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Adding GPS Navigation


Driver

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New to the site but thought this might be helpful as I couldn't find much for info here before.

I wanted to add GPS Navigation to a brand new 2016 23 LSV.  So I started with the dealership, they quoted me $500+ to add it to my boat.  So then I called around and found some helpful people at Medallion.  They stated that all you need is a GPS antenna and a maps card.  I got a Premium Maps card from a fishing buddy for free and got a GPS antenna from Malibu for $102.  Don't remember the part#...

Plugged the maps card into a laptop and updated it.  Placed it into the SD slot on the back of the RH touch screen.  Plugged the wire from the GPS antenna into the "small" connector labeled GPS on the back of the RH touch screen.  For the antenna I looped the cable up and zip tied the antenna puck up inside the boat in front of the console just under the RH vent.  Turned the power on and waited in horror for several minutes thinking for $500+ from the dealership that there must be more to it than that?  There wasn't, it was just that easy.  It does however take a while the first time for everything to get going, just wait and be patient.

 

Seems like a easy add to do yourself for minimal $...

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is it a separate GPS than the GPS for the speedometer: mine has GPS speedometer mounted on the bow in front of driver windshield or if i have this do i only need the card or do i need the separate GPS unit for the maps alone?

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Can you post a picture of the GPS antenna connector for others?  I'm betting it is a fairly generic connector where instead of eating $100 at the dealer you can spend $15 on Amazon for the same thing.

 

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I have factory Navigation on my '16 23LSV. It used to work fine. Last week I updated the Navionics card. It's a no go now. Navionics says the latest Medallion software update isn't compatible with their new Nav maps. I have the Premium version (South). I went through each and every file with Navionics to make sure they were good. They helped me delete the SD card and reload the maps. Still a no go. The maps will not show up, the only map display screen you get is the same as without the Navionics SD card inserted. The Waypoints show up so they must be stored on the factory Medallion SD card. IF you get the Navionics card, I wouldn't update it until this is sorted out. I've put several calls into Medallion with no call back or response. My dealer has calls into Medallion as well with no fix. I'd be interested to know what version of software anyone is running on their Medallion for 2016 that has Navigation working.

BTW...here is the back of the 7" computer/screen. Notice the WiFi antenna?

 

Medallion COmputer.JPG

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#1.  Yes you do need an additional antenna for the GPS NAV, why I don't know...  You would think that one antenna would be able to "talk" to the computer system and give data needed to the maps portion, but I guess it does not.  Maybe because Medallion stated that you need to use the antenna they had spec'd for their system, and maybe that is why the zero-off GPS antenna does not work or cannot work for the GPS NAV???

#2  I received a TSB from Medallion on how register and update the Navionics SD card.  I have it's but don't know how to upload it to the site here, if someone can help, I would appreciate it.

 

Here is the Rep from Medallion that I worked with, and she was quite helpful.

Misty Wallenstein

Customer Service Representative

Medallion Instrumentation Systems

P: 616-850-8091

F: 616-935-6636

Email: [email protected]

 

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I have that TSB from Medallion, it updates the Navionics card which is where all my problem started. I'll attach it below but if you have a working Nav system on a 2016, I wouldn't try it.. The problem is, according to Navionics, when you update the Medallion system, it is no longer compatible with the Maps on the SD Card from Navionics. Navionics is putting the blame on the Medallion update.

Ill try to reach out to your contact and see what they say.

My Medallion software version is;

MY2016-01-2016

V2

MY17-Adv01-AUG02 Navionics.pdf

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I'm not trying to derail the thread, but we figured this out last year: (yes, the title says compass, but read for GPS info)

 

13 hours ago, Ronnie said:

BTW...here is the back of the 7" computer/screen. Notice the WiFi antenna?

Medallion COmputer.JPG

It's bluetooth, the case is mis-labeled or reused from another application. If you remove the antenna you can't connect your phone to the computer.

2 hours ago, Driver said:

#1.  Yes you do need an additional antenna for the GPS NAV, why I don't know...  You would think that one antenna would be able to "talk" to the computer system and give data needed to the maps portion, but I guess it does not.  Maybe because Medallion stated that you need to use the antenna they had spec'd for their system, and maybe that is why the zero-off GPS antenna does not work or cannot work for the GPS NAV???

