WxWorx or Anywhere Wx [Archive]

Mike Murdock

July 8th 05, 02:10 AM

If you want an installed solution, you will probably want to buy the
components (WxWorx receiver, PDA or PC to display it, and a GPS source.).
However, if you are looking for a portable solution, the Garmin 396 is the
first self-contained (if you don't count the antennas as separate units) XM
weather device.

-Mike

"Jon Kraus" > wrote in message
...
>I already have a 430 so the GPS is covered. I am just interested in a
>weather package... Thanks!!
>
> Jon Kraus
>
> Mike Murdock wrote:
>
>> http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap396/
>

Victor J. Osborne, Jr.

July 8th 05, 02:43 AM

I have the NavAero EFB tPad 800. (www.Navaero.com) B/c it has a hard drive,
it fails on 2+hr flights above 9 to 11,000ft. Having a full blown PC w/
WinXP is great other than that.

I won't take off in weather w/o my WxWorks. Try to get a display w/o a
hard drive. YRMV.

--

Thx, {|;-)

Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.
"Jon Kraus" > wrote in message
...
>I already have a 430 so the GPS is covered. I am just interested in a
>weather package... Thanks!!
>
> Jon Kraus
>
> Mike Murdock wrote:
>
>> http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap396/
>

Jonathan Goodish

July 8th 05, 03:21 AM

In article >,
Jon Kraus > wrote:
> We are contemplating adding a weather uplink system and was wondering
> what experience you have had on the WxWorx or Anywhere Wx. We are
> leading towards the Anywhere Wx but wanted to get some comments on both.
> Thanks!!

Jon,

You may want to consider the AnywhereWx package. In addition to
weather, you also get A/FD information, FBO information,
hotel/restaurant information, and fuel prices (though the fuel database
is new and sparse right now.) Bottom line is that with the AnywhereWx
package, you get some extras that competitors do not provide, but are a
great reference even if you carry A/FDs and the AOPA directory. Plus,
you'll have a decent backup GPS display if you choose to use it.

JKG

Jim N.

July 8th 05, 03:48 AM

If you already have a 430, have you looked at the GDL69? It downlinks near
realtime Nexrad radar along with graphical metars.

An added bonus is XM satellite radio, which has better than CD quality sound
and over 110 channels.

Guy Byars

July 8th 05, 11:11 AM

I just bought the Anywhere WX system for my Skylane. It uses the iPAQ 4705
for display, Garmin 10 GPS and the WxWrox XM receiver all connected via
bluetooth. Cost was around $2700. Although I haven't flown next to any
weather with it, having NexRad in the cockpit is awesome! Some of the other
features of the system are nice, yet other features are worthless to me, but
the weather is great. I also like clicking on the map and seeing the METARS
and TAF's. I have pulled the plane out of the hangar and tested it numerous
times... works like a charm.

The system included a package called Pocket Plates, which has all the
approach plates for the US stored in a SD card on the ipaq. This package is
interesting, but not very useful. The ipaq display is too small to show the
whole plate. It lets you zoom in on the plate, but then you can see only
small portions of the plate at a time. Not much use to me.

I was skeptical of a system that uses an iPAQ... I HATE tapping through
menus while flying... but I got the hot keys setup in the program with most
everything I want to do, so it isn't too much of a chore. I am a
professional software developer, so I am comfortable with the mechanics of
the pocket pc.

:Like you, I have a Garmin GNS 430, so the GPS is covered, but having a
battery powered ipaq and gps is a very nice backup. Although the Anywhere
WX has flight planning, I won't use it, I will use the 430 for that. Again,
the anywhere map is for primarily for weather and GPS backup.

The Garmin 396 looks like a great system. My father just bought an Anywhere
WX system, but I am going to recommend he return it and get a 396. Why? He
is barely computer literate so working an ipaq might be a headache for him.
Also, he wants to move the system between his many airplanes, and the
Anywhere WX system has lots of wires and plugs. I only have one plane and
don't plan to move the system around, so all my wires are neatly routed and
tucked away.

I also got a quote from the local avionics shop for a panel mounted MX-20
with the GL-69 Wx receiver. Price was around $17,000. The Anywhere System
gave me more features for a fraction of the cost.

