Updating an old GPS

[mloserpsu]

I have a Garmin 540s from 2008 on a boat I purchased 3 years(?) ago. The version running is old...2.2 from 2002 and Garmin is up to 7.7 version on the website as of late April, 2020. I have had little luck with updating via SD card. Not sure if the reader is bad or I found out the card needs to be a small capacity card, so I'll try again today.

My point and question is if it is worth it? I really haven't found much online in the way of help from others with similar issues, so I am assuming (and we all know what that means) that it must not be an issue for a lot of people. Do charts change that dramatically? I know weather and erosion are constantly changing the bay (Chesapeake), so I think my point is logical. I am surprised at finding so little online for this topic.

For those of you that have older units and are just are too cheap like me to buy a new unit...do you have this concern?

Secondly...Garmin makes a "Stryker" unit for quite a bit cheaper than the "EchoMap". From what I understand, the Stryker has no chart features. If my old GPS 540 is sufficient for charts, I may buy a less expensive 7" Stryker to use as a fish finder only and use the old 540 as the GPS chart on full screen rather than split screen.

Thoughts...besides that last sentence would not make my high school english teacher very proud?

 

[Dave LeGear]

Charts do change a lot from storm action so always wise to have the latest and greatest.

Same goes with the gear running it, and as long as it meets your needs, eyesight and budget, then no problems using it as long as you can

Best,
Dave

 

[Harper]

I have a GPSMAP 546s, and the updates happen infrequently, sometimes there are several years between updates. The updates you're referring to are software/firmware updates, not maps or charting. https://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=8745

I don't see anything higher than v5.6 for your 540s.

In order to update maps, you need to purchase a BlueChart g3 or BlueChart g3 Vision. They aren't updated by "version" but by date. And boy, they ain't cheap! https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/c452-c455-p1.html

 

[dboyd351]

Did you send off to Garmin for the card to do the update? Not sure if it is still in effect, but their policy used to be you bought the update card for $50, they sent it to you to do the update and when you were done you sent it back and they refunded your $50. I have done that before and it worked, but it turned out the update did not accomplish what I hoped it would and the whole process was essentially useless to me. Also, the things it did update were inconsequential glitches in the program that were more of a programmer's snafu/cleanup than anything else.

As noted by Harper, the updates are to the software, not the charts, it is will not help you get more current charts.

Unless you are experiencing a unit that isn't functioning correctly, I would not bother. Even then, the update might be what you really need, or even necessary.
I recently bought a Garmin 498 (the unit previous to yours) from a guy in St. Michaels who could not get it to locate where it was. He inherited it from another guy who also could not get it to acquire the satellites. The former owner had an e-mail from Garmin suggesting he might need to update the software. Neither ever got it to work, so I got it for $100. All you needed to do was turn it on by simultaneously pressing the "page" and power keys and holding them both down for 15 seconds. This causes the unit to re-set itself and begin locating the satellites anew. Works perfect now.

In short, I would not bother unless something is substantially wrong with it.

 

[Offshoreman]

I had a boat a few years ago that had the Garmin 4208 and the 4210. They were a couple of years old when I got them. I went and bought a data card and then went on to the Garmin website and downloaded an update. Plugged it in to each updated and worked perfectly. Except for the cost of the data card at my local electronics store, the update download was free from Garmin.

 

[mloserpsu]

I finally got it working after a few free ( and relatively easy) calls to Garmin support. The problem the guy told me was the original software wouldn't support sd cards larger than 2 GB. A software update a few years after the unit was first offered included an update to allow larger SD cards. The update was too large for a 1 GB sd card, but easily fir on the 2 GB card. I also had to insert the sd card first and then do the "hard" reset by dboyd351 talked about...holding the Page Up (or down...can't remember now) with the Power key.

The update changes the interface/menu look a little bit, as well as the charts. They are not updated, but the depth lines are more accurate. I also think the satellites acquire a signal faster.

All in all it was worth it.

 

[Offshoreman]

Very good. Thanks for sharing.

 

[dboyd351]

yep
thanks for letting us know and I'm glad it is working