#2  I received a TSB from Medallion on how register and update the Navionics SD card.  I have it's but don't know how to upload it to the site here, if someone can help, I would appreciate it.

 

Here is the Rep from Medallion that I worked with, and she was quite helpful.

Misty Wallenstein

Customer Service Representative

Medallion Instrumentation Systems

P: 616-850-8091

F: 616-935-6636

Email: [email protected]

 

I can try calling and/or emailing Misty, but if you talk with her again ask about loading custom photos in for the rider presets. The graphic says "user image" on the black boxes, but it doesn't appear that there is any way to upload images to use.

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I just successfully added GPS nav to my 15 VLX. It was very easy to do. You need the newest Navionics Plus "Navionics+" Software and I purchased a cheap $8 GPS puck antenna from Amazon. Plugged the antenna in on the back of the 7" screen. (right connection on the back) I Velcro'd the puck to the top of the sturdy metal dash/steering support brace. (mounting on metal aids reception)  Installed the Navionics+ SD card in the "Map" slot and turned it on. (The SD card needs registered and updated through the web on a PC before it will work) It takes a minute or two for it to locate the satellites and load the map.

FY!: The Navionics+ Software is the newest and the only one CURRENTLY manufactured that will work. It replaced the now discontinued "Navionics Hot Maps Premium" 

This thread has some good info:

http://www.themalibucrew.com/index.php?/forums/topic/56417-compass-on-2015-dash/&page=4#comment-920568 

A pic of mine:

IMG_7200.thumb.JPG.af39551305efce3b0c492

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  • 7 months later...

Just want to make sure before I pull the trigger. I did the $9 Amazon GPS antennae last year but never bought the map SD card.

This map should work?

https://www.navionics.com/usa/navionics-all-us-and-canada.html

On 9/7/2016 at 0:37 PM, jbcanski2 said:

I just successfully added GPS nav to my 15 VLX. It was very easy to do. You need the newest Navionics Plus "Navionics+" Software and I purchased a cheap $8 GPS puck antenna from Amazon. Plugged the antenna in on the back of the 7" screen. (right connection on the back) I Velcro'd the puck to the top of the sturdy metal dash/steering support brace. (mounting on metal aids reception)  Installed the Navionics+ SD card in the "Map" slot and turned it on. (The SD card needs registered and updated through the web on a PC before it will work) It takes a minute or two for it to locate the satellites and load the map.

FY!: The Navionics+ Software is the newest and the only one CURRENTLY manufactured that will work. It replaced the now discontinued "Navionics Hot Maps Premium" 

This thread has some good info:

http://www.themalibucrew.com/index.php?/forums/topic/56417-compass-on-2015-dash/&page=4#comment-920568 

A pic of mine:

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 4/9/2017 at 9:52 PM, LS1boarder said:

When I go to Hodges to order the Navionics + card, it asks me for the Chartplotter make and model before ordering. What would I type here? They have the card for $126 with free shipping. 

 

https://www.hodgesmarine.com/Navionics-Navionics-Regions-East-Preloaded-p/navmsd-nav-ea.htm

Medallion - Viper

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So an update on my quest... I ordered the Navionics+ US & Canada Card since I live on the border of two region cards.

Put the card in and powered up, blank map screen. Cycled battery power and it came right up.

I do not have detailed map data for my local lake though (Sidney Lanier is on the Navionics list of lakes). I can browse over to AL and see Lake Martin though. I updated the whole card, 5 GB over DSL, still no dice.

After a call to Navionics they said the medallion system can't read over 2GB. So, I need to delete all data on the card and just download less than 2GB to it. I will try that for this weekend and report back.

 

Edited by WakeSS
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I found these details in a review of the Navonics + card.  (Bass Pro I think) that may be helpful

