Care of Micro SDs

[Metalinker]

Should you remove the micro SD cards when the boat is not in use?

[Sailmonkey]

From what? The nav desk? I leave the active one in the plotter and the others in the nav desk.

[Metalinker]

The 2 cards are in the MFD chart plotter in the binnacle on deck. Should I take them out when I leave the boat or leave them in for the season?

[tkeithlu]

No harm in leaving them in, save whopping bad heat or rain exposure, both of which would do more harm to the electronics, in any case. Probaly more risk in putting them in the drawer, if they are not in protective plastic cases. And, they can get lost....

[Sailmonkey]

My opinion is that you’ll do more damage by excessive handling than could ever be done by leaving them in place.

[tkeithlu]

Right on, SailMonkey. The good news is that the magnetic pickup tool you left in the nav table drawer won't wipe out an SD card - they aren't magnetic. On the other hand, that drawer has potential sources of physical damage, such as your vicegrips or the point on your dividers hitting the card when the boat does a whoopty-do. Leave the working card in place, store the spares in cases and tape them in a place you can readily find them when they are needed. Worry about the meaning of life rather than your SD cards.

[smac999]

if the plotter is outside you risk having them easly stolen.

if you have a plotter at nav station and binicle then leave them in the nav station screen for this reason

[Tillsbury]

I wouldn’t. Apart from physical damage, the pins and connectors have a finite life in terms of the number of times they’re inserted and removed. No good would come of regularly removing them, unless theft really is an issue where you are.

[a64pilot]

I’d say the odds of getting the card stolen are almost zero.
The odds of getting the plotter stolen depending on where you are, are much greater though, so if your going to remove something due to theft, remove the plotter.
I just cover mine up with a Sunbrella cover hoping that out of sight is out of mind.

[FlyingScot]

I worry a little about the microSD card being stolen when we are away from the boat. They are so small and could be easily sold on eBay or the like. The odds are low for now, until the thieves realize the value of them. I have two different SD cards with two different mapping companies (C-Map and Navionics). Probably $700 worth of maps.

This might be an argument for the rear loading SD card model chartplotters.

But again, I think it is very unlikely.