

Do you know of anyone who has bought his La. One card? If so, are they satisfied with it?

I have talked to Glenn a number of times and his right hand man Scott. They are both very helpful and good guys. The real nice thing about SM cards is that they continually are updating them. I asked Scott about if they are going to offer some sort of upgrade program for existing customers and he said he would have to talk to Glenn. The marsh changes so often that I would be very interested in being able to trade in my old chip for a newer one.

As of now I have three chips from SM and am very happy with them. I like it when my chart actually shows me being on water and not land when going through the marsh.

received the "La. one" chip from SM and while I haven't been on the water with it yet, I did play with it in the boat and when I zoom in, I find the resolution very good. Glenn was kind enough to give me full credit for the VB/MI chip that I had previously purchased which helped with the $$$ pain. Good people to work with.