Garmin makes another aquisition

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Sailshabby

Well, since they bought up Navionics a couple years ago and I haven’t seen anything that’ll integrate with my Garmin chart plotter yet, I think we’ve got some cushion.

They did a huge reorganisation of their charts though , essentially navionics are running the whole Garmin chart show.

But they can take their time , they were a long time coming out with their autopilot , after acquiring that Ap company , same thing with the sailing instruments company

[sailstax]

Originally Posted by svfinlandia

I view Garmin as a predator.
I am really sorry to hear about the sale as I suspect that they will screw up with Vesper the same way they did with Active Captain.
Now I wish I had not purchased my new Vesper a few months ago.
I, for one, will never buy a Garmin product.

Al, S/V Finlandia

I agree. I am not a fan of Garmin. I bought my Cortex because of the reputation of Vesper. Fingers crossed.

[captjamied]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Have a Vesper AIS so on their mailing list. Just got an email announcing they were purchased by Garmin. Seems like Garmin is out there buying everything in sight. Hope they don't change Vesper product support to the same model they use on their own systems.

Good luck with that…if history is any example (De Lorne) say goodbye to whatever customer service you we’re used to and get used to being just another number…a Garmin acct. number.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Don't disagree.

Had a handheld GPS I had owned for maybe 2-3 years and managed to lose the chip with the charts. Garmin could not even supply a new chip, making the GPS worthless since the built in base charts show nothing but a vague outline of the land. Their only suggestion, buy a new GPS. Fortunately I found a hacker online that was selling Garmin chart chips so got one from him.

Do you still have contact info for that hacker.
My 176C is going away unless I can get South Pacific and Indonesia charts for it.

[Jim Cate]

When Garmin bought InterPhase (maker of the best of the forward looking sonars) they immediately killed the product line, leaving all us owners dangling. I too have boycotted Garmin and will continue to do so. Their biz model is rapacious and not concerned with customer satisfaction. Screw them and the horse they rode in on.

I have been a Vesper customer and supporter for some years now and cringe when I think of Garmin's plans for that great firm.

Jim

[Bravo46]

Seven years ago I did a complete electronics change out and installed full Garmin kit. I chose Garmin because the professional installers that I spoke to were unanimous claiming Garmin had the best support. That has proved to be true . Garmin support has rarely been needed, but it has been professional, prompt and tireless. In a $20,000 installation, and over seven years and many miles I have encountered only one case of obsolescence that cost me $200 to address.

Locally, Garmin acquired the excellent DeLorme InReach product, and that continues to be a great product .

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

And I just bought a Vesper Cortex... FML... am I really SOL (crap outta luck)?

Me too, I just bought a Cortex with two handsets last year, support up to now has been good, but I'm worried now....

[goboatingnow]

I supplied software to Garmin , and I used their products. My last boat had all Garmin gear , AP , instruments , plotters . Etc. I got great tech support from U.K. Garmin tech as I had lots of issue with their AP control strategy

[Emouchet]

Garmin shares are down now for 4 months, after an all time peak at the end of August 2021.

They need to provide growth for the shareholders, and can only do so by acquiring companies. This will not be the last acquisition. We better get use to this.

Now, the way they execute the merge is to be seen. If we look at the ActiveCaptain as well as for the charts division, we cannot say it was successful (yet?).

[goboatingnow]

I think over time they do merge their acquisitions well. They seem to acquisition hires as well . They take their time over the process.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Minggat

Do you still have contact info for that hacker.
My 176C is going away unless I can get South Pacific and Indonesia charts for it.

I checked and the seller is no longer active on the auction site where I found the chips. I did find his direct email and sent a message to find out if he is still doing this. Will let you know if I hear back.

[cottonsail]

Look what happened to ActiveCaptain after the Garman purchase. Free Blue charts went away, ActiveCaptains entire format changed for the worst, etc. Good luck Vesper owners. I do like Garman products but just their legacy products. I have Garman Radar, Panopix sonar and gps. All are performing well.

[crayiii]

I haven't seen any issues associated with Garmin's acquisition of Fusion, Navionics, or Active Captain with any of my non Garmin equipment. I'm not sure why the fear.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Minggat

Do you still have contact info for that hacker.
My 176C is going away unless I can get South Pacific and Indonesia charts for it.

By the way, does the 176C use the standard, small SD chips or the old format, larger inserts that were Garmin proprietary devices?

[Mirage35]

Another anecdote, from the website of the Great Lakes Cruising Club:

"Navionics has terminated the use of their web service that gives us the ability to show locations of Harbor Reports on a chart. They announced this 3 days before they pulled the plug. They said it was because of technical issues but did not explain further. They were also inconsistent on whether it is temporary or permanent..."