Help needed from Garmin 196 users

[Pilot16]

Hi all,

I was just playing with my new Garmin 196 in my room on the 'Simulator Mode' with no antenna attached, i baught it nearly a month back and yet have not been able to use it up in the sky.

Something quite unusual happened. The 'Speed' showd all of a sudden, 60kt, with all the fields and map showing the 'aircraft' was moving. This is quite strange as it never happened before, it lasted for around three minutes and I was able to play about with it as If I was up there. I thought I had accidentally switched on the 'practice' feature which i didnt know I had !
After a while the speed came down to 30 kt and then 0kt
But I could not get it to do it again. :confused:

Is there a practice feature which I dont know of? Or is this an unusual, rare phenomenon.:confused:

Thanks for reading :ok:

Right now its showing 10knots of speed :uhoh:

and im able to control the aircrafts heading

[skydriller]

How did you get it to do that in Simulator mode?

Never done that before with me!!:confused:

Regards, SD..

[Pilot16]

I dunno mate, i need to know,

but its a very handy feature it seemed, because I was able to see how it would work 'in-flight'

Anyone else have any input ?

[S-Works]

Simulator mode allows you to fly a route. You use the toggle pad keys on the one of the displays to increase your speed etc.

It was designed so you could learn to use the unit in the comfort of your living room!

It tells you how it works in the manual.

B

[Pilot16]

Excellent!!

Im having a look at the instruction manual right now,
thanks very much bose-x :ok:


Theres something new for you too skydriller;) and anyone else who didnt know this.

lol What page is it on anyone?

i figured out how to icrease the speed by myself, how about the altitude? there must be a way!!!

this is superb

[S-Works]

Altitude is constant at around 400ft as I recall, there is no need to change height when simulating as the world according to the 196 is flat!

[Pilot16]

No! You can select the altitude as well! By using the 'in' and 'out' keys on the unit while on the panel page...

Without this feature, you would not be able to practice the vnav feature, and make sense of other features such as the alerts when approaching an airspace boundry etc.


:O

[skydriller]

Pilot 16,

Thanks for highlighting this to me...:ok:

Well, I had another close look at my manual last night, but the only instruction/info about the simulator is how to get it into that mode, nothing on how it works.....I guess it must be trial and error.:hmm:

I will find time to play with the unit itself more later.....

Regards, SD...

[S-Works]

Upgraded my software and lo and behold I can change altitude now as well!

Thanks P16, I bit of mutal info exchange benefits us all!!

B

[skydriller]

Well, Ive managed to get it to simulate driving somewhere in the Land mode by using the direct to button and it gives you the option to simulate travelling the route, but cant get it to do anything like that in the in the Aviation mode....It draws the route OK, but will not fly it, whatever method/buttons I try.

Any tips anyone?

Regards, SD...:(

[bar shaker]

latest Garmin 196 operating system download (http://www.garmin.com/support/agree.jsp?id=433)

[Pilot16]

no probs skydriller,

have you tried pressing the 'up' key while on the panel page?

You have to be on the panel page in order to increase the speed or altitude otherwise it wont work (on the moving map page).

When on the panel page. make sure one of the fields are indicating 'speed'. Then press the 'up' key and the speed should go up.

Try that and tell us if it worked or not.

[skydriller]

Great, got the aviation mode working simulating flying routes now thanks Pilot 16:ok: , but still cannot seem to get the Altitude to change - though I see now how it should work.

Im going to download the latest software, cause I see Im a couple of versions behind, and see if it helps. However before I do that I note that the notes on the Garmin site say that all waypoints & routes saved will be lost, though can be 'backed up to mapsource', now I dont really want to lose all the TRAs and VRPs etc I have painstakingly programmed in unless I can help it. I have checked the manual and again it is a little thin on info....

Bose x, When you upgraded the software today, did all your waypoints disappear? I would rather wait a bit and copy some info down on paper at the very least, if everything is going to get wiped off.

