home C-MAP Electronic/Digital Charts

Sample screen shots: Sydney Harbour, Great Lakes, Long Island Sound
Costing Form for C-MAP USB Card Reader  and  C-MAP USB Key (or "dongle")
Detailed Troubleshooting Guide for help installing Card Readers

Software-On-Board is supplied with World Wide background charts and a sampling of very high detail demonstration C-MAP Electronic Charts. 

Complete world coverage of extremely-detailed and data-rich nautical, terrestrial and aeronautical charts is supplied (independent of SOB and Digiboat) by C-MAP Electronic Charts (from 2007, the company is named "Jeppesen Marine").

C-MAP charts are supplied complete on CD-ROM or individually on proprietary memory-cartridges (as used in Chart-Plotters and other hardware navigation instruments). 

You must purchase the charts for your use direct from C-MAP, or by using the C-MAP PC Selector program. 
(more about Selector ...)

C-MAP Electronic Charts are supplied on CD-ROM. A selection of CDs contain all the world's charts at varying levels of detail. Using the simple "chart selector" program (included on the C-MAP disks) you can point and click on the chart areas you wish to buy, then connect automatically to C-MAP's online (or phone) ordering service.

How to get the C-MAP chart disks

• Cartridge charts (SD cards, or c-cards, or FP cards) can be purchased from boating shops that sell C-Map products, or of the worldwide C-Map agents. Browse for your nearest agent starting at www.c-map.com.

• CD charts contain charts for a large region (eg "western Mediterranean" or "north Indian Ocean") the CDs are supplied without charge, however the charts on disk remain inaccessible until a chart licence code is purchased.
  
  To get the Chart Selector CD you should make contact with your nearest C-Map agent (from 2007, the company is named "Jeppesen Marine") and request they post you the CD for your area. The CDs usually arrive quickest if you contact the agent by phone (for Australasia, including SE Asia, Japan, Maldives) the phone number for the Sydney office is +61-2-9808-6200 or browse the International C-Map websites and locate a phone number for an office in your area. 
  Alternately,
  1. visit http://ntpc.c-map.com/ntselector.html to place your own online order for the chart CDs (this typically takes 3 to 6 weeks)
  2. email the support centre including your full name and postal address. And the region(s) you require - for example West Coast USA, Eastern Med, Middle East, South America, SW Atlantic etc.

I've previously bought C-MAP charts, but for a different program.
Please discuss your cross-grade options and pricing with your local C-Map office (links available at: www.c-map.com). SOB uses the latest version of C-MAP charts, it is possible that any electronic chart portfolios you possessed will require updating to take advantage of the exponential improvements in current digital cartography, and to have the latest corrections and additions included,.
If you own any recently licensed C-MAP NT/PC or MAX charts from another program (eg MaxSea or RayTech), you will be able to directly use these charts with SOB.

What about CM93 charts, do they work?
CM-93 format charts are now specialist commercial-use-only and ECDIS systems from previous technologies, and for all intents and purposes, have been superseded by the MAX Pro charts and the Max, NT+ (cartridges) and NT/Max/PC (computer CDs) format C-MAP charts. Some C-MAP offices have upgrade offers available, please discuss your options and pricing with www.c-map.com.

SOB uses different version of C-MAP charts, the MAX and NT+ and NT formats, and is not compatible with the CM93 format.

What coverage have C-MAP charts?
C-MAP charts have the most extensive world-wide coverage of any electronic chart formats - at last count more than 20,000 paper charts world-wide have been included in the C-MAP Chart portfolios. Any locality without adequate C-MAP coverage, would probably not be fully surveyed and so would also not be adequately covered by any paper nautical charts.

The latest MAX charts now include extensive coverage of inland waterways and river systems in the US and Europe.

80% of all hardware chart-plotters use C-MAP charts, and the new "Queen Mary II" has been fitted with C-MAP charts for their electronic navigation needs.

The C-MAP website has clickable charts which show world-wide coverage options.

How much are C-MAP charts?
C-MAP charts are distributed in "regions" or "areas" nominated as wide or super-wide coverage. 

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This paragraph no longer valid for MAX charts
Wide coverage areas would contain more than 100 equivalent paper charts at all scales available for the area and costs $US 189.00 (eg: New Zealand's North Island, or Australia's Melbourne to Southport). 
Super-wide coverage areas average $US 299.00 and would cover an entire coastal domain (eg: Australia's east coast from Melbourne to Cairns)
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MAX Charts: (released 2005)

Coverage areas and costs of the C-Map Electronic Charts have changed significantly with the release of C-Map's MAX-format charts.

Here are some links to webpages that show example coverage areas and costs:

I N F O R M A T I O N    O N L Y

The following hardware items are available directly from your local C-MAP office.
The prices quoted should be regarded as a guide only. 
Currency fluctuations, local taxes and freight must be confirmed at the time of ordering.

C-MAP Card Reader and USB Key

Select your local currency: AUD $ USD $ GBP £ EUR €  Total = $ 0.00   NOTE: AUD costs should be regarded as a guide only. Australian pricing is based on the US exchange rate, as calculated by your bank, at the time your credit card payment is processed by C-MAP.