"It seems that many people are confused by how the card "uploading" works and they give it bad reviews. I'm not blaming them, that's why I didn't give it 5 stars. It's Navionics' fault. There are ZERO instructions in the box and what's in the box is contradicting. It says "pre-loaded, ready to use" on the sleeve but inside the package, where the chip is it says "STOP! Upload online before using...". Then, to make matters worse, when you go online and try to upload the charts, sonar and community edits, it says you don't have enough space. The reason there's no space it because it IS pre-loaded with the entire region you bought. The problem with that is it doesn't give you the room to customize for your own needs. So if you don't want to customize you only need to MAKE SURE YOU SET YOUR UNIT TO USE THE CHIP. It's in the settings. But if you do want to customize it's simple, convenient and really cool. Here's what you do...
1. Go to the Navionics web page and select "Update My Chart" at the top. You'll have to register and download the "chart install software".
2. After the software starts, use the ERASE button to clear the chip. You have to use that button because the chip has other information on it that has to stay. This just clears the chart info. Don't format or delete anything in any other way. You'll destroy the card.
3. Go to the map and zoom it on the area you want and double click. You'll get a wire frame that you can adjust to cover just that area (lake). You'll see a gray button on the map with curved lines. Click on that and it'll turn blue and give way more detail.
4. Zoom out and make sure you have the right area blocked out. select all three radio buttons on the left and note the amount of space that'll be used and the time it'll take to download.
5. Press the "upload " button and get your first lake.
6. After it uploads, there's a button on the bottom left that says "add". Click that and now, at the top of the load box, it says "update" and "download". Click download and repeat the process for as many lakes as you want to load.

When you're all done, the map will show the areas you added as highlighted boxes. You can "update" those at a later time. or "download" more with this same process..Good luck and enjoy! "

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Update - Deleted Card data and downloaded a smaller area ~1GB and the Navionics+ US/Canada card works fine. 

I would say after doing this that is is nice to have as an option but the Navionics app (using iphone6/7) is actually a lot better than the built in Nav unit. I think the Medallion unit is just really slow and the map detail is not great. It's fine for general Navigation, getting form one side of the lake to the other, but if you are trying to use it to navigate a channel in a shallow area I would look elsewhere.

So for $150 it's ok, I would never pay the dealer option price. You can get a dedicated plotter or a tablet and run the Navionics app and have a lot better experience for that price.

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On 4/8/2017 at 1:19 PM, jeffmx said:

Navionics + is the one you want. Couldn't live without it now... Don't know how I didn't smash more props in the past !

IMG_7442_resized (2).jpg

Another note, which looks the same here on JeffMX's pic, the bearing always reads 0.00 degrees.

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  • 1 year later...

Update on Navionics App for Apple.  I have had this app for several years for trips to lakes where I might need help locating myself or exploring new areas.  

Last week I got the full use of it at Lake Ouachita, Arkansas.  This is a large lake surrounded by a National Forrest,  zero light pollution, and few easily identifiable  land marks. We were running back and forth from the cabins at the Crystal Springs Marina and Island 7.  Knowing that we would be out after dark to cook smores and for a few to try Island tent camping, I started the Navionics App to record the route from the Marina to the Island.

Heading back to the shore with those who did not wish to tent camp Returning to the Marina after dark quickly became difficult due to the darkness of the forrest and hills heading into the narrow channel to the marina.  About a third of the way in I lost visual location of the channel and and was able to return to the Marina under full IFRs by following the route saved in the app.  Here is the track map, if you zoom in, you will see my route out to the island at speed during daylight, my trek back into the marina after dark at trolling speed where I wobbled some before finding my way with the app, and then the final trip of the night back to the island.  Coming back out later was not so bad as we could see out toward the lake under a rising moon.  The app is accurate to within a few feet. 

I tried sleeping in the boat, which only seemed better than a tent on the rocks.  

 

 

IMG_4366.jpeg

Edited by Bozboat
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Has anybody successfully added GPS navigation to a older malibu, I have a 2013 VTX  i want it on but was hesitant about having it done after getting pricing from the dealer, sounds pretty easy to do on the viper 2

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Finally!  Thanks to the Malibu Crew for leading the way.  I decided to tackle getting the GPS navigation up and running on my 2016 23 LSV.  Followed much of the advice here.  I purchased a $14.99 Waterproof GPS Active Antenna 28dB Gain on Amazon.  Ordered the new Navionics + card ($147) on Amazon Prime.  Once card arrived registered with Navionics. 

Hardest part was realizing had to register 1st then download and use chart installer to configure the SD card.  (Be sure to reboot system and check screen resolution)  Chart Installer on my laptop did not like 4k resolution.  Had to use lower resolution to see the chart installer program.  Logged into site via the Chart installer program.  Followed instructions to erase chart pre-loaded due to space constraint on the SD card.  Downloaded and installed "local" charts for Oregon and Part of Northern CA onto the card.  Kept it under 2GB since some had said this is the limit for the Viper II.  I cannot confirm but think the Viper II may accept more since the other SD card which came with the boat has an 8GB capacity.  Will test that later. 

