Garmin 296. Should I retire my 295?

[Bonza]

The new Garmin 296 has been out for about a year now and the fanfare
seems to have subsided. There are seldom any new posts about it.

I was looking to trade in or replace my 295. I have one of the first
ones in my Bonanza and it is a great tool, I'd hate to be without it.
It is 4 years old now and I wanted your thoughts on:

1. trading it in on a 296.
2. buying a 296 and moving the 295 to the car.
3. waiting for something better.

You guys that have been using them for a while now, what do you think?
Is there a substantial performance difference over the older model?
Anyone have a insite as to what might be coming next?

Thanks,

Bob

[Elwood Dowd]

If the 195 vs. 196 is any indication, I'd say it was well worth it if
you can afford it. Performance on the 196 is easily 8 to 10 times
faster than the 195, the screen is far more readable, and battery life
is about 20x.

[Dan Luke]

There are two valuable (IMO) features the 296 has that the 295 doesn't: the
artificial panel and the terrain/obstacle page.

I like my 296, but I liked my 295 about as much. I've only used the
artificial panel in training, but I have used the terrain/obstacle page to
good effect while scud running around t'storms. For that reason, at least,
I'm happy with my decision to trade up.

There is one thing I most emphatically do NOT like about the 296: the remote
power cable connector. It is difficult to unplug from the GPS, which causes
a lot of mechanical stress on its connector head--so much that I've already
had one come apart on me and the current one looks like it will go soon.
--
Dan
C-172RG at BFM

[Mike Noel]

If your talking about where the connector enters the body of the 296, mine
comes out reasonably enough if I press the tips of my thumb and forefinger
against the case and wiggle the connector straight out.

--
Regards,
Mike

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/amountainaero/fspic1.html
"Dan Luke" > wrote in message
...
>
> There are two valuable (IMO) features the 296 has that the 295 doesn't:
the
> artificial panel and the terrain/obstacle page.
>
> I like my 296, but I liked my 295 about as much. I've only used the
> artificial panel in training, but I have used the terrain/obstacle page to
> good effect while scud running around t'storms. For that reason, at
least,
> I'm happy with my decision to trade up.
>
> There is one thing I most emphatically do NOT like about the 296: the
remote
> power cable connector. It is difficult to unplug from the GPS, which
causes
> a lot of mechanical stress on its connector head--so much that I've
already
> had one come apart on me and the current one looks like it will go soon.
> --
> Dan
> C-172RG at BFM
>
>

[Dan Luke]

"Mike Noel" wrote :
> If your talking about where the connector enters the body of the 296,
> mine
> comes out reasonably enough if I press the tips of my thumb and
> forefinger
> against the case and wiggle the connector straight out.

A good design would not require such fussy manipulation.

[C J Campbell]

If you are using the GPS regularly, I think it is definitely worth it.

[Bob Fry]

(Bonza) writes:

> 1. trading it in on a 296.
> 2. buying a 296 and moving the 295 to the car.
> 3. waiting for something better.

I also have a 295 and have considered trading up. But I almost
certainly would not buy another Garmin, instead, I'd really consider
the AvMap EKP-IV. They should have the terrain upgrade coming out
very soon.

I have tried the 295 in a car. It's better than nothing, but since it
won't generate routing internally it doesn't help that much with which
street to turn on. At least it shows where you are.

I'm going to wait for the next generation of GPSs before upgrading. I
figure the next generation will have near-real-time weather for not a
large monthly price. That will be well worth the considerable
purchase price and steep depreciation.

[Jon Woellhaf]

I had a 295 and bought a 296. I kept the 295. It's on the right-hand yoke. I
think the 296 is superior to the 295 in every respect -- except, perhaps,
the power connector. The 296 is FAR superior to the 295 in the car. If
you're interested, Google Groups for <pirep 295 296> and read my very long
comparison of the 296 vs the 295.