I could have bought the GL-69 receiver and had the weather displayed on my
430. I decided against hat because the 430 display is small and terrible
for weather display and it still would have cost nearly $5,000. The ipaq
has a beautiful display.

Guy Byars

"Jon Kraus" > wrote in message
...
> We are contemplating adding a weather uplink system and was wondering
> what experience you have had on the WxWorx or Anywhere Wx. We are
> leading towards the Anywhere Wx but wanted to get some comments on both.
> Thanks!!
>
> Jon Kraus
> '79 Mooney 201
>

Greg Davis

July 8th 05, 11:43 AM

I'd wait and get the Garmin 396. I have the Anywhere system and it does
have lots of problems. Nothing that can't be overcome if you like working
with computers, etc. Just look at the forums at controlvision.com for
details. It's a cobbled together system. The 396 is an all in one box,
that works.

Jon Kraus

July 8th 05, 12:51 PM

I have looked at it but was scared off by the $5000.00 price tag.

Jon Kraus

Jim N. wrote:
> If you already have a 430, have you looked at the GDL69? It downlinks near
> realtime Nexrad radar along with graphical metars.
>
> An added bonus is XM satellite radio, which has better than CD quality sound
> and over 110 channels.
>
>

Peter R.

July 8th 05, 12:58 PM

"Jim N." > wrote:

> An added bonus is XM satellite radio, which has better than CD quality sound
> and over 110 channels.

A slight correction: XM Radio does not offer "better than CD quality
sound." It offers less than CD quality sound due to the audio
compression.

Yes, there is a blurb on XM's website about sound quality and you will
certainly read about how superior their sound is, but nowhere do they
directly compare it to CD quality. And, it is *their* site. :)

I suggest doing a Google search on "XM Radio Sound Quality" and read the
many hits returned.

--
Peter
An XM Radio subscriber in the car and cockpit

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Jonathan Goodish

July 8th 05, 02:04 PM

In article >,
Jon Kraus > wrote:

> I have looked at it but was scared off by the $5000.00 price tag.
>

Not to mention that you only get NEXRAD and METARs on the 430/530
displays, unless Garmin has changed something recently. That's better
than nothing, but no where close to what others can provide at half the
price.

JKG

smf

July 8th 05, 02:09 PM

I have a Anywhere WX with HP 4705pda. I fly a Glasair II so space is an
issue.

I recently went x-country from Miami to Baton Rouge and back with lots of
cells enroute. I am very satisfied with the product. It made the flight
easier and here in S. florida there are plenty of thunderstorms to avoid. I
don't know about other products but this one I know about. I have a 430 but
opted for the pda. It's good to have a backup gps that has more bells and
whistles than the 430.

Steve

Jonathan Goodish

July 8th 05, 02:14 PM

In article >,
"Guy Byars" > wrote:
> Also, he wants to move the system between his many airplanes, and the
> Anywhere WX system has lots of wires and plugs. I only have one plane and
> don't plan to move the system around, so all my wires are neatly routed and
> tucked away.

To me, mobility is the single largest advantage to the Garmin 396. I
have the wires for AnywhereWx pretty much out of sight behind side
panels, so it's not a problem, but it's also not portable other than the
iPaq and GPS (which can easily be removed to use elsewhere, such as in
the car...but weather is stuck in the airplane). If I were a renter,
the ability to throw the 396 into a new plane every day with minimal
fuss would be very appealing.

However, I'm not aware that the 396 has the airport directory, fuel
price, or A/FD information contained in the latest version of
AnywhereWx. Whether you choose to "rely" on this information in lieu of
the official FAA documentation is up to you, but it's there at your
fingertips nonetheless. And I'm not aware that the FAA provides
official documentation on hotels, rental cars, and restaurants, or fuel
prices.

I agree, I would skip the purchase of PocketPlates, especially with the
approach database included with the latest version of AnywhereWx.

JKG

Paul kgyy

July 8th 05, 02:18 PM

I also have the AWMap system and like it. I do use it for flight
planning when I'm away from home. You can input wind assumptions and
it gives you heading and groundspeed to use for filing your flight
plan. If you own the aircraft, you can "park" the 12v wiring for the 3
units out of the way so all you have to do when you arrive is plug in
the gps and ipaq. You can remove the ipaq from its support to make it
easier to tap for items not included in the hot keys, i.e. picking up
specific metars. The new airport info screens are very fine also.