USB Card Reader  $198 AUS The USB Card Reader will allow you to use your NT/NT+ C-MAP cards with SOB USB Key  $60 AUS The USB Key will allow any C-MAP chart licenses purchased to be used on any computer running SOB  more information Request More Information     C-MAP USB Card Reader: Driver Troubleshooting The USB C-Card Reader installation is automatic. This help is provided in case you ever encounter problems with the USB driver installation. Follow the steps below to ensure the accuracy of your installation.   See also: SOB Manual - Installing C-MAP Card Readers   Checking the Installed Driver: This is a step-by-step procedure for checking the drivers installed for your USB C-card reader.  Please follow them closely and do as directed... On the desktop, right-click (with the mouse) on the My Computer icon. From the sub-menu that appears, select Properties. This will bring up the System properties window. In Windows 95/98, there will be a Device Manager tab, select it. In Windows 2000/ME/XP, there is a Hardware tab, selecting this, will bring you to a window where you can access Device Manager, select it. The Device Manager window lists all hardware currently installed on your PC. At the very bottom of the list there should be a Universal Serial Bus Controllers. Clicking on the plus (+) sign to the left will open a list of all USB devices installed. The following entries should be in the list that appears: USB Root Hub USB Host Controller C-MAP USBCC Reader If you do not have a Universal Serial Bus Controllers option under Device Manager, then you do not have a USB port active on your PC, and you will need to contact the PC manufacturer. If you do not see the Root Hub and Host Controller listed above, then your USB port is active but not configured properly, and you will need to contact the PC manufacturer. If you do not see the C-MAP USBCC Reader, then your C-card reader was not installed correctly, please proceed to Updating the Driver, below. If you see all three, as listed above, then your USB C-card reader is installed correctly. Updating the Driver: This section will review how to update the driver, in case your PC did not handle the installation correctly, and defaulted to an incorrect driver. On the desktop, right-click (with the mouse) on the My Computer icon. From the sub-menu that appears, select Properties. This will bring up the System properties window. In Windows 95/98, there will be a Device Manager tab, select it. In Windows 2000/ME/XP, there is a Hardware tab, selecting this, will bring you to a window where you can access Device Manager, select it. The Device Manager window lists all hardware currently installed on your PC. At the very bottom of the list there should be a Universal Serial Bus Controllers. Clicking on the plus (+) sign to the left will open a list of all USB devices installed. You should find a C-Map Reader before Firmware Download listed here. Right click and select Properties. If not, then in the complete listing, there should be an Unknown Device listing, and clicking on the plus sign next to it, will reveal a USB Device. Right click on this, and select Properties. This will bring up the Device details page. Go to the Driver tab. On this screen there is an Update Driver button. Click on it. This will take you into the Update Driver Wizard. It acts much like the New Hardware Wizard. On the first screen of the Update Driver Wizard, select Next. The next screen should ask if you want to Search for the Device Driver (recommended) or Display a list of available device drivers. Select Search for the Device Driver (recommended) and then hit Next. The next screen will list available sources to search for the driver (floppy disk, CD-ROM drive, Windows update CD, or Specify a location). Select Specify a Location, and then select Browse (In Windows 95/98, there is a Browse button, in Windows 2000/ME, you need to hit the Next button to get to the Browse window). At the Browse window you need to set the path to C:\Program Files\C-MAP\USBCC Drivers\Winxx, where xx is the version of Windows you are running (95, 98, 2K). The system will then do a quick search for the drivers, usually taking 30 seconds or so, and then come up with a screen that says, 'Windows has found a driver for this device. Do you want to install this driver?' Hit Next on this screen to finalize the driver installation. (Window's XP will warn you that the driver did not pass Windows Authentication. It is safe to select "Continue Anyway"). The final screen that will come up should say 'Windows has finished updating the drivers for the following device: C-MAP USBCC Reader.' Hit Finish to complete the installation. This will exit the Update Driver Wizard, and take you back to the Driver details page from Device Manager. The screen should blink a few times as the updated drivers are configured. This usually takes about 30 seconds. You can then exit out of the Driver details page and Device Manager. You are now ready to use your NT/NT+ cartridges with SOB.     C-MAP USB Hardware Key (dongle) NEW C-MAP FEATURE! Hardware Key (dongle) chart licenses are now available from C-MAP, providing for flexible use of C-MAP charts on more than one PC. If you have a USB Hardware Key, the process is simple: Using the C-MAP NT/PC Selector program, just backup your licences, unplug the key, restore the licences on some other PC and plug the key and the charts will be available. You may purchase the Hardware Key first and the chart licences later or you may purchase the licences and the key in one transaction both through Web and Call Center, by using the C-MAP NT/PC Selector program (issued with the C-MAP CD-ROMs). You may also transform your existing licences linked to your single PC to hardware key chart licences at no cost, contact your country's C-MAP office (www.c-map.com). If you decide not to upgrade your system with the Hardware Key, C-Map still keeps the old licensing system where the licence is valid for a single computer only. Email C-MAP Request More Information