Updates & Downloads

---

GPSMAP 238 Sounder software version 5.10

as of May 10, 2007

USB Card Programmer

Download (3.54 MB)

View download instructions and system requirements

Notes:

• Any units with pre-release alpha or beta software will have all nonvolatile memory erased when version 2.00 or later is loaded.

---

Change History

Changes made from version 4.90 to 5.10:

• Fixed problem with NMEA output stopping for a few minutes at 00:00:00Z.
• Incorporated recent changes to the Daylight Savings Time schedule to properly detect when DST starts and stops.

Changes made from version 4.80 to 4.90:

• Improved WAAS search and selection process to be smarter in its handling of multiple SBAS service providers, overlapping service volumes, and exceptional conditions.

Changes made from version 4.70 to 4.80:

• Added support for receiving NMEA DSE sentence.
• Improved language support by filling in missing translations.

Changes made from version 4.60 to 4.70:

• Fixed a bug that caused extended chart information to not be displayed when reviewing a point on BlueChart maps.
• Fixed possible issue with waypoint symbol being unexpectedly changed to the generic dot symbol on user data transfer.
• Modified various German phrase translations.

Changes made from version 4.50 to 4.60:

• Added German tide support.
• Corrected time representation problem on tide chart for IOS stations.
• Fixed potential problem with displaying extremely high- or low-resolution BlueChart maps.
• Improved user waypoint merge functionality for serial and card data transfers.
• Fixed Recommended Route line review problem where associated depth and/or description text was not being displayed.
• Added support for violet, blue, and amber marine lights.
• Added support for new Artificial Reef and Drilling Rig BlueChart point types.
• Added mode indicator to $GPVTG NMEA output sentence.
• Corrected various Italian and Spanish language translations.

Changes made from version 4.40 to 4.50:

• Fixed various user card data transfer issues.
• Corrected potential error when using WAAS in Europe.
• Changed symbol for non-dangerous rocks.
• Modified 'Place of Worship' and 'cemetery' symbols.
• Reduced size of BlueChart building symbol.
• Improved the default settings interface on the comm tab.
• Changed text displayed for 'non-dangerous rock' to 'underwater rock' and changed 'submerged wreck, non-dangerous' to 'submerged wreck'.
• Corrected a problem with UPS grid conversions in zones B and Z.
• Changed Austrian datum transformation parameters to dx = 594, dy = 84, & dz = 471.
• Improved power-up processing for better performance.
• Fixed problem with potential shutdown when using very old Almanac data.
• Added Canadian tide support.
• Corrected problem with Australian celestial moon phase calculations.

Changes made from version 4.30 to 4.40:

• Fixed potential memory-corruption problem that could occur when tracking more than one WAAS satellite simultaneously.
• Improvement to prevent delays when using differential GPS.

Changes made from version 4.20 to 4.30:

• Corrected a problem writing to the data card that could result in an immediately apparent but recoverable corruption of the data card.

Changes made from version 4.00 to 4.20:

• Added new translations for the French language.
• Improved WAAS/EGNOS satellite selection algorithm to select the satellite with the most beneficial corrections given the unit's current position. A unit will not use a WAAS/EGNOS satellite if the unit's current position is outside of a given WAAS/EGNOS satellite's service volume.
• Added the ability to store and read user waypoints, routes, and tracks on/from a Garmin data card. This allows the user to back up the waypoints, routes, and tracks when the unit requires him/her to clear his/her user data. It also allows the user to transfer this information to MapSource and back.
• Improved the depth tracking algorithm. Now, the time needed to reacquire the bottom after the unit has lost track of the bottom is reduced. This improvement will only be seen under extreme circumstances. Only users who have experienced long acquisition times in the past may see an improvement.
• Fixed a problem where the Fish alarm would interrupt and cancel other persistent alarms and messages.
• Fixed a problem that caused the NMEA GPGSV sentence to not be compliant with the NMEA 0183 v3.01 standard.
• Fixed a problem that caused the unit to incorrectly draw some BlueChart maps.
• Fixed a problem that caused the unit to not properly update its settings after the user selected the Factory Defaults option on the Sonar Setup page.
• Fixed a problem that caused the Daylight Savings Time field to disappear when the time zone was set to 'Other'.
• Fixed a problem that caused the unit to incorrectly draw the time values on the Tide page when the unit was set to a 24-hour time format.
• Corrected miscellaneous German translation errors.
• Fixed a problem with drawing names of maps on the Map Information page when the maps had long names.