Jonathan Goodish

July 8th 05, 02:21 PM

In article >,
"Greg Davis" > wrote:

> I'd wait and get the Garmin 396. I have the Anywhere system and it does
> have lots of problems. Nothing that can't be overcome if you like working
> with computers, etc. Just look at the forums at controlvision.com for
> details. It's a cobbled together system. The 396 is an all in one box,
> that works.

I've heard about these reports, and I read the Control Vision forums
almost daily, but don't notice the "lots of problems" that some complain
about. There are some problems using the latest software with older
iPaqs, but I'm not sure how reasonable it is to expect the latest
features to run on a 3 year old iPaq. As far as I know, there's nothing
preventing folks who have been running a stable system with older
software from continuing to do so.

There have been scattered reports of XM activation issues, but those
problems seem related to XM and certainly don't represent the majority
of users. There is no guarantee that the 396 won't have similar XM
issues.

When I received the AnywhereWx system, it was pre-loaded and worked out
of the box with minimal fuss. Software upgrades to require some minor
skill with computers, but so do software upgrades for Garmin's products,
at least their handheld products, in my experience. As far as I know,
no one is forcing anyone else to be on the bleeding edge.

JKG

Nathan Young

July 8th 05, 03:06 PM

On Thu, 07 Jul 2005 23:24:50 GMT, Jon Kraus >
wrote:

>We are contemplating adding a weather uplink system and was wondering
>what experience you have had on the WxWorx or Anywhere Wx. We are
>leading towards the Anywhere Wx but wanted to get some comments on both.
>Thanks!!

I have a used Fujitsu ST4121 tablet PC with transflective (daylight
viewable) display. I run a combo of WxWorx SW with my own moving map
SW. The tablet PC has a ~4 hr battery life. If I am on a long x-c, I
use a power inverter on the cigarette ligther to power/charge the
tablet PC.

I use Bluetooth to connect the peripherals to the tablet, and am
thrilled with the cable free performance of the devices.

-Belkin Bluetooth card providing Bluetooth to the ST4121

-Garmin GPS10, Bluetooth GPS with integrated antenna (about the size
of a pack of cigarettes)

-Bluetooth version of WxWorx's receiver.

From a weather services standpoint, I currently am using the XM
Aviator's lite package, which is $29/month. It provides Nexrad and
Metar, which is all I really need. There is a more advanced package
$59/month which I used to have, but found I did not use often enough.

It is hard to imagine going back to a WxWorx-less plane. It allows me
to make both VFR and IFR flights without constantly worrying about the
weather ahead. It is easily the best money I have spent on the plane
(besides av-fuel!).

My only complaint about my setup is the number of cigarette lighter
attachments: Power inverter, GPS10 charger, WxWorx charger. I also
still have a G295 in the plane, so it runs on cigarette lighter too.

I can see why the Garmin 396 will be a hit. It is hard to beat the
level of integration.

-Nathan

Guy Byars

July 8th 05, 11:51 PM

> A slight correction: XM Radio does not offer "better than CD quality
> sound." It offers less than CD quality sound due to the audio
> compression.

With the O-470 purring away less than 8 feet from my ears, full CD quality
would be a waste.

Jim N.

July 9th 05, 03:25 AM

I stand corrected- however, the quality is much better than FM broadcast,
and with no commercials.

The decision regarding the GDL 69 comes down to convenience and the need to
have a lot of loose wires, notebook computers, etc in the cockpit, even with
bluetooth.

The GDL 69, although not perfect, integrates well with my 530, particularly
in combination with the stormscope. It is excellent for a long range view
if you are going around an extended line of storms, but would not be
especially good for navigating through a line of scattered storms. In this
scenario, on board radar is a better choice, along with the stormscope.

The XM radio is an added bonus, particularly on those long cross country
trips.

Guy Byars

July 9th 05, 03:49 AM

> The GDL 69, although not perfect, integrates well with my 530,
particularly
> in combination with the stormscope. .....
> ..

> The XM radio is an added bonus, particularly on those long cross country
> trips.

Um, you don't get he XM radio from the GDL 69, you need the GDL 69A. And
that is not a bonus, but the list price is $780 more. And don't forget the
extra installation to hook up the audio to your audio panel.

