Garmin Aera 500
Join Date: Oct 2003
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Garmin Aera 500
Hi all
I just bought a new Garmin Aera 500 and it is certainly a vast improvements on the old hand-helds I have used.
My only complaint so far is that towns and features do not seem to be searchable. In fact to include an existing small town as a waypoint you actually have to create a new user waypoint at the town then put it in to the flight plan. Even when the town is already in the unit! That seems a waste and duplication of effort and is a very cumbersome way to add a waypoint into a flight plan.
I think my next step is going to be to transfer all my aviation waypoints from my PC to a micro SD card using the Garmin POI Loader software. I hope they will be searchable.
Any ideas on a better solution?
Cheers
Phil Maley
Piper Tripacer VH-OLD
I just bought a new Garmin Aera 500 and it is certainly a vast improvements on the old hand-helds I have used.
My only complaint so far is that towns and features do not seem to be searchable. In fact to include an existing small town as a waypoint you actually have to create a new user waypoint at the town then put it in to the flight plan. Even when the town is already in the unit! That seems a waste and duplication of effort and is a very cumbersome way to add a waypoint into a flight plan.
I think my next step is going to be to transfer all my aviation waypoints from my PC to a micro SD card using the Garmin POI Loader software. I hope they will be searchable.
Any ideas on a better solution?
Cheers
Phil Maley
Piper Tripacer VH-OLD
Moderator
I just borrowed one on trial yesterday, and flew home with it. I have the same observation as vk6ad about the small towns, though once I get some waypoints loaded, I don't see it being a show stopper. I was also amused, but now understand the frantic "terrain!" and "pull up" warnings as I landed it into my home runway for the first time. We'll see if loading my runway as a waypoint solves that.
Other than that, I was very impresed, and I'm sure I have a lot to learn about it. I think it's a keeper...
Other than that, I was very impresed, and I'm sure I have a lot to learn about it. I think it's a keeper...
Join Date: May 2001
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I was also amused, but now understand the frantic "terrain!" and "pull up" warnings as I landed it into my home runway for the first time. We'll see if loading my runway as a waypoint solves that.
Join Date: Jan 2008
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My only complaint so far is that towns and features do not seem to be searchable. In fact to include an existing small town as a waypoint you actually have to create a new user waypoint at the town then put it in to the flight plan.
I am impressed at what it has, eg LMS (as in egLM Sierra) for White Waltham Point Sierra, which isn't even on the CAA charts.
One caveat: my database is bang up to date. A friend's 6 month old database doesn't have all the codes I have.
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Hi
Has anyone else had problems with their Aera turning itself off? I can be flying along and with out warning the screen goes black. I press the power button and it reboots then the blacks out again. If I leave it for a while it will start when I press the power button.
My unit runs off the aircrafts power supply so the battery is fully charges as a backup. So Its not out of power.
Thanks
Has anyone else had problems with their Aera turning itself off? I can be flying along and with out warning the screen goes black. I press the power button and it reboots then the blacks out again. If I leave it for a while it will start when I press the power button.
My unit runs off the aircrafts power supply so the battery is fully charges as a backup. So Its not out of power.
Thanks
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I posted earlier on this problem, and others have mentioned it too.
After I downloaded the latest software update (version 2.5, although even that may now be out of date) I have had no further problems.
After I downloaded the latest software update (version 2.5, although even that may now be out of date) I have had no further problems.
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Hmm, doesnt sound too promising in that case. although there may by now be a later update.
In any event the situation is completely unsatisfactory. I did actually email my retailer on this specific issue but got no response. I have not pressed the matter since I have not had a recurrence, but Garmin really ought to sort this issue out once and for all.
In any event the situation is completely unsatisfactory. I did actually email my retailer on this specific issue but got no response. I have not pressed the matter since I have not had a recurrence, but Garmin really ought to sort this issue out once and for all.
Join Date: Feb 2003
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Has anyone else had problems with their Aera turning itself off? I can be flying along and with out warning the screen goes black. I press the power button and it reboots then the blacks out again. If I leave it for a while it will start when I press the power button.
