Thanks for all your thoughts and help. The key point which is driving my decision at the moment is just how good Skydemon is. Up to the point where I get into the cockpit I wouldn't want to use anything else - all my planning done accurately and correctly calculated and my Plog with frequencies, etc., all beautifully laid out.
I'm going to try my Windows 8 tablet in the air but the problem, 3Point, is that I know it's not robust enough to use for a business presentation so I'm not going to use it as a backup for VFR navigation.
That's the attraction of a reliable interface with the 196 - I'd like to know that the Skyplan flightplan on it is exactly the same as the one I planned and printed out. From that perspective (and thanks, ChickenHouse) will see if I can get this usb link to work (it's dead so far) by running it in 32 compatibility mode. Also see what Garmin comes up with - they are still selling new 196's and virtually every recent customer must hit the same problem.
The bottom line is that the 196 works for me but if I can't integrate it with Skydemon it starts to become an impediment.
The subsidiary point is this: if I junk the 196 do I replace it with another aviation GPS or with an iPad? A decent iPad setup (£600 or £700 for it plus £50+ for a Bluetooth GPS) is not cheap. But is its screen definition under high glare conditions, and its reliability, good enough to replace my 196? Or should I punt £1,450 on a brand new Garmin 795 and really get to know that? Or for a lot less money I could get a Garmin D2 which is obviously a limited display but a lot cheaper and I will certainly back up my traditional navigation.
I like to navigate by a combination of eyeball, map, watch and plog, with the GPS sitting beside me for reassurance if I think I'm going wrong.
Last edited by Footless Halls; 24th Mar 2014 at 20:43.
Reason: grammar