Thank everyone for the tips so far,

Regards, SD..

[S-Works]

All my waypoints are present and accounted for. They did not get erased during the upgrade. I am now on V3.7

B

[bar shaker]

I've done a few downloads and haven't lost any routes or waypoints.

[skydriller]

Thanks chaps, I wasnt worried about the routes, but there are alot of TRAs popping up all over the place here in France which I have programmed into the unit and wouldnt like to lose, I really appreciate everyones input.

Regards, SD:ok:

[Pilot16]

but still cannot seem to get the Altitude to change - though I see now how it should work.

You can change the altitude (only on the page after the main moving map page). First make sure one of the 'fields' are indicating 'altitude' and press the 'out' key to increase the altitude and 'in' key to decrease it. It should work. Give it a try.

Question: When up in the air with the GPS unit, If I followed the heading shown under the 'course to steer' field, will that account and counteract for any drift caused by cross-wind?

(Ofcourse, my GPS will never be my primary method of navigation).

-P16

skydriller, I have just updated my GPS from 3.60 to 3.70 and all the waypoints / routes are still there. Thought Id tell you.

btw, I thought you have to pay for upgrades :confused: ? what was that coupon all about (that came with the GPS with a code on it for a 'free' upgrade') :rolleyes:

[skydriller]

Pilot 16,

The upgrade coupon is for the Jeppsen database/basemap, which you do have to pay for normally, and I know doing this upgrade does not affect any waypoints or routes in the unit, as I have done this a few times already.

With regard to the other question, just remember that the GPS only gives you magnetic Map info. - Like with the HSI on the 196, it is refering to the magnetic course to get back on track over the ground.

Regards, SD..

[skydriller]

Just thought I would post to say all Simulator functions up and running after downloading the latest software version, and all Waypoints, TRAs & Routes were unaffected by the upgrade:ok:

I did notice the individual screen display settings/fields were back to the factory defaults, but that only took a couple of minutes to fix:D

Regards, SD..

[iainpoll]

Hi P16,

The course to steer is exactly that - a course, I.E. a track. GPS systems are not really capable of differentiating between headings and tracks. (The trilateration process can only calculate where you are and where you are going, it has no idea in which direction you are pointing)! So to answer your question it will only account for the crosswind by altering the course to steer, which is like homing to a radio beacon. To track to the next waypoint I would personally use the max drift method to calculate a heading, but unless the wind is howling the 'bit to the left/right' method will normally be good enough.

The instruction manual that comes with the 196 is a bloody disgrace imho. I would thoroughly recommend 'Flying with GPS', by Stephen Clark, I think its available from pilot warehouse and transair. It has all the gen for the different handsets, and even a few extra tricks, such as how to track VOR'S with them.

Cheers.

[Mike Cross]

Took mine flying for the first time on Sunday.

Started off very well but then took to turning itself off. Screen went blank. Switched it back on again but ti then switched itself off again.

Thinks - dodgy batteries, so changed the batteries, still did it. When it switches off is random, sometimes stays up for a while, sometimes switches off again during power up.

It has worked fine when playing in the car so I suspect the problem may be vibration related. Anyone else experienced it?

Mike

[skydriller]

Mike,

I had that exact same problem last year!!!

It was discussed in the thread GPS Problems (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=89929&perpage=15&highlight=Garmin%20196&pagenumber=2) :ok:

In my case it was a case of Battery sizes and vibration when mounting the unit on the dash with the clamp - fixed with a small 3-4mm thick piece of foam inserted in the battery compartment.

I have since learnt I can rest the unit on top of the dash on a similar piece of foam in one aircraft I fly, which stops it from sliding about and absorbs any vibration.

Hope this helps,

Regards, SD..

[S-Works]

I had exactly the same problem. Switched to Duracell ultra batteries and stretched the springs in the back a little and problem has not reappeared.

[Mike Cross]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll put it to the test before sending it back to Garmin.

Mike