Uploading chart info to Garmin 76CS - advice?

[CapnK]

Several years back, my brother-in-law gave me an elderly dash-mount Garmin GPSMap 185 Sounder he'd removed from his fishing boat when he upgraded to a color screen version. The thing has been sitting in my cockpit locker for prolly 5 years, and I have gone back and forth on using it or not during that time. While the price was definitely right, it would involve mounting - which means boat holes - and it is also kinda big and I don't know how much power it would use but it would be easy to read from the back of the cockpit and I could hook up a sounder 'ducer for depth but then...

So recently, I finally made up my mind about how or whether to use it - and got near 2 BoatBux for the thing on eBay... ;D

Well, all thing being equal, I took the larger chunk of that and flipped it right into an eBay auction for a Garmin 76CS. I figure less power draw, better acquisition, portability, etc etc it's a better option. Yes, the CS(x) version is better, but it's going for twice what the CS is right now, and the CS is still a big jump from my old Magellan, and I think it's prolly best to ease slowly when switching from one religion to another to avoid too much shock...

Anywho - I'm looking for 'classic info' and also the latest in tips/tricks/advice on uploading charts to this Garmin. I've read through some old threads here and elsewhere, but anything I've turned up, I cannot tell how relevant it is - most of this kind of discussion seems to be a couple years old, here and elsewhere...

I see that BlueCharts are no longer in production, for several years now. Does this mean Garmin is giving them old BlueChart datas away for free to folks who already have the hardware? (Hah! I know that including 'Garmin' and 'free' make a sentence oxymoronish...) Being older chart data isn't so great, either - how does a Garmin user who was a BlueChart guy keep the charts up to date? Is there some 3rd party software to put free NOAA charts on there?

Any help or other info y'all would care to throw my way, I'd appreciate it! :)

[Tim]

Well Capn. I have a 76CS which has been my only GPS for many years. I have not bothered to check about updates for quite awhile, so you know more than I. For my cruising I can get by with just putting waypoints for my headings and then use charts for details. It looks like I may go to a smartphone and Navionics or the like this year, but will prolly use it in the same fashion.
I have not yet heard of a sure way around the Garmin propriety software or that they are giving away anything. ;)

[SalientAngle]

I have blues (dated) but use a 'clunky' system of G7toWin imports to the latest noaa kap on seaclear to verify changes in nav aides et al...

[CapnK]

Thanks, fellers... hopefully the thing will come with BlueCharts NA on it, then...

And, if nothing else, it'll have charts (pretty colored ones! ;) ) and info about 5-8 years more current than my old Magellan SporTrak, or my backup gpsaurus, a Garmin III... ;D

I shopped handhelds pretty hard last year, and the difference in the 76 series and 78 was sure there price-wise, but didn't seem to be near that much as far as features or the underlying tech for justification of it. AFA Magellan or others, online reviews pretty much panned everything I saw, making it seem just plain silly to spend several hundred dollars on a new unit.

[Tim]

I have the Blue Char 8.5CDs for North America, but the only unlock code I have paid for is the PNW. You would be welcome to that, but I am not sure it could help you ;)

[s/v Faith]

There are cracked versions out there, there is a guy here that was loading it for someone...  Not sure who.

My 76CS had pretty reasonable info in the NA base, I got a chip for the Carib... But it is just an SD micro so I am sure it can be copied.