The Compass on the main screen has always worked on my late delivery 2016.  I installed the Nav GPS Antenna first onto the back of the unit prior to card install.  Mounted GPS antenna to the top of steering wheel alum support under the dash.  Fired up and the GPS coordinates locked in after a few minutes on the Navigation screen.   Then shutdown, turn off battery to installed the SD card.  May not have been required but playing it safe.  Upon power up GPS Nav screen now displays detailed map of the area.  Below is a snap shot of the screen.  No river\ lake features as the boat is in my driveway.  Going to try out this weekend on the river.   

Pretty easy upgrade once research was done and saved a bunch not buying from Malibu when I purchased the boat back in 2016.

5b6dffa97bb0b_23LSVNavScreen.jpeg.3d0413886e1d315a4d9e1a2cc94757a4.jpeg

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/7/2016 at 10:38 AM, Ronnie said:

I left a message for Misty. We'll see if she returns my call.

I know this was a long time ago but did they ever tell you how to load "user images" in presets?

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5 hours ago, TexasTurner said:

I know this was a long time ago but did they ever tell you how to load "user images" in presets?

I've talked to a few people at Malibu and Medallion about this, it's not going to happen unless you happen to be a Windows CE/Mobile developer and have the devkit software and some extra hardware laying around. The system is "locked" in an attempt to prevent virus and malware problems from taking over the version of Windows that runs the boat. Basically all of the main culprits, except one, are concerns for the integrity of the dash system: you can connect removable storage (USB flash drives are a big source of bad things for computers), loading pictures, music, etc. are all places where malware can hide. The only source of corruption that isn't on by default is an internet connection. The system has bluetooth, but there isn't WiFi or an ethernet jack; the RJ45 connector is LVDS for the monitor so don't risk damage by plugging a network cable in to it.

Some coworkers of mine tell me that they could hack in to the computer to load pictures for presets in a few minutes but they're in Georgia and I'm in California, so that won't happen any time soon. Maybe if I see a 7" dash computer on eBay and I've just won some cash from the lottery I'll buy one to hack, but for now I'm living with the presets. I wish there was some way to load an image, even a screen grab from a camera would be a step in the right direction.

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  • 2 months later...

Thanks to this thread for all the great info. I just wanted to add to it by posting my experience installing GPS navigation on my 2016 VTX.

I first went to Cabela’s and purchased (fig 1) Navionics+ Regional Mapping (North) $149.  I registered it and updated it without any issues. I then installed it into the back of my Medallion (fig 2, 7” screen). I thought is was all set because why would I need an external antenna because I already have one(fig 3). After laying under the dash for a few minutes (maybe more) it dawned on me that the stock antenna was for the zero off cruise.

I returned to this tread and found the link to an antenna on amazon $7 and suggestions to mount it under the dash.  I decided that if Malibu thought it was important to mount the cruise antenna externally I would do the same, and I thought I would go with a more expensive antenna.  I order this one (fig 4) from Gilsson Technologies. I wasn’t 100% sure of the connector type on the back of the Medallion so, I ordered the FME Universal Amplified GPS Antenna with the SMA connector and I’m glad I did.  Having to universal antenna with the interchangeable connector made it way easier to fish the cable through the tower(fig5). Which is where I planned on mounting the antenna(fig6).  I fished a cat5 cable through the tower first and then electrical taped the antenna wire to the cat5 and pulled it through. I bought the 16ft antenna cable but the 9ft would have been plenty. I mounted the antenna to the top of the speaker bracket with 2way carpet tape I had around and ran the cable in with the existing speaker wire(fig7).

I can’t image life without it now, best 200 bucks I ever spent.  It’s great even on water you know or thought you knew.  This bay (fig8) for instance we surf all the time now with nav we now avoid the hump in the middle that comes up to 4-6ft, less than Ideal depth.  Also when someone else is driving I just tell them “keep it in the white” (over 8ft). One less thing to worry about. 

DC

fig1-3.thumb.jpg.a33ff66dcacb2f37b920934aa577e115.jpgfig4-6.thumb.jpg.4d9da280ae2a1e00086c414f537b34dd.jpgfig7-8.thumb.jpg.1e1dc12cd99b855d276314d76bbaa834.jpg

 

Edited by dcarl
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