I called Jeppesen about the new programs which are VNS and Admiral PRO MAX versions 10. They now use a completely new charting system from C map and, by contractual agreement with C map, DO require the use of a dongal for domestic charts now. In the past, Nobeltec only used dongals for international charts. If you buy either one of these new versions, you also have to upgrade your existing charts to the new charts. For the max wide chart covering the entire West Coast (Southern Ca. to SE Alaska), the upgrade costs $150. To upgrade all of my charts would run over $1000. Each dongal is tied to a set of charts. If you want to purchase a backup dongal, you also have to purchase ANOTHER set of backup charts (at $150 each). I asked the Jeppesen rep what happens if the dongal gets damaged and he said you would truly be out of luck. He went on to defend the company by saying that the dongals were "incredibly rugged". He also made the suggestion to use a short USB extension cord so that the dongal would be seated in a more flexible environment. At this rate, Jeppesen may be pricing themselves out of the market, at least domestically. Phil Eslinger Flat Earth N50 Ko Olina, Hi

You are correct, however I took advantage of their much advertised upgrade special where all, yes all, of my charts were updated to the new ones for free, yes free. Heads up Anthony On Wed, Sep 24, 2008 at 10:31 AM, Philip Eslinger <pslinger@mindspring.com>wrote: > I called Jeppesen about the new programs which are VNS and Admiral PRO > MAX versions 10. They now use a completely new charting system from C > map and, by contractual agreement with C map, DO require the use of a > dongal for domestic charts now. In the past, Nobeltec only used > dongals for international charts. If you buy either one of these new > versions, you also have to upgrade your existing charts to the new > charts. For the max wide chart covering the entire West Coast > (Southern Ca. to SE Alaska), the upgrade costs $150. To upgrade all > of my charts would run over $1000. Each dongal is tied to a set of > charts. If you want to purchase a backup dongal, you also have to > purchase ANOTHER set of backup charts (at $150 each). > > I asked the Jeppesen rep what happens if the dongal gets damaged and > he said you would truly be out of luck. He went on to defend the > company by saying that the dongals were "incredibly rugged". He also > made the suggestion to use a short USB extension cord so that the > dongal would be seated in a more flexible environment. > > At this rate, Jeppesen may be pricing themselves out of the market, at > least domestically. > > Phil Eslinger > Flat Earth N50 > Ko Olina, Hi > _______________________________________________ > http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/passagemaking-under-power > > To unsubscribe send email to > passagemaking-under-power-request@lists.samurai.com with the word > UNSUBSCRIBE and nothing else in the subject or body of the message. > > Passagemaking Under Power and PUP are trademarks of Water World > Productions, formerly known as Trawler World Productions.

On Wed, 24 Sep 2008, Philip Eslinger wrote: > I asked the Jeppesen rep what happens if the dongal gets damaged and > he said you would truly be out of luck. He went on to defend the > company by saying that the dongals were "incredibly rugged". He also > made the suggestion to use a short USB extension cord so that the > dongal would be seated in a more flexible environment. That conflicts with my experience with Jeppesen... When I was ready to leave California (three years ago? wow, has it really been that long?) I actually _did_ damange my dongle. I called Jeppesen and they FexEx'd a replacement overnight; all I had to pay for was the "normal" 3-day shipping for the broken one. Of course, that was some time ago... Paul Goyette formerly of Gentle Wind, now land-bound and on holiday in Key West