Updates & Downloads

GPSMAP 521/521S software version 4.80

as of December 19, 2018

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View installation instructions and system requirements

Notes:

Software version 2.00 was initial release.

Change History

Changes made from version 4.70 to 4.80:

Addressed issue with system date.

Changes made from version 4.60 to 4.70:

Improved support for Reactor autopilot.
Various bug fixes and improvements.

Changes made from version 4.50 to 4.60:

Added support for GXM52 weather antenna.
Improved support for LakeVu HD cartography.
Added support for clearing AIS related message banners across NMEA2000.
Added an Always Off setting to the other vessels collision alarm so that users do not have to disable the alarm each time the unit is powered on.
Added the ability to share collision alarm settings over NMEA2000 whenever they are changed.
Addressed some potential instabilities when calculating Autoguidance routes.
Addressed a number of minor issues.

Changes made from version 4.40 to 4.50:

Corrected issue with navaid symbols drawn on charts. This resolves a drawing issue introduced with v4.30.

Changes made from version 4.30 to 4.40:

Fixed possible shutdown related to reception of test signals from AIS-MOB devices and Safety Related Messages from AIS transponders of certain configurations.
Added handling for AIS-MOB and AIS-EPIRB devices.

Changes made from version 4.20 to 4.30:

Updated magnetic variance values.
Improved interaction with autopilots after reaching a destination point.
Improved visibility of 2D chart heading line when operating in night mode.
Fixed issue with drawing some types of bridges on the Fishing Chart.
Fixed potential issue with determining shapes for buoys.
Added range to data displayed for AIS vessels when details are enabled.
Fixed issue with tracking total fuel onboard when dealing with very large values.
Fixed issue with labels for depth logs displaying depths greater than 1000ft.
Made several improvements to translations.

Changes made from version 4.10 to 4.20:

Changes to support manufacturing.

Changes made from version 4.00 to 4.10:

Improved user interface support for AIS Search and Rescue Transmitters (AIS-SART). This will allow users to easily and safely respond to distress calls from other vessels.
Improved drawing of lights on 3D charts to better indicate the currently visible light sector and added support for drawing navaids with multiple lights.
Updated the Light Sectors setting on navigation charts. The ?Auto? setting will now show all lights with multiple light sectors, but continue to hide 360 degree lights that have an unknown range. The 'On' setting will show all lights.
Added support for Gulf of Mexico blocks and rigs on the Fishing Chart (requires BlueChart 2011.5 or newer).
Changed Fishing Chart to show seabed nature points.
Added Garmin Devices menu to System Information page to quickly list information about connected Garmin devices.
Water temperature data is now displayed in hundredths of a degree to allow users with compatible sensors to more easily detect trends.
Updated Light Review page to ensure the proper light sector was marked visible.
Improved calculation of certain autoguidance routes.
Addressed intermittent problem with manually setting the date on the Tides and Currents review pages.
Improved sonar split zoom display when in manual zoom mode.
Improved display of double Ebb and double Flood currents.
Fixed issue with map rotation when display is connected to a lower-frequency heading sensor or 3rd party autopilot over NMEA 0183.
Added ability for current time to be displayed in either HH:MM or HH:MM:SS formats.
Improved connectivity of GDL 40 after software update.
Changed GDL 40 signal strength indicator to no longer use red bars to indicate signal strength.
Fixed an issue on 3D charts that caused map symbols to be hidden.
Fixed issue with displaying lower-case text on certain maps.
Addressed problem with changing to the next and previous days on Tides and Currents pages.
Changed NMEA 2000 Registration Number 193 from 'Jeppesen' to 'Nobeltec.'
Incorporated new translations and improvements to existing translations.

Changes made from version 3.70 to 4.00:

Added support for GDL40 GSM cellular weather receiver.
Added Sirius-XM disclaimer to power on page.
Improved handling of marine bulletins in Canada.
Added support for Yanmar engine tilt and oil pressure.
Increased maximum Fuel Capacity setting to 17,000 gallons.
Changed Engine Hours display to always use one decimal point of precision.
Modified the Keel Offset, Temp Offset and Water Speed Calibration under My Boat to affect preferred Depth, Water Temp, or Water Speed sources respectively, even if those sources are from NMEA 2000 devices which previously could only be configured through the device review page.
Added support for updating the internal built-in map.
Improved the split zoom window so it will smoothly update its position in the water column.
Added support for maps with text in multiple codepages.
Added display of built-in map copyrights to the system information page.
Overhauled display of AIS in 3D presentations.
Improved presentation of rotary current information.
Updated the card review page to always show the Manage Card control.
Added date/time information to screenshot files.
Improved French, German, Russian, and Swedish translations.

