Advice on buying GPS units?

[AirBumps]

G'day guys,

Wondering if anybody can give me some advice on buying a hand held GPS unit. I'll be using it for cross country VFR navigation.

One of the most popular seems to be the Garmin 296. I've got two questions;

1. Are there any other cheaper variations here in Australia that are still of a decent quality?

2. Are there problems/complications buying them from the US? I'm tempted to buy one off ebay but not sure if all the map and airspace details for Australia will be programmed into them..

Any insight or advice....

Cheers

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

296 is the go - nothing better!

As far as I know the 396 and 496 are not available with the Pacific database.

If you source a 296 in the States, be sure you can get the Pacific database!

Dr :8

[AirBumps]

Thanks Doc,

Anybody know anything about the Garmin GPS Pilot 3? They're a hell of a lot cheaper (can get one for about $300AUD). I realise they're not colour and a bit smaller, but hey, its $1500 cheaper. Any opinions on these?

[Jabawocky]

GARMIN 296 is in my opinion.....THE FINAL WORD in VFR GPS.

Now if the price is an issue and you are happy to have a monchrome screen, buy the 196.

If thats still too much....save up a bit harder.

End of Story!

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

"Anybody know anything about the Garmin GPS Pilot 3?"

Yep, got one of those too! I thought it was the duck's nuts 10 years ago.

The 296 is worth EVERY cent!

Dr :8

[blueloo]

Surely the 396/496 can be updated to include the pacific database??

[EPIRB]

When buying a GPS, it's best to go through an Australian dealer as you'll get an Australian warranty, the correct software and it won't be a reconditioned unit.

[...still single]

The 396/496 have features that can't be used in Oz (XM weather etc) so unless you want to use it in North America, why spend the extra money?

I have a 296, bought it in Cairns, best price I could find in Oz.

It is worth every cent -and then some! I would never have considered spending all that money on a GPS until I saw one and what it could do -instant convert.

I just purchased the car kit so I can use it as a street navigator. God bless Garmin!

[Clearedtoreenter]

Everyone loves monoopolistiic Garmin don't they?

There's not really much opposition in aviation GPS and they do make some good gear - but are things like the 430/530 really still state of the art? How long have they been around and are they really good value? Come on, encourage the competition - otherwise we'll end up getting even more ripped off with whatever old products they feel they can get away with pushing on to us. 296 has been around for years and should by now be much cheaper - and would be if it had any competition.

Remember Apollo?

[Brian Abraham]

Remember Apollo?


Sure do. Specially flights 11 and 13.:p

[...still single]

296 has been around for years and should by now be much cheaper - and would be if it had any competition.

But there isn't any -so it's not!

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

Being a somewhat avid collector of new "toys", I have looked into this. As far as I can see there is no advantage of buying a 396 or 496 over the 296, apart from a possible faster refresh rate (although I have not checked this).

I could not justify the additional cost over the 296 when I can't use many of the features.

Dr :8

[185skywagon]

I've got the 296 as well. I am very happy with it. 3000 user waypoints capable, as well as the Jepp Dbase. 396/496 has features that are not available to us like XM weather. 496 has 10hz position update rate.

Buy from a Australian Dealer. Any other bargain you find is just not worth it if you have trouble.

Once purchased, make sure it has the latest software version, as there were a few little bugs in the earlier software (nmea output etc).

Spend a bit of time on the web regarding prices.

185

[AirBumps]

Thanks for the replies guys...I'll do some research on the net and see who can give me the best deal...

Cheers

[Icarus53]

Garmin 96c has been great to me (and I happen to have one going cheap if you're interested!!!)

[OZBUSDRIVER]

I use this-
A701 (http://www.mio-tech.com.au/products/gps/A701/Default.asp)

and this-
pocketfms (http://www.pocketfms.com/)

I already had the phone so it was just an excercise to see if it works and does it what:ok:

Even has METRAD images downloaded through GPRS network(Thats the only downside to the phone, if it was 3G it would kick arse!)

[solocmv]

Hey All,

The 'pop up' said I should contribute more so here we go.

Garmin 296 is the current top spec for our southern region, the 396 and 496 only offer features that are not supported here (weather etc). The Garmin product is very good and if you are already Garmin 'brained' then it makes sense. The 296 has much better graphics in daylight readable colour than the 196 in its monochrome. The 196 is good but not as intuative as the colour display of the 296, but most importantly its lithium ion battery is the deal maker. (Forget the road or marine features, they are basic at best and downright incorrect most of the time). Don't buy the Ebay US version, the data is locked into the circuit boards and CANNOT be re loaded for Pacific region.
Have a good look at Lowrance - the 600c. It is full of sensible stuff and in a usable size. (Both Garmin and Lowrance use the Jepp database so the information is the same. It is the extrapilation of that data into usefull information where they differ).
The 600c kit has as standard all the extras that Garmin only supply as optional extras (and all rather expensive).

