Satellite maps for Lowrance: your questions answered

It's a satellite photograph of a dam, lined up with real-world coordinates so it lies over the chart on your Lowrance. In place of the plain blue shape of a standard chart you see the water as it looked from above when the image was taken - the shoreline, the shallows, bays and points - with your boat's position moving across it.

The map is read from the microSD card in your unit, so it works on the water without phone signal.

The maps are made for Lowrance. Compatible with Lowrance HDS Live, Carbon, Gen 3, Gen 2 & Elite Ti / Ti2 / FS units.

If you use another brand, please ask us before you buy and tell us the make and model.

Compatible with Lowrance HDS Live, Carbon, Gen 3, Gen 2 & Elite Ti / Ti2 / FS units. Each map's page repeats the list for that map, in case one differs.

If your model isn't named, send us the model or a photo of the unit before you buy and we'll check it for you.

If you ordered the SD card, the maps are already on it: put it in your unit and start at step 3.

1. Open the download link from your order email and save the map file to a computer.
2. Copy the file onto a microSD card, straight onto the card rather than inside a folder.
3. Put the card in the microSD card slot of your Lowrance and switch on.
4. Open the chart page and select the Mapster map from the chart menu. The menu names vary a little between models.

Zoom in over the dam to see the imagery. If you still see only the standard chart, check that the file isn't inside a folder and that the card is pushed fully into the slot.

Yes, if both units are yours. You can copy the map onto more than one card for your own units.

Giving, lending or selling a copy to anyone else isn't allowed. The terms of sale set out the licence in full.

Satellite imagery. What you see is what was visible from above on the day the image was captured, so anything under deeper water won't show.

A map includes depth contours only where its own page says so.

Each map in your order has its own download link. It works for 30 days from when your payment is confirmed and allows 5 downloads of each file. Your order page shows the date it runs out and how many downloads are left.

Save the file somewhere safe once you have it. If the link has run out, contact us with your order number and we'll extend it.

Please look in your spam or promotions folder first. The subject carries your order number, for example MAP-000123.

Your download links also appear on your order page, which PayFast returns you to after you pay. Some payment methods take a few minutes to clear. If nothing has arrived after 15 minutes, get in touch and we'll resend it.

If we re-map a dam while your link is still valid, the link gives you the newest file.

After the link has run out, contact us with your order number and we'll send you a new link to the updated map at no charge.

Click Add SD card in your basket or at the checkout. It costs R350 for the whole order, however many maps are in it: we write every map in the order onto one 32GB SD card and post it PostNet-to-PostNet to the branch you choose, postage included.

Cards are written and posted within 2 working days. PostNet-to-PostNet delivery usually takes 2 to 4 working days. PostNet sends an SMS to the cell number you gave when the card is ready to collect.

You still get a download link for every map, so you can load them yourself while the card is in the post.

The branch you want to collect the card from. Type its name the way PostNet lists it.

Example: PostNet Umhlanga

You can look up branches on the PostNet website.

SD cards are posted within South Africa only. Download links work anywhere, so outside South Africa you can download the maps and copy them onto your own microSD card.

Yes. When the card is posted we email you the tracking number, and it appears on your order page as well. You can follow it on PostNet tracking.

Payment goes through PayFast. The pay button at the checkout shows your total and takes you to PayFast's payment page, where you choose from the payment methods PayFast offers.

Your card details are entered on PayFast's page, so Mapster never sees them.

Yes, everything is priced in South African rand. The total at the checkout already includes the SD card if you added it and any discount code, and it's the amount PayFast charges.

Type the code into Discount code in your basket and click Apply. The discount comes off the maps; it only comes off the SD card as well if that code was set up to include it.

If a code can't be used, the basket tells you why - for example that it has expired or needs a minimum spend.

If a map file is faulty or not as described, we'll fix it or refund you. If you bought the wrong dam, contact us within 7 days and before downloading it, and we'll swap it or refund you. A defective SD card reported within 14 days of collection is replaced at our cost.

The refund policy covers every case, including how to ask.

Dams in South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The current list is on the dam maps page, where you can filter by country or search by dam name.

For water that isn't listed, anywhere in the world, you can send a custom map request.

No. Your Lowrance reads the map from the microSD card, so it works on a dam with no signal. You only need internet to download the file in the first place.

Yes. Fill in the custom map request form with the name of the water and where it is, then click Send my request.

You'll get an email with a reference like REQ-000123, and we reply with a quote. Nothing is paid until you accept the quote.

Use the contact form, email rossco@live.co.za, click WhatsApp us to message us on WhatsApp, or send a message on Facebook. We usually reply within a day. If it's about an order, please include your order number.