Jon

"Bonza" > wrote in message
om...
> The new Garmin 296 has been out for about a year now and the fanfare
> seems to have subsided. There are seldom any new posts about it.
>
> I was looking to trade in or replace my 295. I have one of the first
> ones in my Bonanza and it is a great tool, I'd hate to be without it.
> It is 4 years old now and I wanted your thoughts on:
>
> 1. trading it in on a 296.
> 2. buying a 296 and moving the 295 to the car.
> 3. waiting for something better.
>
> You guys that have been using them for a while now, what do you think?
> Is there a substantial performance difference over the older model?
> Anyone have a insite as to what might be coming next?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bob

[Bonza]

Thank you Jon for writing your review and to you others that replied.
I'll probably order one, but it has dropped down a notch on the
priority list. Although come to think of it, I have some long XC's
coming up that it would be nice to have....

Bob

[Jon Woellhaf]

Bob,

Garmin has a beta version of new firmware for the 296 that eliminates
several of the complaints I had. I'm waiting until it's out of beta before
trying it.

Jon

"Bonza" > wrote in message
m...
> Thank you Jon for writing your review and to you others that replied.
> I'll probably order one, but it has dropped down a notch on the
> priority list. Although come to think of it, I have some long XC's
> coming up that it would be nice to have....
>
> Bob

[kage]

"Jon Woellhaf" > wrote in message
news:77qnd.117763$HA.96066@attbi_s01...
> Bob,
>
> Garmin has a beta version of new firmware for the 296 that eliminates
> several of the complaints I had. I'm waiting until it's out of beta before
> trying it.
>
I installed 2.93 Beta. It does add some nice features.

I like being able to (in simulator) reposition with identifier. Track works
in sim. Left and right traffic patterns are shown. Arrows point to
waypoints. More

Caused no problems for me.

Karl

[Richard Russell]

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 09:46:27 -0800, "kage" >
wrote:

>
>"Jon Woellhaf" > wrote in message
>news:77qnd.117763$HA.96066@attbi_s01...
>> Bob,
>>
>> Garmin has a beta version of new firmware for the 296 that eliminates
>> several of the complaints I had. I'm waiting until it's out of beta before
>> trying it.
>>
>I installed 2.93 Beta. It does add some nice features.
>
>I like being able to (in simulator) reposition with identifier. Track works
>in sim. Left and right traffic patterns are shown. Arrows point to
>waypoints. More
>
>Caused no problems for me.
>
>Karl
>
I'm using the beta firmware in my 196 and I haven't had any problems.
I didn't like the idea that it wiped out all of my settings and
information. I did back up my routes and user defined waypoints but I
lost my flights and every setting that I had changed from the
defaults. I think it took me a couple of hours to get it back how it
was. Operationally, I like it.
Rich Russell

[Jay Masino]

Richard Russell > wrote:
> I'm using the beta firmware in my 196 and I haven't had any problems.
> I didn't like the idea that it wiped out all of my settings and
> information. I did back up my routes and user defined waypoints but I
> lost my flights and every setting that I had changed from the
> defaults. I think it took me a couple of hours to get it back how it
> was. Operationally, I like it.

Did they happen to add the obsticle database to the 196?

--- Jay


--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

[Tim B]

The 196 does autorouting and turn-by-turn so I suspect the 296 will do it
also. It constantly calculates the route too so if you miss a turn (or
purposely take a "scenic route"), you get a new turn by turn solution. I've
used it many times sightseeing by car in unknown cities. You don't have
to worry about where you are.


"Bob Fry" > wrote in message
...
> (Bonza) writes:
>
>> 1. trading it in on a 296.
>> 2. buying a 296 and moving the 295 to the car.
>> 3. waiting for something better.
>
> I also have a 295 and have considered trading up. But I almost
> certainly would not buy another Garmin, instead, I'd really consider
> the AvMap EKP-IV. They should have the terrain upgrade coming out
> very soon.
>
> I have tried the 295 in a car. It's better than nothing, but since it
> won't generate routing internally it doesn't help that much with which
> street to turn on. At least it shows where you are.

[Richard Russell]

On 19 Nov 2004 23:57:05 GMT, (Jay Masino)
wrote:

>Richard Russell > wrote:
>> I'm using the beta firmware in my 196 and I haven't had any problems.
>> I didn't like the idea that it wiped out all of my settings and
>> information. I did back up my routes and user defined waypoints but I
>> lost my flights and every setting that I had changed from the
>> defaults. I think it took me a couple of hours to get it back how it
>> was. Operationally, I like it.
>
>Did they happen to add the obsticle database to the 196?
>
>--- Jay


Unfortunately, no.