Changes made from version 3.06 to 4.00:

• Many BlueChart enhancements and additions, featuring:
  • Light Sector Support. Color units indicate the actual color of each sector using the color of the light. Monochrome units draw white and yellow sectors as white, and draw blue, red, and green sectors as dark gray.
  • A 'Navaids' tab has been added to the Map Setup Tab page. This tab has a control called 'Light Sectors' which behaves as follows:
    • Off - No light sectors are ever drawn.
    • Auto - Light sectors appear when you point to them.
    • On - Light sectors are drawn for all lights that have them.
  • Navaid Symbol Set configuration where the user can select the desired navaid symbol set. This control is on the 'Navaids' tab and presents the following options:
    • Auto - BlueChart maps are drawn using symbols similar to the NOAA/NIMA standard. Non BlueChart maps (i.e. topo, roads & rec, waterways & lights, FHS etc) are drawn using traditional GARMIN symbols.
    • GARMIN - All maps are drawn using traditional GARMIN symbols.
    • NOAA - All maps are drawn using a symbol set similar to NOAA/NIMA.
    • International - All maps are drawn using a symbol set similar to the IALA symbol set.
  • User-configurable navaid label text size.
  • Recommended route review page, which displays information about recommended routes.
  • Corrected problems BlueChart and City Navigator map data interference.
  • Corrected problem with Waterways & Lights maps incorrectly drawing on top of BlueChart maps.
  • Improved display of cartographic hazard depths.
• Many Sonar enhancements and additions, featuring:
  • Bottom Lock support.
  • Temperature log and alarms.
  • Implemented new sonar usage and adjustment interface.
  • Implemented new approach for vertically splitting sonar/map data on map page.
  • Improved the sonar frequency display interface.
  • Increased size of small sonar scale font to match the 182 color.
  • Increased the sonar flasher's resolution.
  • Corrected problem with the sonar pointer being automatically moved to a location such that it is not visible if the user quits the sonar page while in pointer mode.
  • Fixed potential lockup problem that could occur when Fish ID is turned on.
  • Improved the pointer information box on the sonar page.
• Implemented improved disclaimer page interface.
• Added 'Append to Route' support.
• Improved interface for moving a user waypoint.
• Added DSC support.
• The user-configurable data field highway zoom level is now always the same as the zoom level of the highway base page.
• Removed Simulator icon and added support for new simulator enunciator.
• Added progress indication when converting active track log data into a saved track log.
• Fixed data display problem that occurred on the Active Route page when the name of an existing route is entered to begin navigation of that route.
• Daylight Savings Time configuration is now allowed when the Time Zone is set to 'Other'.
• Added magnetic reference indicator in angle field and fixed the angle value display problem on the user waypoint review page.
• Added persistent alarm support, which also involved changing the user-alarm configuration interface.
• Added support for localized compass letters.
• Added new metric version of Nautical units that underflows distance measurements to meters instead of feet.
• Implemented position Auto Averaging support.
• Added graphical Water Temperature Log support.
• When graphical user-selectable data fields are highlighted, a text-based title is now displayed rather than inverting the colors of the data.
• Corrected centering of gridline and no-fix question marks on highway page.
• Added track line style configuration support for monochrome products and track line color configuration support for color products.
• Renaming the TracBack route on the Active Route Page is no longer allowed.
• Corrected a problem that occurred when adding points to a route when all of the waypoint memory is full.
• Added the ability to be able to change the search origin on the nearest waypoint Find page.
• Elevation units no longer overflow to a larger unit of measure when the value gets large. For example, if you are using Statute units and your elevation rolls over from 999 ft to 1000 ft, the unit will now display 1000 ft, rather than 1.0 kft.
• The Tide page cursor time is now based on the selected station's time offset.
• Corrected problem that occured in Sonar-capable units when the 'First Page' was set to be the Sonar page.
• RTCM defaults are now restored properly on the Comm page.
• Added notification if the data card that has been inserted into the unit contains more maps than the unit is capable of reading.
• Corrected problem with highlight movement on the Marine Services review page.
• Fixed erroneous 'Check Wiring' message that was given on the GPS Info page when using the 'Other DGPS' communications format.
• Modified the GPS position accuracy circle style to draw a foreground and background line so it will always be visible, regardless of the what color mode the unit is in or whether the boat is on land or in water.
• Corrected problem on the Tide page where the Find position reference is always set to 'Other Position' when the Find key is pressed when the 'At' station field is highlighted. The reference is now based on the position of the station if a valid station has been selected.
• Fixed corruption problem that could occur when starting navigation of a full TracBack route after having just deleted a point from an existing active route.
• Corrected problem with Map Datum defaults not being restored properly.
• Fixed a problem that allowed the entry of a user waypoint's depth that is greater than the maximum depth allowed without the user having any immediate indication that he/she had done so.
• Fixed a problem with the map not drawing properly after completing a unit data transfer.
• Added Croatian language support.
• Added support for Australian and European tides.
• Added support for extended (non-English language) character display on the map.
• Nav key context is now more consistent on the textual Route review page.
• Fractional data is no longer displayed in numeric distance display fields when configured to use units of feet or meters.
• 'Track Log Full' message is now displayed when the Track Recording Mode is set to 'Fill' and there is no more space left to record track points.
• Fixed problem that caused the selectable data fields that now show title strings when highlighted (highway, sonar, etc...) to not behave properly on Zoom In/Out keypresses.
• Revamped and improved retail demonstration mode, including resetting the position and zoom levels to the position init values on demo reset.
• Improved the moon phase calculations.

