Wayward waypoints

Sunday, July 17, was an unremarkable day for most boaters--except for those using Icom GP360 chart plotters. The electronic trackers, which rely upon GPS receivers to pinpoint positions, all simultaneously switched to "sky search" mode and stayed that way. BoatU.S. learned that boat owners from around the country found they could not get their plotters to lock in on any position.

While this might seem to have all the makings of a "2001: A Space Odyssey" moment (one thing you never want to hear is a chart plotter intoning, "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave ...") there was a down-to-earth explanation, according to Icom America, Inc., which quickly went into a search mode of its own to diagnose the problem. Tums out there was a glitch in the units' firmware. Firmware is software stored on a memory chip.

At first technicians from the Bellevue, WA, electronics firm admitted they were stumped. One thing they are sure of: the problem affects every single Icom GP360. Owners of this equipment should contact the manufacturer, even if they haven't noticed any problems.

According to the company's Web site, the chart plotter was designed by the Micrologic engineering team that Icom America acquired in 2000.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The breakdown is a reminder of just how dependent--and vulnerable--we are when electronic gear fails. Many boaters are heavily dependent upon electronic navigation equipment and are not able to navigate the old fashioned way with paper charts. And, as ubiquitous as computer technology is, do-it-yourself repairs, even by tech-minded souls, are often not possible.

Icom kept customers posted on the progress of their investigations with updates at their Web site, www.Icomamerica.com. Within a few weeks they announced that they could correct the problem by installing new firmware, however it was necessary to do the work at the factory.

Even though the chart plotters' programming is defective, customers must pay to ship their plotters to Icom America in Bellevue. The company will pay to return the updated unit using the same method in which they are received (i.e., if the plotter is shipped via UPS next-day, Icom America will return it via UPS next-day).

"It's our policy that customers pay to ship their equipment for repairs and we pay to ship it back," an Icom spokesman told BoatU.S. "That's not going to change."

Another downside to this situation is that data, including GPS waypoints, will be lost when the plotters are updated. There's no way to mechanically back up the unit, Icom discovered, although they told us they tried to find an easy one.

So, an Icom technician suggested saving waypoints the old fashion way: with pencil and paper. He told us that a list of waypoints can be accessed by pressing the "WPT" button on the chart plotter.

The company asks that customers ship only GPS units, not power cords, antennas, Navionics cards or other parts. Icom America will not be responsible for any lost or missing items.

GP360 owners tell us the turn-around time for repairs is about a week. For more information, call Icom customer service, 425-454-7619 or visit the company's web site, www.IcomAmerica.com

COPYRIGHT 2004 Boat Owners Assn.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group