Changes made from version 3.60 to 3.70:

Added a control for selecting the boat or first waypoint as the starting navigation point.
Improved loading of Topo Map data.

Changes made from version 3.50 to 3.60:

Corrected the map copyright positioning on the power-up page.
Added support for the 'Coastal Mariner' weather subscription.

Changes made from version 3.40 to 3.50:

Added support for Topo Maps.
Clarified the wording of the message displayed when maps fail Authentication.
Improved Finnish and German translations.
Improved consistency of AIS colors.
Resolved issues with sharing routes over a network when User Waypoints are full.
Resolved an issue that could prevent new NMEA 2000 sensors from being recognized.
Improved XM Weather Cloud Representations.

Changes made from version 3.30 to 3.40:

Corrected a potential problem where sonar depth detection could lock onto a specific depth in shallow water.

Changes made from version 3.20 to 3.30:

Corrected the display of navigation waypoints when editing another route.
Fixed Demo Mode behavior for non-sounder units when the fishing chart is unavailable.
Improved display performance of the World Map.
Improved cartography authentication process.
Eliminated the potential for a rare lock-up while storing settings.

Changes made from version 3.10 to 3.20:

Added a control for selecting between two map vehicles and multiple sizes.
Enabled display of horizontal clearance information for bridges shown as lines.
Added a depth log to the sonar functions.
Added a prompt to delete unused route waypoints after deleting a route.
Improved map drawing performance.
Added alpha blending of weather radar and cloud cover with cartography.
Added additional engine, fuel, and vessel items to the Cruising Data Bar setup menu.
Added Label Devices under NMEA 2000 Setup which will allow labeling of NMEA 2000 engines and tanks with pre-defined names.
Changed the Engine Dashboard page automatic gauge configuration to only show the trim gauge if engine trim is available.
Created an NMEA 2000 Setup control in the Configuration->Communications menu and moved the Device List into the new setup menu.
Added support for sharing the rudder angle calibration across the NMEA2000 network to other Garmin plotters and instruments.
Corrected an issue with gauge needles partially drawing on the Engine dashboard page.
Improved experience when animating weather radar history.
Corrected operation of AIS On/Off switch for NMEA2000 AIS sources.
Improved autopilot and chartplotter synergy.
Moved 3D range ring labels to the side so they don't obstruct the view ahead of the vessel.
Added the ability to scan and review AIS vessels on the 3D charts.
Fixed an issue that would allow the cursor to pan outside of the 3D chart area after turning on data bars.
Corrected potential shutdown issue when navigating near the 180th meridian while using any of the 3D chart views.
Fixed an issue where the map cursor would lag map animation as the map re-centers.
Corrected a potential issue where fishing contours could be labeled using two different units of measure.
Simplified the user interface for creating new waypoints via Chart Menu->Waypoints & Tracks->New Waypoint and Information->User Data->Waypoints->Options->New Waypoint.
Corrected improper map rotations the first time a map is displayed while in Head Up orientation.

Changes made from version 3.00 to 3.10:

Corrected issue that caused some map areas to be shaded incorrectly. This issue is most likely seen as large areas filled with solid brown.
Fixed incorrect sun and moon predictions on the celestial page.
Fixed issue with fuel level gauge not updating on engine page.
Corrected issue where points representing cranes had purple boxes drawn around them.
Fixed condition where oil temperature gauge would remain in warning state on engine page.
Fixed issue with zoom range displaying 'Off' while creating new routes.
Corrected issue that caused the unit to indicate that user data transfers to SD card were complete prematurely.
Fixed a refresh issue with the compass tape control in the sonar menu.