Brooklands
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That may be a good idea about the piece of thin card, since my battery seems a fairly loose fit too. It may well be that the unit might switch off with poor battery connection even if connected to an outside power supply, since the outside power supply may well route through the battery for charging purposes enroute to the unit itself (pure speculation on my part though)
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Hi All,
I recently received my Aera 500 and had my first flight with it yesterday. A couple things I have noticed…
I transferred a whole lot of user waypoints (airfields & VFR rep points) from mapsource to the unit. The waypoints transferred successfully and I could see them under user waypoints, however, they did not appear on the map. If I added a wpt into a flight plan then it would show on the map. I then discovered that if I entered a waypoint manually into the unit it then showed on the map. Spent many hours re-entering all my waypoints and they all now appear on the map.
Does anyone know if there is any way to enter additional info on a waypoint that is entered? Ie, if you enter an airfield, using the airfield symbol, there is no way to enter runway directions or frequencies, only elevation. I have resorted to adding it into the name. Secondly, is there anyway to transfer the GPS database (maps, airfields etc) onto mapsource??
Now to the actual flight. I had read on this thread about the unit switching itself off, but never did I think it would be that bad. I flew 2.4 hrs and at least half of it was spent switching the thing on. Goes off, gets to the main page and as you press anything, whether it’s the map or the HIS it goes off again and takes at least 3 or 4 attempts to get it on again. Tried everything, put some card under the battery – same thing. Disconnected the external power and ran just the battery – same thing. Thought it may be vibration from the yoke so disconnected it and had it on my lap – same thing. Has Garmin said anything about this??
The strange thing is that I spent many hours with it on the ground entering wpts etc and it never switched off. It only does it when airborne!! Maybe it has a fear of flying??
Have updated now to 2.6 so will see what happens next flight.
Aside from the power issue, it seems like a good piece of kit.
I recently received my Aera 500 and had my first flight with it yesterday. A couple things I have noticed…
I transferred a whole lot of user waypoints (airfields & VFR rep points) from mapsource to the unit. The waypoints transferred successfully and I could see them under user waypoints, however, they did not appear on the map. If I added a wpt into a flight plan then it would show on the map. I then discovered that if I entered a waypoint manually into the unit it then showed on the map. Spent many hours re-entering all my waypoints and they all now appear on the map.
Does anyone know if there is any way to enter additional info on a waypoint that is entered? Ie, if you enter an airfield, using the airfield symbol, there is no way to enter runway directions or frequencies, only elevation. I have resorted to adding it into the name. Secondly, is there anyway to transfer the GPS database (maps, airfields etc) onto mapsource??
Now to the actual flight. I had read on this thread about the unit switching itself off, but never did I think it would be that bad. I flew 2.4 hrs and at least half of it was spent switching the thing on. Goes off, gets to the main page and as you press anything, whether it’s the map or the HIS it goes off again and takes at least 3 or 4 attempts to get it on again. Tried everything, put some card under the battery – same thing. Disconnected the external power and ran just the battery – same thing. Thought it may be vibration from the yoke so disconnected it and had it on my lap – same thing. Has Garmin said anything about this??
The strange thing is that I spent many hours with it on the ground entering wpts etc and it never switched off. It only does it when airborne!! Maybe it has a fear of flying??
Have updated now to 2.6 so will see what happens next flight.
Aside from the power issue, it seems like a good piece of kit.
Last edited by swaziboy; 17th Jul 2010 at 00:47.
Join Date: Oct 2007
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On one of the updates (2.2 to 2.3) the Garmin site says "Corrected shutdown problem near user waypoints with aviation symbols." Looking at the tracks of my last flight, its true, it shut down whenever approaching a wpt I had entered. My unit was already on 2.3 so hope the update to 2.6 has solved this once and for all...
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On one of the updates (2.2 to 2.3) the Garmin site says "Corrected shutdown problem near user waypoints with aviation symbols." Looking at the tracks of my last flight, its true, it shut down whenever approaching a wpt I had entered. My unit was already on 2.3 so hope the update to 2.6 has solved this once and for all...
Incidentally I didn't put the card under the battery, but behind it on the edge opposite the contacts so as to push it against them. There's a limit to what you can do here as due to the way the battery compartment is designed.
Brooklands
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Happy to report that after upgrading to 2.6, no more power issues... worked like a charm 
... only thing I noticed was that on 1 sector ETA in the cruise was out by 30 mins (later), as soon as I started descent it came right... not sure why... changed the speed on the aircraft profile but this didnt affect the ETA... didnt do it on the other sectors.
... only thing I noticed was that on 1 sector ETA in the cruise was out by 30 mins (later), as soon as I started descent it came right... not sure why... changed the speed on the aircraft profile but this didnt affect the ETA... didnt do it on the other sectors.
