GX50 datacard

[Jimmy B.]

I have an Apollo (now Garmin AT) GX50 GPS. The data card failed last
week. It will not take a program. I use Jeppesen's skybbound service
for updates.

Now, the card is a Linear 4 Mb Flash Disk.

Garmin wants $153 for a replacement card but these cards can be bought
anywhere for $60.

Does anyone know if there is anything special about the card? I'm
assuming that it is a stock card, but maybe Garmin writes a special file
to it. Maybe like a format system?

Has anyone tried inserting a generic flash card into the skywriter box
and attempting a program? Will it accept the card?

(My cynical nature leads me to believe that Garmin writes a file to the
card and that Jeppesen's skywriter looks for this file so that Garmin
can overcharge for replacement cards.)

[Rich]

Jimmy B. wrote:
> I have an Apollo (now Garmin AT) GX50 GPS. The data card failed last
> week. It will not take a program. I use Jeppesen's skybbound service
> for updates.
>
> Now, the card is a Linear 4 Mb Flash Disk.
>
> Garmin wants $153 for a replacement card but these cards can be bought
> anywhere for $60.
>
> Does anyone know if there is anything special about the card? I'm
> assuming that it is a stock card, but maybe Garmin writes a special file
> to it. Maybe like a format system?
>
> Has anyone tried inserting a generic flash card into the skywriter box
> and attempting a program? Will it accept the card?
>
> (My cynical nature leads me to believe that Garmin writes a file to the
> card and that Jeppesen's skywriter looks for this file so that Garmin
> can overcharge for replacement cards.)

Nawwwww

Go for it.
It's just a generic memory card.

Rich

[Jon Kraus]

You can try it but my guess is that there is some proprietary software
on it that will know if you are trying to get over on it.... Just a
guess though... Let us know if you get it to work though... We have the
same set up...

Jon Kraus
'79 Mooney 201

Jimmy B. wrote:

> I have an Apollo (now Garmin AT) GX50 GPS. The data card failed last
> week. It will not take a program. I use Jeppesen's skybbound service
> for updates.
>
> Now, the card is a Linear 4 Mb Flash Disk.
>
> Garmin wants $153 for a replacement card but these cards can be bought
> anywhere for $60.
>
> Does anyone know if there is anything special about the card? I'm
> assuming that it is a stock card, but maybe Garmin writes a special file
> to it. Maybe like a format system?
>
> Has anyone tried inserting a generic flash card into the skywriter box
> and attempting a program? Will it accept the card?
>
> (My cynical nature leads me to believe that Garmin writes a file to the
> card and that Jeppesen's skywriter looks for this file so that Garmin
> can overcharge for replacement cards.)

[jmk]

Just a matter of finding the right replacement. The formatting is
"strange" on the GX-50 (don't expect your friendly neighborhood Windows
machine to recognize it) but the Jepp writer should format it okay.
FWIW, I've gotten several different brands of cards from Garmin (for my
GX-60). If you do dig up the exact spec for the thing, please let us
know.

Now if Garmin would just let us have a download subscription that
didn't have to be used in precisely 13 months. {:<(

[Jimmy B.]

Rich wrote:
> Jimmy B. wrote:
>
>> I have an Apollo (now Garmin AT) GX50 GPS. The data card failed last
>> week. It will not take a program. I use Jeppesen's skybbound service
>> for updates.
>>
>> Now, the card is a Linear 4 Mb Flash Disk.
>>
>> Garmin wants $153 for a replacement card but these cards can be bought
>> anywhere for $60.
>>
>> Does anyone know if there is anything special about the card? I'm
>> assuming that it is a stock card, but maybe Garmin writes a special
>> file to it. Maybe like a format system?
>>
>> Has anyone tried inserting a generic flash card into the skywriter box
>> and attempting a program? Will it accept the card?
>>
>> (My cynical nature leads me to believe that Garmin writes a file to
>> the card and that Jeppesen's skywriter looks for this file so that
>> Garmin can overcharge for replacement cards.)
>
>
> Nawwwww
>
> Go for it.
> It's just a generic memory card.
>
> Rich
>
Okay in researching this, I find that there are several types of flash
disk. There are 5 Intel types and 1 AMD type. Do you know which one it is?

[Rich]

Jimmy B. wrote:
> Rich wrote:
>
>> Jimmy B. wrote:
>>
>>> I have an Apollo (now Garmin AT) GX50 GPS. The data card failed last
>>> week. It will not take a program. I use Jeppesen's skybbound service
>>> for updates.
>>>
>>> Now, the card is a Linear 4 Mb Flash Disk.
>>>
>>> Garmin wants $153 for a replacement card but these cards can be
>>> bought anywhere for $60.
>>>
>>> Does anyone know if there is anything special about the card? I'm
>>> assuming that it is a stock card, but maybe Garmin writes a special
>>> file to it. Maybe like a format system?
>>>
>>> Has anyone tried inserting a generic flash card into the skywriter
>>> box and attempting a program? Will it accept the card?
>>>
>>> (My cynical nature leads me to believe that Garmin writes a file to
>>> the card and that Jeppesen's skywriter looks for this file so that
>>> Garmin can overcharge for replacement cards.)
>>
>>
>>
>> Nawwwww
>>
>> Go for it.
>> It's just a generic memory card.
>>
>> Rich
>>
> Okay in researching this, I find that there are several types of flash
> disk. There are 5 Intel types and 1 AMD type. Do you know which one it
> is?

I've got several. One is an AMD, but that's in the plane right now. The
one I have at hand carries the identification:
www.simpletech.com
011205-FL2-004
94000-00702-201

Rich

[Victor J. Osborne, Jr.]

Then pigs will have to get a Sport Pilot License

--

Thx, {|;-)

Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.

"jmk" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Now if Garmin would just let us have a download subscription that
> didn't have to be used in precisely 13 months. {:<(
>