Changes made from version 2.60 to 3.00:

Added configurable NMEA 2000 engine dashboard and alarms.
Added graphical sailing dashboard with wind gauges.
Improved manual sonar zoom interface.
Allow autopilot standby and route re-engage control from the chartplotter (requires GHC10 update also).
Added support for Garmin NMEA 2000 adapters, including configuration and numeric display.
Allow numeric display of NMEA0183 anchor rode counters.
Display waypoint creation time and date in the waypoint review window.
Display Honda ECO indicator with Honda engines.
Accept NMEA0183 HDT and THS sentences and repeat on NMEA2000.
Added support for BlueChart g2 and g2 Vision cartography version 11.5.
Added support for Portuguese fishing areas.
Added support for dolphin buoys.
Added support for using built-in map update SD cards.
Fixed a potential shutdown when animated tides are enabled.
Corrected the Fishing and Navigation Chart's Tracks control to turn the tracks off/on.
Updated the Russian translation for 'Gain.'
Timeout the Mark waypoint page.
Added vessel, engine, tank level, and temperature categories for the numbers page configuration menu.
Added the ability to change the dashboard page from the dashboard page's menu.
Added support for custom units in the startup wizard.

Changes made from version 2.50 to 2.60:

Improved depth tracking performance.
Increased sonar scroll speed.
Changed the active track log scanning to display the date and time the point was recorded instead of the position.
Added support for displaying the compass tape on the Sonar pages.
Corrected how waypoint names display on maps when using a non 1252 codepage.
Corrected the AIS rate of turn value that was not using the correct sign of the value.
When the AIS alarm is set to off, the 'Remove Lost Target' message will not display and the lost target will automatically be removed after 2 minutes.
Removed the depth line control from the flasher menu.
Changed the weather chart Waypoints control to automatically change to 'Show' when a waypoint is created via the weather chart.

Changes made from version 2.40 to 2.50:

Added the ability to turn off the AIS dangerous target alarm. When the alarm is set to off, dangerous targets will still display on charts, but the alarm banner that allows acknowledgement of a dangerous target will not be displayed. Unacknowledged dangerous AIS targets will turn red and blink on the chart even if the AIS dangerous target alarm is turned off.
Added an automatic light sector control which determines the best zoom levels to draw light sectors.
Added support for transferring waypoints, tracks, and routes to/from MapSource. This support was removed in the previous release.
Potentially dangerous points along auto guidance paths will be outlined in red. After the auto guidance calculation completes, a message will appear if there are potentially unsafe areas along the path.
Improved Mariner's Eye 3D operation under slow speeds.
Changed the nature of seabed areas to label the area instead of drawing a circle and label.
Fixed an issue where AIS targets with status of moored or anchored were showing up as lost prematurely.
Updated the symbol highlighting on the chart to use the correct symbol size.
Added the blue and black direction lines for orthogonal photo points.
Fixed an issue where Mariner's Eye 3D safe depth wasn't correct the first time you went to that view.
Fixed a bug where auto guidance lines can ignore the safety buffer on the first leg of the route.
Added support for calibrating compatible Airmar depth, water speed and temperature NMEA 2000 smart sensors.
Changed the water speed value that is sent via NMEA 2000 to be the calibrated water speed.
Added a control to hide waypoints on the weather charts to eliminate clutter issues.

Changes made from version 2.30 to 2.40:

Improved chart cartography presentation by reducing clutter.
Added support for displaying the compass tape on the Navigation and Fishing Charts.
Fixed a potential issue on the 3D page when displaying the backlight adjustment page.
Reduced the sonar bottom acquisition time in deep water.

Changes made from version 2.20 to 2.30:

Prevented the map from initially re-drawing when panning on the Chart/Sonar function and after displaying a menu above the chart.
Corrected the current page to cycle between the report, direction, and flow.
Reduced the label size on the weather charts.
Fixed reporting of lost AIS targets.
Fixed button placement on active tracks page.
The fishing chart will now draw contours with built-in map data.
Corrected how segmented light sectors are displayed.
Fixed the text on the forecast loop control.
Reduced the 3D label size.
Added sonar noise rejection control.
Improved the map re-centering while panning so the pointer won't drift.
Added scanning of hurricanes.
Added the ability to save the date and time with waypoints.
Corrected graphical current arrow orientation in head up and course up modes.

Changes made from version 2.10 to 2.20:

Manufacturing specific changes.

Changes made from version 2.00 to 2.10:

Improved 2-D Chart rendering speeds.

Installation Instructions

Click on "Download" and choose to save the file to your computer.
Choose a location where you can easily find the file, such as the 'My Documents' folder or 'C:\'.
Once the download is complete, go to the location where you saved the file.
Double-click on the downloaded file. This will automatically extract the files to C:\Garmin and run a program to transfer the software update to an SD card.

System requirements

IBM-compatible PC running Windows 2000 or later operating system and an available SD card reader.