Guy Byars

From the Garmin Website:

http://www.garmin.com/products/gdl69/

For pilots who want additional value from XM Satellite Radio, Garmin also
offers the GDL 69AT. This receiver combines XM WX's weather services with
XM's digital audio entertainment, which provides 130-plus channels of music,
news, talk, sports and information.

GDL 69 Suggested Retail Price:
$4995 U.S.D. (for domestic US market only)
GDL 69A Suggested Retail Price:
$5775 U.S.D. (for domestic US market only)

Jim N.

July 9th 05, 04:08 AM

You are correct in that the GDL69A costs more. However, installing a panel
mount CD player or XM receiver would cost a whole lot more as a standalone.
I had a portable XM radio plugged in to the audio input, but between the
power, antenna, and audio cables it was messy and cumbersome.

I had the GDL 69A installed for the retail price alone in my Baron.

Peter R.

July 9th 05, 04:29 AM

"Jim N." > wrote:

> The GDL 69, although not perfect, integrates well with my 530, particularly
> in combination with the stormscope.

I have the WSI downlinked weather that displays on an MX20 MFD. XM Radio
provided by a portable XM receiver and a small antenna mounted above the
glare shield.

Someday I will post my rant about the pitfalls of this particular setup and
my slightly less-than-favorable experience with WSI's service availability
during a long flight I took from NY to California and back last Memorial
Day weekend.

This month's Aviation Consumer had another write-up about the WSI and XM
Weather comparisons. Too bad I wasn't asked to contribute. :(

--
Peter

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Guy Byars

July 9th 05, 11:13 AM

> I had a portable XM radio plugged in to the audio input, but between the
> power, antenna, and audio cables it was messy and cumbersome.

I took a different musical route for my Skylane. At home I have the ability
to capture XM radio into 1-2 hour long .mp3 files. I download 20-30 hours
worth of music to my my RIO mp3 player and use the mp3 player in the plane.
The player is tiny and has a single wire from the player to the input jack
for my audio input. Very clean and easy setup.

Guy Byars

Jonathan Goodish

July 9th 05, 01:48 PM

In article >,
"Jim N." > wrote:
> The GDL 69, although not perfect, integrates well with my 530, particularly
> in combination with the stormscope. It is excellent for a long range view
> if you are going around an extended line of storms, but would not be
> especially good for navigating through a line of scattered storms. In this
> scenario, on board radar is a better choice, along with the stormscope.

The problem that I see with the GDL69 is that it will only provide
NEXRAD and METARs on the 430/530 displays, according to Garmin. You
still have to pay WxWorx for the full or "lite" feed, both of which
include products beyond that which can be displayed on the 430/530.

In particular, since the NEXRAD provided is base reflectivity, the echo
tops product become valuable in judging the actual strength of the cells
that are displayed on the base reflectivity return.

The bottom line is that you pay a good bit of money for a certified
receiver that to pair with a certified GPS that is unable to display
most of the available weather products. Both the Garmin 396 handheld
and the various PDA/TabletPC solutions provide more bang for the buck
for weather uplink in this scenario.

JKG

Jim N.

July 9th 05, 02:45 PM

You are correct. Garmin claims that with some upcoming changes the full
functionality of the data downlink will become available. Of course, we've
been waiting for WAAS and terrain for over two years now, with no firm
delivery in sight.

For me being a piston driver, base reflectivity is good enough. I also have
Stormscope and on board radar, and in combination feel comfortable with the
information provided. They each provide unique data, and when put together
give a good idea of the weather picture.

The downlink systems are really in their infancy, and it is obvious that the
manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the technology, particularly
with the ponderous bureaucratic certification process imposed by the FAA.
There is no "best" established technology.

I just don't care for a rat's nest of wires and cables in the cockpit from a
portable system (I'm looking forward to the bluetooth headsets as well), and
I enjoy the XM radio as well. So far, Garmin has always come through with
their products, although painfully slowly and well behind schedule.

Hopefully there will be an evolution to one standard that will be
inexpensive and readily available to all.

Jonathan Goodish

July 9th 05, 03:45 PM

In article >,
"Jim N." > wrote:
> The downlink systems are really in their infancy, and it is obvious that the
> manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the technology, particularly
> with the ponderous bureaucratic certification process imposed by the FAA.
> There is no "best" established technology.

