Which GPS??
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Originally Posted by IO540
The old Jepp FliteMap product was good - that would run all the Flitestar chart representations, plus the VFR Raster Charts. They discontinued FM around 2005.
Join Date: Apr 2001
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C-Map, who either own or are somehow connected with Avmap, are a useless outfit which rarely replies to any questions. This is Avmap's weak link. In the USA, somebody set up the whole distribution/support network so the Italians don't have to deal with customers
J.
Join Date: May 2001
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I'm very happy with my G496. The 495 wasn't about when I got it, otherwise I'd have got the 495 as I have never used the "car" or "boat" functions.
Great unit, great capabilities, and we have it "panel mounted" using an Air Gizmo thingy with external hull mounted antenna. I've also wired it into the intercom so the speach gets relayed into the headsets - there are speach warnings you can set up, like off course, terrain, altitude etc. The VRP dB is very useful too.....
Great unit, great capabilities, and we have it "panel mounted" using an Air Gizmo thingy with external hull mounted antenna. I've also wired it into the intercom so the speach gets relayed into the headsets - there are speach warnings you can set up, like off course, terrain, altitude etc. The VRP dB is very useful too.....
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495 review
495 
Used number of built in Garmin units, non a patch on the 495, 496 more money, able to use in car, but then there are far better smaller dedicated unit for cars... save the money.
Lowest price is 750 but that's from the states, I got mine 850 from Adam at flyingshop.com also mendelssohn pilot supplies also have it for 799 +vat
Its like the 495 is designed for VFR, the update is far better and the detail on the maps is better than a 500 map !
The mapsource software is 6/10 at best, better option is to get memory map. Memory map now have 2 x 500 UK CAA charts and 4 250 charts, it can then talk directly to you GPS via USB and overlay your routes and tracks !
The deal clinchers on the 495 are:
Full VRP's
Low level routes
Road name mapping (even on 495)
Names, Lakes, town, cities, AD entry/exit points,
airspace warning for A/W, ATZ's, MATZ, TMA, CTR, vfr recommended
Danger/rest/prob.
Terrain alerts,
4 hour battery life,
on screen route planning
active height based declutter
ILS routes per airport, airport, runway, circuit, atc, heights, elev
Add new vrp/waypoints
All NDB VOR beacons
Route planning, ETA, ETE, FUEL, Dist, Track,
Included in pack 1 map update, yoke mount, external Aeriel, cig lighter power cable, mains cable, 2 usb cables, surface mount.
I particularly like to come back and down load the track, over lay it on to caa500 and see where I went vs was initially planned.
I fly around manchester liverpool so the info on multi level controlled airspace is very useful, we can get up to vertical 5 different classifications of airspace and it handles it fine !
Then there is the instrument display and the data screen, TAS, M hdg, Alt etc but this along with the talking information not used yet.
Only thing missing so far are aerodrome opening hours, PPR and phone number.
Despite it's perfect performance I'd still never fly any distance with out the trusty map, pencil and stopwatch though !
Ian
Used number of built in Garmin units, non a patch on the 495, 496 more money, able to use in car, but then there are far better smaller dedicated unit for cars... save the money.
Lowest price is 750 but that's from the states, I got mine 850 from Adam at flyingshop.com also mendelssohn pilot supplies also have it for 799 +vat
Its like the 495 is designed for VFR, the update is far better and the detail on the maps is better than a 500 map !
The mapsource software is 6/10 at best, better option is to get memory map. Memory map now have 2 x 500 UK CAA charts and 4 250 charts, it can then talk directly to you GPS via USB and overlay your routes and tracks !
The deal clinchers on the 495 are:
Full VRP's
Low level routes
Road name mapping (even on 495)
Names, Lakes, town, cities, AD entry/exit points,
airspace warning for A/W, ATZ's, MATZ, TMA, CTR, vfr recommended
Danger/rest/prob.
Terrain alerts,
4 hour battery life,
on screen route planning
active height based declutter
ILS routes per airport, airport, runway, circuit, atc, heights, elev
Add new vrp/waypoints
All NDB VOR beacons
Route planning, ETA, ETE, FUEL, Dist, Track,
Included in pack 1 map update, yoke mount, external Aeriel, cig lighter power cable, mains cable, 2 usb cables, surface mount.
I particularly like to come back and down load the track, over lay it on to caa500 and see where I went vs was initially planned.
I fly around manchester liverpool so the info on multi level controlled airspace is very useful, we can get up to vertical 5 different classifications of airspace and it handles it fine !
Then there is the instrument display and the data screen, TAS, M hdg, Alt etc but this along with the talking information not used yet.
Only thing missing so far are aerodrome opening hours, PPR and phone number.
Despite it's perfect performance I'd still never fly any distance with out the trusty map, pencil and stopwatch though !
Ian
Join Date: Jan 2005
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If you download the VRP's the only real difference between the 296 and 495 is the 495 has a faster screen refresh and has selectable airspace based on altitude.
The 496 has the crappy (if you have used something like tom-tom) road navigation as standard. But this can also be added to the 296 if required.
You can pick up a 296 for less than £500 on ebay.
Ex Rans Flyer
Web Site: Flight For Life
The 496 has the crappy (if you have used something like tom-tom) road navigation as standard. But this can also be added to the 296 if required.
