New garmin user needing help

[Omarf4]

Hey guys, looking for help here.

just swapped boats and the new boat came with garmin 1242xsv with built in blue chart g2 and lakevu.

i updated garmin software to latest as of April 3rd and downloaded active caption. I did a map chart update for my area.

my issue is that I am coming from lowrance hds gen3 with navionics+ Mapping. That chart was awesome and allowed for very granular details, even down to boat slips in the marina. The garmin bluechart is very basic, just coves, no slip details and contours are very limited.

what am I missing? Do I need to buy the bluechart g3 to get details? Contours, slips, accurate charts with real depth? Or am I eligible to download the more detailed charts somehow?

Let me know please,
thank you!

[Todd Driscoll]

You mentioned a chart update for your area. What specific version of charts are you running (built-in version, and map version you recently downloaded via ActiveCaptain), and what are your home lakes?

[Omarf4]

You mentioned a chart update for your area. What specific version of charts are you running (built-in version, and map version you recently downloaded via ActiveCaptain), and what are your home lakes?

Thanks Todd.
Running bluechart g3 + lakevu g3 Built-in.
latest update as of yesterday.
home lake is lake lewisville and lake texoma.

if I go to navionics.com and select lakevu g3 online, it shows much more details vs what I currently have. So appears the built-in version of lakevu g3 isn’t the same as lakevu g3 from navionics’s website......is that correct or am I missing something?

[Todd Driscoll]

No, LakeVu g3 and BlueChart g3 coverage is the same, whether built-in, on an accessory card, or a downloaded update. LakeVu is inland mapping, BlueChart is coastal and offshore. To be clear though, the premium LakeVu g3 Ultra and BlueChart g3 Vision cards have extra features when compared to the standard g3 coverage.

Are you sure you selected the appropriate mapping tiles when you updated via ActiveCaptain?

Go to Home, Settings, System, System Info, Software Info, and take a screenshot showing your software version, built-in map version, and supplemental map version. Also, take a screenshot or two of either Lewisville or Texoma zoomed in showing what should be your maximum contour details.

[Omarf4]

No, LakeVu g3 and BlueChart g3 coverage is the same, whether built-in, on an accessory card, or a downloaded update. LakeVu is inland mapping, BlueChart is coastal and offshore. To be clear though, the premium LakeVu g3 Ultra and BlueChart g3 Vision cards have extra features when compared to the standard g3 coverage.

Are you sure you selected the appropriate mapping tiles when you updated via ActiveCaptain?

Go to Home, Settings, System, System Info, Software Info, and take a screenshot showing your software version, built-in map version, and supplemental map version. Also, take a screenshot or two of either Lewisville or Texoma zoomed in showing what should be your maximum contour details.

Thanks todd. Really appreciate your help.

I’ll grab screen shots and upload. Software is version 15 (April 03, 2019 bundle download). Have confirmed the correct tiles were selected, but still things like boat slips aren’t showing up on the activecaptain chart compared to navionics.com lakevu g3 chart.

attached are pics of eagle point marina on Lake Lewisville, the navionics.com lakevu g3 map online, shows boat slips. Activecaptain chart, shows no boat slips.

[Omarf4]

Shots of tiles and chart type on activecaptain:

[Todd Driscoll]

On both ActiveCaptain and your 1242, make sure you are viewing the Fishing Chart to see all the details, HD contours, etc. On the AC chart page, select the second button down from the top right to toggle between Navigation and Fishing Charts.

[Omarf4]

On both ActiveCaptain and your 1242, make sure you are viewing the Fishing Chart to see all the details, HD contours, etc. On the AC chart page, select the second button down from the top right to toggle between Navigation and Fishing Charts.

That does add shading but it doesn't show the same details as navionics.... I know it's frustrating but the charts should be the same. Here is a screen shot with fishing layer turned on:

[Omarf4]

Here is a screenshot of the system software running on the 1242 xsv

so activecaptain shows bluechart and lakevu g3, it syncs, spends hours updating the charts, but the built in map is still is missing details.

how do I confirm that the built in map is a g3? It shows map version 2018.52 v20.02

[LWINCHESTER2]

On my 1242xsv the tiles I updated via Active Captain are displayed. Looks like the internal maps were unchanged and that the tile updates were put on the AC card. I take it that you are leaving the AC card in the unit?

[Omarf4]

On my 1242xsv the tiles I updated via Active Captain are displayed. Looks like the internal maps were unchanged and that the tile updates were put on the AC card. I take it that you are leaving the AC card in the unit?

Yes, the AC card stays in the unit all the time. The chart on the AC app and the unit, do not match what navionics chart viewer shows on their website for my home lake. For some reason the lakevu g3 map on navionics.com has more details than what’s on the built in map or the active captain chart. See post #5 above for exact marina in question showing the differences.

[LWINCHESTER2]

I think the discrepancy may be in the source data. When you go to Navioncs and look at the maps you may be looking at Navionics data. ActiveCaptain is using Garmin source data. With Garmin LakeVu G3 some of Navionics source data was ported over. Going to lakes.garmin.com the source data forTexoma and Lewisville are listed in G3 as Garmin Elite Multi-Beam Survey not Navionics.

[Omarf4]

I think the discrepancy may be in the source data. When you go to Navioncs and look at the maps you may be looking at Navionics data. ActiveCaptain is using Garmin source data. With Garmin LakeVu G3 some of Navionics source data was ported over. Going to lakes.garmin.com the source data forTexoma and Lewisville are listed in G3 as Garmin Elite Multi-Beam Survey not Navionics.

Very confusing for sure but that makes sense why there is a discrepancy!

[Omarf4]

I think the discrepancy may be in the source data. When you go to Navioncs and look at the maps you may be looking at Navionics data. ActiveCaptain is using Garmin source data. With Garmin LakeVu G3 some of Navionics source data was ported over. Going to lakes.garmin.com the source data forTexoma and Lewisville are listed in G3 as Garmin Elite Multi-Beam Survey not Navionics.

I called navionics and did confirm that if you have bluechart g3 + lakevu g3 built-in, you have all that they currently have available for mapping on those two lakes. Case closed!

[Todd Driscoll]

I had Cartography take a look at Lewisville. For reasons unknown, Garmin mapping of Lake Lewisville does not include the delineation of docks/marinas, even though this is a Garmin Elite Multi-Beam Survey lake. This will be corrected in a future map update. As Leonard pointed out above, using the Navionics web viewer is useful for general comparisons, but there will be content differences. Navionics updates essentially "daily", whereas Garmin updates several times a year. Moving forward, Garmin hopes to publish map updates more frequently as Navionics does.

[Omarf4]

I had Cartography take a look at Lewisville. For reasons unknown, Garmin mapping of Lake Lewisville does not include the delineation of docks/marinas, even though this is a Garmin Elite Multi-Beam Survey lake. This will be corrected in a future map update. As Leonard pointed out above, using the Navionics web viewer is useful for general comparisons, but there will be content differences. Navionics updates essentially "daily", whereas Garmin updates several times a year. Moving forward, Garmin hopes to publish map updates more frequently as Navionics does.

Where is the “Like” button when you need one...thank you Todd!