Join Date: Sep 2008
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Ok i bought a 4Gb memeorycard .. and it works ;-)
I have found some very disturbing issues .... please add your own comment .. this would increase the infos about it.
- battery time is very short
- jeppview does not communicate with the aera
Im looking for a nice/small feature how to charge the Aera during flight, without the 12V board-supply.
Does anyone have an idea for this .. maybe a solarpower solution or a small light weight battery pack ... even if its homebuild ?!
c.u.
ps. its still way better as my previous 296 ;-)
I have found some very disturbing issues .... please add your own comment .. this would increase the infos about it.
- battery time is very short
- jeppview does not communicate with the aera
Im looking for a nice/small feature how to charge the Aera during flight, without the 12V board-supply.
Does anyone have an idea for this .. maybe a solarpower solution or a small light weight battery pack ... even if its homebuild ?!
c.u.
ps. its still way better as my previous 296 ;-)
Join Date: May 2003
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Im looking for a nice/small feature how to charge the Aera during flight
I get the impression that the new touch screen units - whether they be Aera, Bendix King or Airbox - struggle to give you more than about 90 minutes of power. Does anyone know of a unit which bucks the trend?
Join Date: Jan 2010
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Hello again.
I have some questions.
I am boring to remove the battery cap each time i have to charge the unit or I have to conect it to pc. I think that it is a very big error of garmin, because do this a lot of times you can damage the battery cap.
So I try to charge the unit with the automotive mount using this adapter...
DealExtreme: $3.34 AC to DC 12V 450mA Car Cigarette Lighter Power Adapter (90V~240V AC)
In this way, i wouldn't have to remove the battery cap. When I connected the cigarette plug to the adapter, it has burned, so the cigarette plug adaptor need more than 600 mA of input. I am thinking how to do this. And other thing is to use the microusb in the automotive mount to connect to pc but it doesn´t work, so i don't know for what is the use. In the manual only says that you can't connect the charger to that microusb, but nothing else.
I am very grateful with this GPS, but I think that it is very stupid to have to remove a cap to charge or connect to pc. It's a ****.
Regards
I have some questions.
I am boring to remove the battery cap each time i have to charge the unit or I have to conect it to pc. I think that it is a very big error of garmin, because do this a lot of times you can damage the battery cap.
So I try to charge the unit with the automotive mount using this adapter...
DealExtreme: $3.34 AC to DC 12V 450mA Car Cigarette Lighter Power Adapter (90V~240V AC)
In this way, i wouldn't have to remove the battery cap. When I connected the cigarette plug to the adapter, it has burned, so the cigarette plug adaptor need more than 600 mA of input. I am thinking how to do this. And other thing is to use the microusb in the automotive mount to connect to pc but it doesn´t work, so i don't know for what is the use. In the manual only says that you can't connect the charger to that microusb, but nothing else.
I am very grateful with this GPS, but I think that it is very stupid to have to remove a cap to charge or connect to pc. It's a ****.
Regards
Join Date: Aug 2010
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I agree with Scopy - bit of a stupid thing to have done regards having to connect and remove battery lid everytime you want to charge (not from cigy lighter)
Saying that my new Aera is great and I forgive above. Does anyone know where I can get some tutorials on using this device - have checked out Garmin but they dont have any. User manual is not really that great IMHO and I am looking for more of a step by step approach to using the Aera
This is my first time with an aviation GPS and finding it a little challenging although recognise that it is somewhat intuitive.
Any help would be appreciated - Have written to Garmin so will post response when I hear from them.
Saying that my new Aera is great and I forgive above. Does anyone know where I can get some tutorials on using this device - have checked out Garmin but they dont have any. User manual is not really that great IMHO and I am looking for more of a step by step approach to using the Aera
This is my first time with an aviation GPS and finding it a little challenging although recognise that it is somewhat intuitive.
Any help would be appreciated - Have written to Garmin so will post response when I hear from them.
Join Date: Jan 2010
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It seems I have heard.
Today I was going to send them a message telling abou thet bad way to charge the GPS. And before I get in touch with them, I get to take a last look at the accessories. And I found this:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=68333
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=68332
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=13545
I only hope that the last charger is for connection to the car mount because I think that it is the same connector.
Today I was going to send them a message telling abou thet bad way to charge the GPS. And before I get in touch with them, I get to take a last look at the accessories. And I found this:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=68333
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=68332
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=13545
I only hope that the last charger is for connection to the car mount because I think that it is the same connector.