You can pick up a 296 for less than £500 on ebay.
Ex Rans Flyer
Web Site: Flight For Life
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I've just bought a 496 and will hopefully be giving it its first outing on Sunday.
I'd like to connect the audio outputs to the intercom. Has anyone seen/used a decent MIC splitter adaptor/cable so that I can send a feed over to the RHS intercom position, with a RHS headset also in use?
Thanks.
I'd like to connect the audio outputs to the intercom. Has anyone seen/used a decent MIC splitter adaptor/cable so that I can send a feed over to the RHS intercom position, with a RHS headset also in use?
Thanks.
Join Date: Jun 2003
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Jollyrog you have a PM.
I mounted a 496 in my TB20 yoke, and connected its audio output to a spare intercom input, and if the AUX button is pressed (which it always is) I get audio terrain warnings.
These warnings are one major difference between the 496 and the 296, but Garmin have gone to a great length to make the differences hard to establish, to prop up the sizeable price difference between the two.
I mounted a 496 in my TB20 yoke, and connected its audio output to a spare intercom input, and if the AUX button is pressed (which it always is) I get audio terrain warnings.
These warnings are one major difference between the 496 and the 296, but Garmin have gone to a great length to make the differences hard to establish, to prop up the sizeable price difference between the two.
Join Date: Jun 2002
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Avmap EKP-IV ? .. avoid it like the plague .. I had 3 different units crash on me in under a year. Customer support in Europe is $hite (total $hite). Big pretty screen, lot of potential but ... not worth the money (over £1000).
Garmin 496 - screenshots look pretty in print, but try one for real in daylight first ....
I use this - Lowrance 200C .. and love it. Big brigght display, and good terrain.
Garmin 496 - screenshots look pretty in print, but try one for real in daylight first ....
I use this - Lowrance 200C .. and love it. Big brigght display, and good terrain.
Join Date: Jan 2005
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I had a Lowrance 600c.
Screen was poor in sunlight and it didn't display MATZ or ATZ.
Does the 200 display MATZ etc?
Now the Garmin 96c on the other hand was a great little GPS, small robust, lasted 40h on 2xAA's and the screen got better in direct light. Shame Garmin doesn't use the same type of LCD in the 2/496 series.
Ex Rans Flyer
Flight For Life
Screen was poor in sunlight and it didn't display MATZ or ATZ.
Does the 200 display MATZ etc?
Now the Garmin 96c on the other hand was a great little GPS, small robust, lasted 40h on 2xAA's and the screen got better in direct light. Shame Garmin doesn't use the same type of LCD in the 2/496 series.
Ex Rans Flyer
Flight For Life
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I heard the bad comments about the Avmap too. I actually spent months trying to contact the manufacturer, with extremely limited success.
I was after a "VFR GPS" to use as a backup for all my other (panel mounted) stuff, but in the end I went for the LS800 tablet computer (out of manufacture now so should appear on Ebay at reasonable prices), a remotely mounted Emtac bluetooth GPS, and running Memory Map / Oziexplorer. The end result is arguably better than any portable GPS currently on the market - you get a perfectly readable version of the actual printed chart.
FliteMap still appears supported by Jepp (with website updates) and anyway it is merely FliteStar with NMEA GPS input, but I don't think you can buy it anymore. I was advised by Jepp in 2005 they stopped selling it. The reason was never given (and the decision did not make much sense) but I suspect they found a subtle bug in it. I was once flying off Greece, on the way to Crete, and found FM reporting me about 2nm off position. Reloading the program fixed the problem, but I never fully trusted it afterwards. Very shortly after that, Jepp posted a 9.15 update on their website. I never saw the problem again, but I have also not used FM as a moving map since about 2006. I use it for ground based IFR flight planning, on a laptop.
I was after a "VFR GPS" to use as a backup for all my other (panel mounted) stuff, but in the end I went for the LS800 tablet computer (out of manufacture now so should appear on Ebay at reasonable prices), a remotely mounted Emtac bluetooth GPS, and running Memory Map / Oziexplorer. The end result is arguably better than any portable GPS currently on the market - you get a perfectly readable version of the actual printed chart.
FliteMap still appears supported by Jepp (with website updates) and anyway it is merely FliteStar with NMEA GPS input, but I don't think you can buy it anymore. I was advised by Jepp in 2005 they stopped selling it. The reason was never given (and the decision did not make much sense) but I suspect they found a subtle bug in it. I was once flying off Greece, on the way to Crete, and found FM reporting me about 2nm off position. Reloading the program fixed the problem, but I never fully trusted it afterwards. Very shortly after that, Jepp posted a 9.15 update on their website. I never saw the problem again, but I have also not used FM as a moving map since about 2006. I use it for ground based IFR flight planning, on a laptop.
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I still need to find a sensible way of connecting my 496 to the intercom, so if anybody has a solution, I'd be grateful.
Must be a plug/cable type solution, as anything hard-wired or permanent is not an option.
Thanks to IO540 for the PM, but not quite what I needed.
Must be a plug/cable type solution, as anything hard-wired or permanent is not an option.
Thanks to IO540 for the PM, but not quite what I needed.