Changes made from version 3.05 to 3.06:

• Improved EPE calculations when using WAAS.

Changes made from version 3.04 to 3.05:

• Added support for handling input of NMEA DBT depth sentence.
• Implemented new Advanced NMEA setup item for setting the Waypoint ID output format. This should allow for backwards compatibility with a wider range of NMEA driven products, including some older AutoPilots.
• Corrected 'Light' string translation for Danish language so that it now properly indicates reference to the unit's backlight.
• Corrected waypoint comment field that doesn't draw underscores when empty if another field on the page is in edit mode.
• Removed general hotel reservation phone number from Metro Guide data review pages, as the number is no longer valid.
• Corrected sonar column positions with sonar windows less than full screen width.

Changes made from version 3.03 to 3.04:

• Improved manufacturing support for basemap test.

Changes made from version 3.02 to 3.03:

• Corrected sonar page zoom split problems that caused zoom area to gradually decrease in size.
• Improved distance and bearing calculations for higher map zoom scales.
• Improved handling of light sector descriptions on the light review page.
• Prevented some unnecessary map draws.
• Corrected a problem that caused the unit to draw the Course Line incorrectly when a Man Overboard operation overrides a GOTO operation before the unit has a fix.
• Improved Store Demonstration Mode behavior for language selection and backlight level settings.
• Fixed an error that prevented the Arrival alarm from re-triggering during a Go To operation if the distance option was selected and the distance value was changed.
• Fixed a problem where route lines were not being clipped properly on the edge of the screen when the route waypoints were close together.
• Improved accuracy of map cursor operations.
• Corrected a potential problem when adding the 50th point to a route.
• WAAS On/Offf setting now restored to default value when unit's user settings are reset to defaults.
• Unit now reports 'Blank Card' instead of 'Incompatible Card Format' when a card with no data has been inserted.
• Eliminated Active Route base page flicker problem.
• Corrected size reporting that occurred in certain types of data cards.

Changes made from version 3.01 to 3.02:

• Fixed a problem that could cause the unit to lock up if 'Midnight' or 'Noon' options are selected when saving a track if the track memory is full and contains a single continuous track.
• Improved behavior of the Anchor Drag Alarm in cases where the vessel moves out of the alarm radius and then back in.
• Restored compatibility with some 2MB data cards which was lost in rev 3.00.
• Improved integrity of the retail demonstration reset operation.
• When reviewing a chart accessed by pointing to deep water on that chart, provide a 'Create Waypoint' option to allow waypoint creation as the default behavior.
• Reset fish alarm when 'Defaults' menu option is selected on alarms tab.

Changes made from version 3.00 to 3.01:

• Fixed problem on Change Year page that improperly allowed a negative sign to be entered, causing the unit to become confused as to what the date is.

