Topic: 898 and Navionics Platinum

[1manwolfpak]

Hey guys,
Just got the 898 a few days ago, and am having problems getting the Navionics Platinum chip to work in it. I can't get the 3-d view to show up. Not sure if there is a seperate view i'm supposed to go to, or how i get this to show up? Any ideas?

Thanks
Chris

[Kenosha]

Get the update from Humminbird's website and install. Then it will work fine.

[Moose1am]

First make sure that you have the 4.880 software loaded on your Humminbird 898C SI control head.  Remember to reset the unit to default conditions first.  Then turn the unit off and put the SDHC card into the control head.  Then turn the unit on to update the internal software.

You had to download the new software from the humminbird.com web site and then save it to a SDHC card first.  Remember to turn off anitvirus software before you download the software to avoid getting a bad download.  Things like McAffee, Nortons and Zone Alarm may possibly mess up the download files.  So turn them off while doing the download and then you can turn the security software back on later. 

It's not generally a good idea to be putting in or taking ouSDHC cards into a unit that's already turned on expecially if the card is being read from or written to.  That can damage the card's data or the card itself.  You don't put a floppy disk or a cd in the CD player when the Disk is spinning.

And according to what Humminbird_Greg said on another web site you first put the SDHC card into the slot And then turn the 898C SI unit on.  The unit will recognize the update software on the card and do the update for you.  Just follow the promts to finish the update. 

I think that a lot of folks are having problems with the update because they are getting bad file downloads.  This is why I said to turn off the other programs that are running in the background on your computer before you download the update file.  This will prevent a lot of headaces.

I have been downloading important files for over 13 years now and have been told by some of the wisest IT's and programmers and developers of some pretty sophicated software that it's best to turn the antivirus stuff off before downloading files.  And always reboot before loading a new software on the computer.   This helps to clear the cache and temp files off the computer.

Another thing to do is to clean out all the c:\Temp files off the computer to help speed things up. But that's beyound the scope of this discussion.

Maintaining the computer is still very important when you are using your computer to perform software updates on the Humminbird Units.   Because if the computer's not up to snuff you may just well blame Humminbird when it's not really Humminbird's fault.  So take care of your computer since it's part of the system.

In the past I spend hours downloading huge files only to find out later that the file was corrupted.  When I tried to update the software it failed and I could not figure out why. Then I redownloaded the software update and tried it again and it worked.  Viola.  I learned about corrputed files.  And this was a real pain when I was using dial up.  Some games that I played online required updating the software for the game.   Years later when everyone went to cable internet and could download 8 MB  of data per min things became a lot easier.  But back in the late 1990's using a telephone modem at 33.6 baud it could take 8 hours to download the updated files.  And if you had to wait in line for 1000 other people to access the game server to download their updated files it could take a week or more to get the update loaded on your computer before you could begin playing the game again.  And this was a game that I had to Pay to play online.  So time was money.    I have to give much create to Moira of Fighter Ace Fame for her help in teaching me about computers.  Also credit goes to Mark Vange of VR1 and Jaleco for his helpful instructions on computer.  I was forced to learn  more about computers that I really wanted to know just so that I could play my online WWII flight sim game.  But in the long run it taught me about corrupted files and how to avoid them.  So it's relevant today when it comes to downloading the humminbird update files.   

Better to be safe than sorry.

Today I can download the humminbird 4.880 file in about 2 minutes or less and save it to a SDHC 4 GB level 10 card in a few seconds.   15 years ago it would have taken me all day to do that on a phone modem.

Still if you can avoid a file corrpution it's better to do that than have to send the Humminbird Unit back to the factor for them to correct your mistake.

Fighter Ace learned that it was better to teach their clients how to do the download right than it was to have to fix their clients computers or files via the phone or internet chat room.   They saved money in the long run.  Johnson Controls could learn a few lessons from Mark Vange and how he ran Fighter Ace. 

Hopefully if you read this entire post you have learned something useful.  That was why I spent so much time making this post.  I did it to educate others and hopefully have them avoid some fo the mistakes that I did in the past. 

Hey guys,
Just got the 898 a few days ago, and am having problems getting the Navionics Platinum chip to work in it. I can't get the 3-d view to show up. Not sure if there is a seperate view i'm supposed to go to, or how i get this to show up? Any ideas?

Thanks
Chris

[RGecy]

Moose1am,

Certainly a lot of good information on corrupted files, but I have to disagree with you on the annalogy of putting an sd card into a unit thats powered on with that of a floppy disk in spinning drive.

If there is no sd card in the unit, there is nothing being written to it, so nothing to worry about.  And from a mechanical standpoint, there are no moving parts when writing or reading from and SD card to worry about.

