Normally the cable is bluetooth, with modern GPSs.

Before that it was RS232.

Have you tried reading the manual?

It took me all of 60 seconds to find out that the Aera 500 comes with a USB cable & that you can use MapSource to transfer routes, tracks & waypoints.

I am a fairly new user of an Aera500, (Replaces my first one a GPS 90, then the Pilot III) and have found it to be a great piece of kit for my flying needs.

BUT, Garmin, please why do I have to constantly take the WATERPROOF battery cover off to attach the USB which probably is less & less waterproof every time I upload/download routes to my PC, when there is a redundant ( I know about the future use blurb) usb socket on the mount??????

I use Skydemonlightfor uploading routes and think it is a suberb freeby for VFR UK flying.

Just found this thread and I didn't want to start a new thread over the same issue.

I also have the Aera 500 and I'm very disappointing with lack of search functions when searching for towns or way points when flying.

The only way I can find tows or nearby citys is by doing a full address search as if I'm going to someones house. Just not pratical when flying..

Anyone have any solutions or ideas how to resolve this? I wrote to Garmin about this, but they don't seem to care:(

Let me know if you find a solution. Irritates the hell out of me, too.

I moved to the Aera 500 from a Lowrance Airmap 500 which, apart from colour, was superior in every way. Sadly Lowrance stopped providing database updates and then I had screen problems, or I'd still be using it.

What I do is use Google maps to pick a suitable place (1 High Street often works) in any town I want to use as a waypoint.

Also, a small word of caution: using Skydemon Light to plan routes then uploading to the Garmin results in the Garmin failing to recognise that,e.g., an airfield is an airfield - you get a waypoint in the same place but without the 'special' features like runway extensions, radio frequencies &c. I usually manually plan the route now, or plan in Skydemon Light but then edit on the Garmin.

What I do for the time being I just scroll on the map and then save the towns as I go,and then I can find them in recent waypoints section.
Not handy at all when flying as hands are shaky:ugh:

Other then that I love it, works great, it brought me places too.
I used my friends bendix king AV08R for a while,I didnt like it. I found aera much easier to use, with more features apart the annoying town search.

I will write another email to Garmin and hopefully they can sort this out.
I'm sure if automotive Garmin has the town input function on the go without the need of an address, I cant see the reason Aera cant have the same feature.

A thread relight: I had a problem last flights; the "press to accept" at start up would not respond at all to being pressed, so no useful navigation. The touch screen still works. 'cause I could touch the power button, which changed the display to brightness and sound, and I could touch to select those. And I know it's navigating inside, as when I landed at a buddy's grass runway, it gave me a terrain warning as I approached. But, for three flights, it would not press to accept, so no navigation.

Has anyone else had this trouble?

Well thank you tmmorris! That worked! I touched the lower left of the blank screen, and held it, powered it up, and it came to life without delay. It accepted the press to accept, and went straight into navigation. I appreciate the wisdom very much, I will now delay purchasing a replacement!

No problem - I found that solution online when having problems with mine (mine got stuck in a bootup loop and wouldn't get to the main screen)

The downside is it deletes all your stored data but you can always recreate the routes etc.