I own the Furuno GP7000FNT along with the C-map NT+ cartography formy area. The operating software for the unit is also written by C-map.So far I have had great success with the unit and overall, I'mvery pleased. But, there is one issue that has come up in the pastthat still has not been resolved. The zoom feature leaves a little tobe desired, especially when you get farrther away from the coast andleave the more detailed areas of the chart overlays.
Many of those that participated in the thread......
http://www.thehulltruth.com/forums/t...t=81&posts=100
......will rememberthe dialogue that included responses from C-map folksregarding the zoomcapabilities of the unit and the "plotter mode" that was removed fromthe operating software. Well to make a long story short, nothing everhappened with an update and I am wondering why.
I will includesome of the posts from that thread so everyone that is interested willbe aware of the issue that I'm talking about. The following are postsmade by myself as well as "pwilly001," who's signature indicates that heis a C-Map employee.
(
pwilly 001)
"Hi guys,
Let's reserve 'best friend' titles until such time as I can get something delivered to you!
I actuallydon't do any of the programming or coding, but I sure know the rightpeople to get it done. Things are a bit hectic now at the moment, but assoon as I can get some feedback from the people on the ground,so tospeak, I will pass it along.
I'm doing my best to get what you need, please be patient.
Thank you
Paul @ C-MAP "
(
me)
Paul,
Asfaras the zooming issues on the GP7000F are concerned, when will an updatedNT+ card be available that will allow for consistent zoom capabilitiesthroughout the chart, rather than where the overlays allow it. Seems tome that all you need to tell your software guys is that the cards intheir current form prevent ultra close zooming when well offshore, whichis the only place it is really required. Lets face it. The need tooverzoom in a creek or harbor where you are surrounded by landmarks isbasically useless. Cool, impressive, interesting, yes. But basicallyuseless. The need to overzoom, down to "gnat's a$$" detail I mean, onlyreally helps anyone when they are twenty five miles off of the hilltrying to locate a pile of rocks that is holding a big fat gag grouper.And this would require no pre-loaded chart details. Actually the exactopposite would be the case. Personally, I would want to be able to zoomdown to a blank screen that had only the waypoints that I createdshowing.
Is this something that you could help us with? Seeing asthe C-Map card is the limiting factor as far as the zoom capabilitiesare concerned, I would guess that the information on thecard could bechanged or updated to allow the problem to be corrected.
Thanks forall of the information you are providing. I think that continuing thisdialogue will be beneficial for everyone involved.
Matt
(
pwilly001)
Well....now itseems things are a little bit clearer. I must have misunderstoodthe earlier posts. A blank screen that shows your waypoints that allowsforunlimited zooming is called 'Plotter Mode'.
When set to'ON', Plotter Mode enables you to zoom past the chart detail, and alsointo areas between charts where detail does not exist. When set to'OFF', Plotter Mode prevents this zooming capacity and limits allzooming only to areas where chart details exist.
To be honest, Ido not think this function exists in MAX software, and thus the changewhen the GP7000 was flashed with new software.
But like you guyssaid, when issues are brought to the attention of the right person,things work out. I'll talk to the programmers tomorrow and see what Ican do about getting this function added back in.
Thanks guys!
Paul @ C-MAP
(
me)
Thanks Paul.
Now we're gettin' somewhere.
If Iunderstand you correctly, at some point in the past the capability thatwe are looking for existed. Apparently some of the other posters in thisthread even had the units before the updated software was installed andenjoyed this 'Plotter Mode' but lost some specific amount offunctionality after the update.
Can you tell me what the versionsof operating software are named, pre-update and post-update? I purchasedthe unit as a Christmas present for my father last month so I amguessing I have the newest version of the software but I would like toknow what the names are and how I can check my unit to determine whatversion I have.
And now for the million dollar question, when canwe expect to see an update that will allow for the 'PlotterMode'capabilities that you mentioned? I don't mean to beat a dead horse butit has become obvious that this particular issue has asignificantimpact on the functionality of the unit, especially as a'fishing'application. Because of this I will have to assume that the problem wilbe corrected at some point.
Any ideas when?
And how much $$$ it will cost us?
I kinda feel like an accidental omission of key features should be a relatively inexpensive update.
Again, thanksPaul for helping us to work this out. I have a warm fuzzy feeling thateveryone is going to get exactly what they wanted before it is all saidand done. And in regards to your earlier post about checking this forummore often, I think you will find that THT is avery active group ofboaters that could provide you with an invaluable source of feedback andconstructive criticism. Just look where this one thread has taken us.You should seriously consider contacting the moderator and creating aC-Map Forum within the vendors forum. Your product will be on displayfor literally thousands of the most hardcore boaters on the water.Imagine the possibilities.
Matt
(
pwilly001)
Matt,
Yes, PlotterMode was removed in most software packages when MAX was introduced withFlexiZoom technology. Unfortunately, not all of the applications ofPlotter Mode were understood, and as clearly seen here, it is neededmore than FlexiZoom is.
I can't pinpoint software versions at this time, but will try to gather that information in the coming days.
Software updatesare provided directly from our USA office for a majority of C-MAP basedchart plotters. There is a nominal fee that is charged to cover the costof the media the update is on, but if you return the media within 15days, the charge is reversed. So technically, it's free, if you return it
The vendor forum is a good idea as well, I shall look into that.
Thank you
Paul @ C-MAP
Sorryfolks for what has turned out to be a really long post. I guess thatmy intentions here are to figure out whether or not anything is goingto be done or if this has been brushed aside. Any response from C-Mapwould be greatly appreciated. I gave up several months ago trying toaccomplish anything through the C-Map website. Questions I posted therewere never answered.
Matt
When will C-map step up to the plate with an update??? 