As for corrupted files, I think with high-speed internet, you are much less likely to get them as with dial-up. Dial-up is very prone to static and dropped signals.  But, HB could certainly release a checksum for each of the downloaded files as a safety check.  I don't think its needed, but could easily be done.  I think most of them come from user error. 

The best method is to always save it to your computer first.  Then copy it over to the SD card and always make sure your computer is finished writing the file before removing it from the drive.

I have been one of the main proponents of putting the SD card in after you turn the unit on.  For one, we have found there are quite a few units out there that will not take the updates correctly if you insert the sd card first, and caused the unit to hang or lock up completely.  Mine included has never taken an update with this method.  And it had nothing to do with corrupted files. 

HB does not know why this is, and the number of units with this issue is minimal.  But, I can tell you this from running the forum and helping people with these problems over the last few years, the only way I do an update is by powering on the unit first, restore the defaults, and then insert the SD card!

I can give you examples of dozens of people whos unit has locked or failed when inserting the SD card before powering on and then took it after powering on first.  Never have I had one person tell me that an update failed using the directions above! (I should say "that followed them correctly". I have had only one fail, but he did not restore the defaults.)

Robert

[1manwolfpak]

I have the 4.880 software downloaded on the unit. I'm just not sure what window to go to so i can see the 3-d view of lakes. Also is there a way when the 3-d does show up, can you get depth contour lines to show up wit it? Thanks

[nmanley]

Moose1am,

 the only way I do an update is by powering on the unit first, restore the defaults, and then insert the SD card!
Robert

I found Roberts Video instructions earlier today and upgraded my 798ci's software using his method without any problems.  Thanks RGecy

[Humminbird_Greg]

The 3D map is available while on the Bird’s Eye View.  No you cannot make the depth contour lines show up on the 3D View.

[Moose1am]

I download the update to my computer and to the SD card which I had in the SDHC card reader.  I read where the card readers can get messed up so I went out and bought a brand new one.

Humminbird_Greg on the Unofficial Humminbird SI web site was telling everyone to put the SD card in first and then turn the control head on.  That's How I did my update and It went perfectly.

I'll find  the link to Humminbird_Greg's post where he said this:  http://www.xumba.scholleco.com/viewtopic.php?t=2702

I did use a brand new ScanDisk Extreme 4GB level ten card to perform the update.  And I formated the SDHC card on my computer first before downloading the file to it. 

You are right that cable modems work faster than the old dial up modems. But remember that even the old phone modems checked the data and had error corrections.

And the larger the file the more likely that something can go wrong with the download.   

And if you are running any program on your computer while downloading files you can and do get corrpution of the files downloaded sometimes.

Did those guys that had problems with their unit's hanging up actually reset their units to the default settings and reboot them before trying to install the download?

That's another thing that I learned about downloading and installing new programs.  After I down load a new program and install it  I was taught to reboot my computer before running the program for the first time. 

The technical support guys on the online gaming web site always suggested that we reboot after a new program was loaded onto the computer.  I don't know all the reasons why but figured they knew what was best.  So why take a chance of things not working right. Especially in the old days when it could take several hours to download a program file.

And for sure the antivirus programs can cause problems at times when downloading new files. 

I just thought I would try to help anyone new get their Humminbird up and running.

Moose1am,

Certainly a lot of good information on corrupted files, but I have to disagree with you on the annalogy of putting an sd card into a unit thats powered on with that of a floppy disk in spinning drive.

If there is no sd card in the unit, there is nothing being written to it, so nothing to worry about.  And from a mechanical standpoint, there are no moving parts when writing or reading from and SD card to worry about.

As for corrupted files, I think with high-speed internet, you are much less likely to get them as with dial-up. Dial-up is very prone to static and dropped signals.  But, HB could certainly release a checksum for each of the downloaded files as a safety check.  I don't think its needed, but could easily be done.  I think most of them come from user error. 

The best method is to always save it to your computer first.  Then copy it over to the SD card and always make sure your computer is finished writing the file before removing it from the drive.

I have been one of the main proponents of putting the SD card in after you turn the unit on.  For one, we have found there are quite a few units out there that will not take the updates correctly if you insert the sd card first, and caused the unit to hang or lock up completely.  Mine included has never taken an update with this method.  And it had nothing to do with corrupted files. 

HB does not know why this is, and the number of units with this issue is minimal.  But, I can tell you this from running the forum and helping people with these problems over the last few years, the only way I do an update is by powering on the unit first, restore the defaults, and then insert the SD card!

I can give you examples of dozens of people whos unit has locked or failed when inserting the SD card before powering on and then took it after powering on first.  Never have I had one person tell me that an update failed using the directions above! (I should say "that followed them correctly". I have had only one fail, but he did not restore the defaults.)

Robert