Navionics hot maps issue

[walleyefanatic]

I have the new Navionics hotmaps premium chip for my Eagle FishElite 480 and I'm having an issue. I put the chip into the slot (yes it was fully seated) and I only have complete maps of the river systems. I tried zooming in on Mille Lacs and it doesn't even show the lake let alone any depths. I read the manual for the Eagle but it didn't tell me anything. Anyone have any suggestions why I wouldn't have any lake data? It's supposed to have data for over 3000 lakes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan. The Navionics instruction manual included the following: 1) Insert chip into slot. 2) Turn on GPS unit. That's it. Are there some settings in the Eagle that need adjusting?

[Mongro02]

Not Sure about your unit...but I know on my Lowrance IFinder H2O, I have to go into the menu and select the lakemaps, otherwise my GPS only shows the base map that comes with the unit.

[hitthebricks]

Walleyefanatic, I had problems with the Nav. Prem. Gold chip in my Lowrance 480 and Navionic sent a replacement chip with more instructions than insert and turn on. you didn't happen to buy your chip from Cabellas did you? I did and it didn't even come with the factory packaging or instructions. Good luck HTB

[Captain B.R.K]

I had someones Lowarance I-Finder in my hands with the Mille Lacs chip in it. When I went to zoom in on the lake- it didn't show me anything. I had to go into the MENU and there was a software function. I picked the Mille Lacs chip and there it was.

(It would be easier for me to tell you how I did it if I had it in my hands.....this was 2 days ago and can't remember)

[Jim Hudson]

Well, first off I had issues the other day with my Navionics Chart Map of Lake Superior. I used it all summer in my Global Map 4800M on my boat and had no issues, had good detail of the big lake. Well this ice fishing season I purchased an I-Finder Pro, and the map worked fine since this past Wed. On Tuesday, I was fishing and the map worked, turned the unit off for the day and then on again on Wed to fish, and the map details were not there. Checked the seating of the chip, etc and my unit stated there was no MMC card in the unit. Called Lowrance and they stated it could be because I need a new software update, but then after discussing the situation for some time, they believed the chip data was erased. I tried a different chip (a friends) in my unit and it worked great, put my chip into his unit and it would not read it. So I call navionics, they too stated the data was probably erased. So now I have to send the chip in, get it analyzed and see what happened.

So hopefully I get a replacement as it is really needed for the water I fish, not only for fishing but for safety purposes. So in the meanwhile, I ordered the new premimium hotspot map chip until all of this is figured out.

But a long story short, if you are having problems, lowrance informed me that some units need to have software updates to run some of these chips properly. Lowrance will send you an update on an MMC card free of charge as long as you send the chip back. All they need is a credit card number, but it will not be charged if you mail the chip back with in thirty days. Could be the problem, or maybe you just did not access that specific map in the data bank. I ordered my new map chip from Reeds, I hope it comes with the instructions.

Walleye, after reading your post again. Here is something you can do. As lowrance and eagle units are similar. When the unit turns on, go into menu, look for map data and hit enter, it will show the map type presently being shown (words such as lowrance etc) hit enter on this box and scroll up or down to see the name of your chip,highlight this and hit enter, then the mapping software for that chip should show on your unit. If you did this and still nothing, they will probably tell you that you need a software update for your unit. Also, did you make sure and check to see if your unit is compatiable for that type of chip? On navionics HSOforum, they show what type of units work with what type of chips.

[walleyefanatic]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I called Navionics and they informed me that there are in fact 4 different map regions in the chip and you have to select the correct region in order to see a particular lake map. Sounds like trial and error to find the region which a particular lake is in. Great thing is the southern 3/4 of Mille Lacs is in one region and the northern 1/4 is another region. Oh well, problem has been solved. Thanks again.