Weather uplink has been around for a little while, but the certification
process undoubtedly adds quite a bit of delay and, obviously, quite a
bit of cost. That's why the non-certified portable systems (whether
from Garmin, WxWorx, or a PDA software vendor) have eclipsed the
certified systems when it comes to weather uplink.

The "rat's nest of wires" really isn't the case so much anymore with the
portable systems. With some simple cable management for power, I can
get pretty close to no visible wires. Obviously not as clean as having
everything tucked into the panel, but far from a "rat's nest," and a
heck of a lot less expensive for the exact same information, which is
probably the single largest reason why I invested in a portable system
(it never leaves the airplane).

JKG

[email protected]

July 9th 05, 10:52 PM

On 9-Jul-2005, Jonathan Goodish > wrote:

> The bottom line is that you pay a good bit of money for a certified
> receiver that to pair with a certified GPS that is unable to display
> most of the available weather products. Both the Garmin 396 handheld
> and the various PDA/TabletPC solutions provide more bang for the buck
> for weather uplink in this scenario.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I do not believe that the FAA has any
certification criteria -- or requirements -- for use of weather avoidance
equipment in IFR flight. Certainly there is no "slash suffix" (e.g. "/G"
indicates GPS capability) to indicate weather avoidance gear on the IFR
flight plan. So it really doesn't matter whether the GPS providing input
for display of weather info is certified or not.
--
-Elliott Drucker

Jonathan Goodish

July 9th 05, 11:05 PM

In article <OGXze.6050$xB6.2348@trnddc03>,
wrote:
> Please correct me if I am wrong, but I do not believe that the FAA has any
> certification criteria -- or requirements -- for use of weather avoidance
> equipment in IFR flight. Certainly there is no "slash suffix" (e.g. "/G"
> indicates GPS capability) to indicate weather avoidance gear on the IFR
> flight plan. So it really doesn't matter whether the GPS providing input
> for display of weather info is certified or not.

My comments were referring to the hardware itself, that being the GDL69
paired with a Garmin 430/530, not the operation of the hardware. As far
as I know, weather avoidance is the pilot's responsibility, not the
FAA's.

My point was that you can pay $5000 for the GLD69 to pair with your
existing 430/530 installation, or you can pay $2500 for a PDA or Garmin
396 that can display more weather data than can be displayed on the
430/530.

JKG

Mike Murdock

July 10th 05, 01:14 AM

"Jonathan Goodish" > wrote:

> In particular, since the NEXRAD provided is base reflectivity, ...

Not exactly true. Here's what WxWorx has to say about it (with minor
paraphrasing):
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WxWorx develops their own version of a composite radar picture using the 124
nm base reflectivity from each radar scan (revolution). They arbitrarily
undertake compositing at a five minute interval, compositing the latest scan
and going back in time so that all previous elevations are included (if
there are 14 "cuts" conducted by the radar and it is currently on "cut 4",
we include the latest cut, 4, then all others). The composited image from
each radar is then mosaic-ed for the whole U.S. image."

Each elevation scan or revolution produces a product called base
reflectivity. On a 5 minute schedule, WxWorx uses the most recent scan and
the previous 13 revolutions to build the composite reflectivity image. The
timing is arbitrary which means that the most recent scan may be at some
middle elevation. So when the timer goes off, they just dive in and grab the
last scan that completed and the previous 13. Essentially they have
"considered" all elevations by using this method.

The color of the pixel that gets displayed on your screen depends on many
factors. They look at each elevation over the last 13 revolutions (or 5
minutes) and choose the highest reflectivity value. This could have been
from the latest scan or from the oldest scan. You just don't know. They do
this for the entire 124 nm radius. There are other factors that I have not
mentioned that may change what you see (such as clutter filtering.

This is different than the composite reflectivity seen from the NWS SSR-88D
display. WxWorx does not try to align itself with the Scan 1 to Scan N
(called a volume coverage pattern) composite reflectivity image. Obviously
this makes good sense since they are trying to be schedule driven, not
product driven. In most cases, they will produce a product that is taken
from two volume coverage patterns. But who cares? Each elevation is
considered and they can provide the most current product.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They refer to each scan as "base reflectivity", no matter what elevation the
radar is tilted to. The point is that the colors you see in your airplane
represent the highest level of all the different elevations scanned for that
area.