The AvMap is very nice (a real aviation device, it does not look like a modified phone). Very basic and true to its cause, not claiming to be multi purpose, it is what it says it is 'An aviation GPS'.

In the smaller format (96c v 600c) the winner is 600c on cost and basic standard kit equipment level.
Large format (296 v 2000c v AvMap EKP-IV) if money no object then the AvMap wins though if cost is an issue the 2000c has to be a contender.

Lots of people bag out Lowrance for tech support. The company has changed hands and this seems to no longer be an issue, in fact Garmin is possibly moving up the ranks with problems, though this could be a case of the one percent of Garmin units out there that have issues reflects a bigger number than the one percent of Lowrance units.

Ok, so now onto terrain features.
If you rate terrain awareness as a worthy feature, then it may be time to reconsider how you fly.
Don't start me on the 'fake' panel display on the Garmin, which is esentially a battery powered law suit.

You seem to pay a bit extra for the Garmin, as in if you pay $900.00 for a unit you get $750 worth of kit and the balance in branding. Lowrance you seem to get about $895.76 worth of kit.

Re VFR flying.
As an ex roulette said to me "Get your eyes outside, all the answers are out there. There are only questions in here".


I have played with all of these units.
Just My Thoughts.

cheers,
Solocmv.

[Murray Cod]

And you can connect a fish finder to a 296 and fit it to the tinny to catch a barra up north.I heard it attracts girls if carried in your trouser pocket.
MC

[bentleg]

Anybody know anything about the Garmin GPS Pilot 3? They're a hell of a lot cheaper (can get one for about $300AUD). I realise they're not colour and a bit smaller, but hey, its $1500 cheaper. Any opinions on these?


I have had a Pilot 3 for six years and still find it eminently satisfactory. The screen is BW and smaller than the latest models. I find it quite OK for VFR. I use it primarily for tracking and airspace boundaries/steps. I put my flight plan into it and compare the headings, distances and times with what I get from Airnav flight planner, before going anywhere near an aircraft.

I have almost all the alerts turned off as I find they distract me from real navigation. I have refreshed the Jep database several times.
I agree with other comments, buy locally so you get the right database. I got mine at Pacific Avionics at YSBK.

If you can get a Pilot 3 (I thought they had been superseded) go for it. PM me if you want anything more.

[AirBumps]

Icarus53 you've got a PM

[squawk6969]

SOLOCMV is right

Do not use/rely on the terrain alerts....FFS you are VFR anyway.

As an IFR backup tool ok, but it is a VFR GPS only. Out the back of Brisbane it gets you close:\ to some large rocks with no warning at all.

The 296 is the go for me!

SQ

[Max182]

I use Palm T|X with Flightmaster installed and a bluetooth GPS. It works fine for me. And the total cost was about $700.

[Carrier]

Lowrance AirMap 600c. Check the features against the price versus the others.

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

"Lowrance AirMap 600c. Check the features against the price versus the others"

Yes, you can put it on the mantelpiece beside the Betamax!

Dr :8

[solocmv]

Hey All,

Ok FTDrK. I'll bite why do you say these things about the Lowrance
O wise one?

Dost thou mock my clock?

Cheers,
Solocmv.

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

Like it or not, GPS = Garmin

Dr :8

[Jabawocky]

Well I have these last few days been helping a more senior fellow with sorting his GPS and A/P.............you guessed it he has the Lorance unit.

Well its all a bit slow in the data output I think, but anyway, the intuitive user would find this a bit harder to use, and while its go plenty of menu's etc etc.......its more ...its less......its just not as solid as the Garmin. Solid in looks, feel and for that matter the way it works.

Nice bright screen though!

Have to say.......its like the old Johnie Walker adverts years ago.......the scotch you would rather drink or the one you would rather buy?

J

[solocmv]

Hey All,

Picked up a couple of new 296's for some friends while at YBSK yesterday.
The kit box is twice the size it used to be. Seems they have included a few things in the standard kit that used to be extra.

CHeers,
Solocmv.

[IanAv]

Like it or not, GPS = Garmin
Garmin has good hardware, but you pay absolutely top dollar, and they're falling behind in features compared to software systems like PocketFMS that will work with any hardware.

The big Gorilla isn't offering the same value for money it used to.