Which GPS unit to buy?

[TJ]

Hi,

So, which is the best GPS unit to buy for
eventual use in a sailplane?

Thanks,

Tom (remove all the numbers in the addess
REPLY won't work)

[John Morgan]

I have a Garmin 196 I use in several aircraft, including an ASH26e. It's
mounted to the right canopy rail using a modified RAM mount and is far
enough aft and swung over my lap so it doesn't interfere with any controls
or with outside vision.

The 196 is pricey (around $875 if you shop hard), but has many features that
make it worth the money. Stuff like high detail mapping with fast processor
so there's no delay when zooming, current glide ratio and glide ratio
required to target (not to replace a glide computer btw), output to Garmin's
free PC based logbook, and a "panel" screen that could easily be used to fly
IFR in an emergency. I compared the turn indicator on the panel to an
electronic gyro and the difference in response was not discernable in my
Mooney.

I suggest doing a search on Google and reading the reviews.
--
bumper >
"Dare to be different . . . circle in sink."
to reply, the last half is right to left

"TJ" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> So, which is the best GPS unit to buy for
> eventual use in a sailplane?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tom (remove all the numbers in the addess
> REPLY won't work)
>
>


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[Kirk Stant]

"TJ" > wrote in message >...
> Hi,
>
> So, which is the best GPS unit to buy for
> eventual use in a sailplane?
>

Depends if it to be a primary navigation instrument, or used to drive
a separate computer or moving map (like a PDA).

I use a Garmin 3 Pilot for both, and love it - moving map, glide angle
to destinations (backup for glide computer), Jeppeson data base, easy
to use, small, can be mounted vertically or horizontally, removeable
antenna (important if you have a metal ship). Price seems to be going
down on them.

If you are going to drive a PDA/Winpilot type of setup, then any GPS
that puts out a NMEA signal will do - but be careful of using the
bottom end hiking units because they may not be easy to hook up to
another device. On the other hand, some of the higher end hiking
models have some nice features.

I'm somewhat prejudiced (because I have one) but I would stick to a
Garmin - lots of good free software (G7toWin, etc) available to manage
waypoints and track files, reliable hardware, nice features.

Hope this helps

Kirk

[Robert Ehrlich]

TJ wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> So, which is the best GPS unit to buy for
> eventual use in a sailplane?

I bought a Garmin 12 in 1999. At that time it was widely
available in France at prices near 1200 or 1400 F, (we had
not yet Euros at that time, this should be near 200 Euros).
At that time it was the cheapest way to fulfill a precise
purpose: my club, as most clubs in France, has an informal
requirement that any pilot flying cross-country a club glider
(and this is the normal way they are flown) provides some
proof of his flight, either photos or a GPS track log, and
I wanted to avoid all the stuff related with cameras (film
not cut, developement, finding an appropriate ground feature,
buying film, etc.). Most pilots in my club were doing the
same choice at that time for the same purpose, although some
others having more money to put in it preferred aviation
models with a price 3 or 4 times higher. Since that time
the price of the Garmin 12 has raised and the general opinion
among my fellows pilots is that the best choice for the same
purpose is now the Magellan MLR. The major improvements in
the MLR are 1) altitude logged in the track log, while the
Garmin only logs time and position; 2) much more memory for track
log; 3) higher speed for downloading; 4) glide ratio function.
Concerning the downloading speed, this is a software problem
with the Garmin which has nothing to do with the baud rate. I
observed a downloading session with an oscilloscope. Each logged
position is sent in a packet and then, according to the Garmin
protocol, the PC should reply with an acknowlegement packet, which
it does immediately, but then there is a long delay between the end
of this acknowlegement packet and the next position packet, so the
effective speed is much lower than the nominal 9600 bps, since the line
is idle a lot of time.

But I just checked the web site of Magellan
(http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/mlr.asp)
and the model we use (MLR SP24 XC Free Flying) is listed as
"Not available in North America" for an unknown reasom.

[Martin Hellman]

> TJ wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > So, which is the best GPS unit to buy for
> > eventual use in a sailplane?

Having just moved from a Lowrance Airmap 300 to a Garmin 196, I'll
note a couple of thoughts. I really like the 196 and, if the price
isn't a barrier, would highly recommend it. It has a number of
improvements over both of my prior gps's, the even earlier one being a
Garmin 95XL.

In addition to the usually discussed features (high resolution screen,
fast redraws, great user interface), the fast processor allows the
"nearest page" to update distances in real time, so I can watch my
distance to several airports (or user waypoints) with just one button
push. The nearest page also has a "recent" tab so it's easy to toggle
back and forth between two airports, obviously helpful in soaring.

My one big complaint pertains to SUA. When there are multiple SUA's at
an x,y point (like my home base of Hayward, CA KHWD, where the class D
airspace goes to 1500 MSL, Oakland's class C airspace overlies that,
and SFO's class B airspace overlies that, when I scroll to that area
to see the SUA's, the unit only gives one of them, usually the class D
airspace. My Lowarance (and maybe even the 95XL, tho my memory dims
that far back) showed ALL airspace, clearly much better. I emailed
Garmin on this and they basically said "it's supposed to work that
way." OK, but not good. This complaint is not likely to affect most
soaring pilots though there are some restricted areas that have
multiple layers and you might inadvertently think you're safe flying
at some altitude when you're not. Admittedly, you'll get an alarm
before you penetrate the SUA, but that's not as good as knowing
further in advance.

Hope this helps.

Martin

[Skip Guimond]

I have been VERY happy with the system provided by Control
Vision--Anywhere Map. See www.controlvision.com.

This system uses a PDA (normally an Ipaq or Dell) and Control Vision
software. The GPS function is outstanding--and you can add uplink
NEXRAD weather. You still need a GPS input, and can use any GPS from
a simple "mouse" unit like the Garmin 35 to an old handheld.

One beauty is that the system can then run any of the gliding specific
programs such as Win Pilot or Glide Navigator. No extra expense for
hardware. Anywhere Map includes full airport info, approaches, and
more.

Control Vision's website offers software only or complete systems.

Good luck--

Skip Guimond