Garmin 196 problems...
 

I have a new Garmin 196, and I think its the dogs doo-dahs....but...

1. I changed the batteries in it for the first time the other day, and during the subsequent flight the damn thing kept switching itself off all by itself, just as someone earlier mentioned. When back on the ground and after a little investigation of the problem I discovered the new batteries (unlike the old ones) could move slightly within their slots so as to break contacts. The aircrafts vibration must have caused this to happen & it to stop working occasionally. I inserted a 5mm thick piece of foam between the removable back and the batteries, padding it like this prevented battery movement and it has since worked fine - obviously not all makes of batteries are exactly the same dimensions.

2. I recently downloaded the latest Garmin 196 software update, unfortunately the airspace is glaringly wrong just where I happen to live. The controlled airspace changed around Bordeaux in mid March, the Jeppesen Map of France shows the correct airspace arrangement, but despite waiting until the beginning of this month before downloading, the download still had the old airspace... but how come if the Jepp map was correct?!?!
:confused:

Regards, SD.

Skydriller - were the new batteries NiMH rechargables?

I ask as most brands of these that I have used (Kodak, LLoydtron, etc are slightly smaller in diameter than ordinary duracells and therefore do rattle around a little. Wrap a post-it note around each battery and it cures the problem. They appear to be the same length so I can't imagine why they would lose thier connections though.

Mr. W

Mr Wolfie,

I actually replaced the batteries (cant remember the brand – sony?) with a set of Duracells....:hmm:
It is indeed a case of the diameters of the batteries letting them move around, hence my use of a little foam, which compresses down between the batts, but I will have a go with post-its if I find any problems with the foam idea.

Regards, SD.

Around our area we also get GPS dropouts all the time.

Its usually linked to a FRA plane on exercise.

MJ

Email from Garmin...
 

Well, I sent an Email to Garmin about the Airspace errors I had noticed, and this is their reply:

"Dear Sir,

Due to being informed of changes in how the Jeppesen database is created for us to use it has put us behind the power curve on correctly implementing the data in a format usable by our equipments. We have had many challenges with the new database formats but it will be resolved in cycle 0307. Please find attached a free code to use for this cycle so that everything will be back to normal. It is mainly an issue of Class D airspace that is the problem. We apologise for this.

Best regards

Steve Gubbins
International Sales Manager"

Just thought I would post this so that those of you considering getting an update know to wait until 0307 cycle, and I thought it was pretty good service of them to give me an update for that cycle too.:ok:

Regards, SD.

PS - MJ, stupid question I know, but what is an FRA plane?:confused:

FRA are based out of Teeside and they carry all sorts of nasty kit on them.

They fly around in Falcons with what look like missiles under there wings but actually they are ECM pods for playing with the military. Part of there job some times is to jam GPS, but as i know of 3 local lads with GPS jammers which they bought for 30 quid. I don't put much faith in steady signal for GPS.

They also have the job of calibrating all the instrument approaches in the UK.

You will hear them use the call sign calibrator.

MJ

I have a Lowrance Airmap and it often loses position during turns. I have tried using it with the ariel mounted on the GPS secured to the yoke mount, I have tried it with the ariel remote stuck to the canopy with the sucker provided but the result is the same. In hot sun, the plastic on the sucker becomes soft, the receiver tips from the horizontal and position is lost more frequently. The worry is that sometimes the receiver commences a cold start cycle and so the GPS is useless for around 15mins.

Sensible

That is a very old GPS design, about 10 years old. I think you will find that performance has moved on a long way since.

However most aviation GPS products on the UK market aren't that much younger; there is very little innovation going on for some reason.

A roof-mounted GPS antenna should always be used; the school/syndicate may not want to pay for it (£300 or so) but it will benefit everybody who uses a GPS (which is almost everybody when there is no instructor in sight :O )