Changes made from version 2.04 to 3.00:

• Added support for GPSmap188/238
• Added find by name support.
• Sped up FIND category determination. Find categories now are only presented if there is a map feature of that type somewhere in the currently available maps.
• Allow individual classes of NMEA sentences to be disabled.
• Added support for BWC, XTE and VTG NMEA sentences.
• Improve collection of WAAS data when tracking more than one WAAS satellite.
• Added progress indication for first-time card reads.
• Improved point selection process when creating a route graphically. Now user waypoints are created at the location of a selected map feature for certain types of map features.
• Corrected Port 2 NMEA RMC Checksum problem.
• Changed the digit '1' width in the largest size font to be the same width as the other digits.
• Corrected a problem which caused time fields on the largest size number fields to over-write their frames.
• Allow zooming of the highway field on the highway setup tab.
• Corrected context sensitive NAV/Find behavior on User Points tab.
• Made find pages larger.
• Added support for 'Store Demonstration Mode'.
• In the NAV KEY menu, present as the first item an option to re-activate the current Go To if currently doing a Go To to a point in the active route.
• Improved the visibility of the cursor on the tide chart, and made it moveable.
• Corrected time axis values on tide chart for stations with UTC offsets of -10 hours.
• Draw spar buoys in their actual color instead of always black.
• Reduced the amount of path smoothing done when saving tracks.
• Added Danish, Finnish, German, Italian, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, French and Dutch language support
• Corrected a map drawing problem which caused country names to not be centered on their anchor point.
• Corrected 'All Unit Defaults' operation to reset accuracy alarm.
• Added support for GARMIN BlueChart CD.
• Added RT 90 Grid.
• Restore Celestial Page time & position to current time and current location at power-on.
• Improved consistency of the 'Declutter' map feature.
• Never use WAAS correction if a port is set to RTCM.
• When changing from RTCM to some other mode, set the SNR and other status information to invalid values.
• Improved declutter menu item wording to improve clarity.
• Always update a waypoint's data upon return to the user waypoint review page. This corrects a problem where a waypoint's position, distance, and bearing was not updated after 'Show on Map' was selected and the waypoint was moved on the map.
• Added generation of 'Datum' NMEA sentence.
• Added a 'Hide Numbers' option to the active route page.
• Always use 'm' to indicate meters, not 'mt'.
• Fixed possible lockup when calculating sun/moon rise and set times for extreme latitudes.
• Fixed possible lockup when calculating sun/moon rise and set times for extreme latitudes.
• Re-display the data on the pointer page if a navigation change occurs.
• Added 'New Waypoint' option to user points page.
• Corrected a problem which could cause lock-ups when transferring waypoints, tracks and routes to another unit or MapSource.
• Improved the appearance of the directional pointer tail.
• Corrected a problem which could cause certain Marin Service points to not be found.
• When editing a non-active route on the map, don't automatically initiate navigation of that route.
• Changed software version number to 3.00.

Changes made from version 2.03 to 2.04:

• Improved speed and reliability of AutoLocate operation.
• Added power-on GPS Information popup page.
• Removed 'Stop Navigation' confirmation message.
• Improved TracBack waypoint name generation.
• Added U.S. version of the 'Diver Down' waypoint symbol.
• Show icons for each alarm on the Alarm tab.
• Added DGPS and Accuracy alarms.
• Added support for 'Other Location' find option on the Celestial tab so position could be selected from map
• Made compass and compass tape label backgrounds transparent.
• Compass page display improvements:
  • Fixed the highlight around the tail of the compass pointer.
  • Changed 360° mark to 000 on compass.
• Improvements for data fields:
  • Replaced abbreviations in data field titles with full words.
  • Renamed Altitude data field option to Elevation.
  • Added GPS Accuracy to data field options.
  • Corrected the character width for the Off Course data field.
  • Modified the Position data field to select a smaller font if the current grid does not fit in the field.
• Fixed line drawing problem associated with map-based distance measurement utility.

Changes made from version 2.02 to 2.03:

• Improved data card performance.
• Added display of Garmin copyright info on disclaimer page.

Changes made from version 2.01 to 2.02:

• Improved rounding of the bearing for placement of the bearing line on compass tapes.
• Store map setups when the map setup page is closed, rather than at unit power down only.
• Disable map list button on review pages if there are no maps to review.
• Make sure the highlight is on a valid field when doing a jump to specific menu page tabs.
• Show marine points at scales greater than 8 miles.

Changes made from version 2.00 to 2.01:

• Corrected TrackBack point review shutdown.