Jeppesen Skybound II Woes
We upgraded the group trusty Arrow III with a GNS430 earlier this year, and are delighted. But of course, the nav database needs to be kept up to date.
The "recommended" approach is to buy a spare datacard and a "Skybound II" card writer, and update monthly via the Internet. That, I thought I could do.
Catch 1: the Skybound II card writer is designed for a laptop, so is PCMCIA - and my PC isn't. Solution: a PCMCIA adapter called Actiontec PC750, highly recommended by Jeppesen. Problem: it's not sold in the UK - and most US suppliers haven't heard of foreign. It took a few weeks to find a US firm who would ship - but the device duly arrived last month. Phew! Now that we have a PCMCIA slot, let's order the stuff from Jepp.
Catch 2: Jeppesen use FedEx, who think England is in Spain, so my first card and Skybound got delivered somewhere in Barcelona - nobody knows where, except that Mr S Ello signed for it. Three weeks and some arguing later: Jepp sent me a new one, via UPS. That arrived this morning.
Catch 3: it doesn't work. Trying to install the software causes the Windows XP "blue screen of death" - "the machine has been stopped to protect it from damage".
So, still no card writing. Eventually phoned Jepp in Colorado; helpful tech expert walked through the settings, and decided this is a basket case. Sent a "flash update" for the Skybound II, just in case, but this made no difference. Must be my PC... try reinstalling Win XP and Service Pack 1.
The solution appears to be one of:
1. Buy a laptop with a PCMCIA slot or two, for updating the datacard.
2. Send the stuff back to Jepp and go for the monthly card mailed from Jepp (expensive!).
3. Buy a new PC and try again.
Has anyone else managed to get the Skybound II to work with a desktop PC using the PC750 PCMCIA adapter, under Win XP? Any suggestions?