-Mike

Robbie S.

July 10th 05, 02:47 AM

Jon,

I have been using the IPAQ 4705 with the Anywhere weather. Here is my
experience :

Never leave the 4705 or the Garmin GPS10 bluetooth receiver in the plane
after you land. It won't handle high temperatures. I also keep a vent
pointed towards it while airborne. Twice when the weather go really nasty,
the operating system hung up (due to heat) and I had to reboot while
enduring turbulance.

If you go with the 4705, then you must also buy a 1 Gig SD card and install
the Anywhere Weather on it. Once you have it configured the way you want
it, back it up onto the SD card. That way, any time your system hangs, you
can just restore in less than 45 seconds and bring your last configuration
back.

I have a 430 in my Skylane and I use the 4705 as a backup and for XM
weather. They work great for situational awareness.

The newest release of the Anywhere weather is a vast improvement over the
last release. Seeing is believing. If you want a live demo, I am local in
Indy and can show it to you.

Good Luck.

....Robbie.

"Jon Kraus" > wrote in message
...
>I have looked at it but was scared off by the $5000.00 price tag.
>
> Jon Kraus
>
> Jim N. wrote:
>> If you already have a 430, have you looked at the GDL69? It downlinks
>> near realtime Nexrad radar along with graphical metars.
>>
>> An added bonus is XM satellite radio, which has better than CD quality
>> sound and over 110 channels.
>

Jonathan Goodish

July 10th 05, 03:10 AM

In article >,
"Mike Murdock" > wrote:
> They refer to each scan as "base reflectivity", no matter what elevation the
> radar is tilted to. The point is that the colors you see in your airplane
> represent the highest level of all the different elevations scanned for that
> area.

I'm not sure of the source of your information, since you didn't provide
a direct reference, and it doesn't seem to appear on the WxWorx web
site. Certainly, none of the information that WxWorx provides on their
web site confirms that a composite reflectivity image is provided, and
the information that you provide suggests that the image is a base
reflectivity image with some "educated guessing" involved in order to
attempt to paint a composite-like picture using some base reflectivity
data. However, I'm not a radar expert, so perhaps I'm misinterpreting
something along the way.

I have never put the WxWorx and NWS products side by side to see how
they compare. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has done
such a comparison. WxWorx seems to be somewhat guarded about the
details, or at least I haven't found a good source for the details yet.

I have heard that WxWorx does a pretty good job of painting the heavy
and severe stuff with yellows and reds, but I've personally had some
yellow cells sneak up on me all of a sudden in a sea of green. Seems
that echo tops (which I had turned off at the time) may have shown a
higher-level return before the cells actually painted yellow on the
NEXRAD image.

JKG

Jonathan Goodish

July 10th 05, 03:14 AM

In article >,
"Robbie S." > wrote:
> Never leave the 4705 or the Garmin GPS10 bluetooth receiver in the plane
> after you land. It won't handle high temperatures. I also keep a vent
> pointed towards it while airborne. Twice when the weather go really nasty,
> the operating system hung up (due to heat) and I had to reboot while
> enduring turbulance.

I've heard of the lock-ups, though I have a 4705 and haven't experienced
them. I've heard from folks who have had their 4705's replaced by HP
under warranty, and the replacement ones are less prone to lock ups. I
haven't heard anyone complain about the new Dells locking up, and the
Dells are less expensive, but I'm not sure about their durability or
performance.

JKG

Robbie S.

July 10th 05, 03:35 AM

The Dells are much slower than the IPAQ 4705. The heat problem is well
documented for the 4705, but the real problem was not knowing. Now that I
know, I don't have any issues with it and the whole setup works like a
charm.

....Robbie.

>
> I've heard of the lock-ups, though I have a 4705 and haven't experienced
> them. I've heard from folks who have had their 4705's replaced by HP
> under warranty, and the replacement ones are less prone to lock ups. I
> haven't heard anyone complain about the new Dells locking up, and the
> Dells are less expensive, but I'm not sure about their durability or
> performance.
>
>
>
>
> JKG

Jonathan Goodish

July 10th 05, 04:06 AM

In article >,
"Robbie S." > wrote:

> The Dells are much slower than the IPAQ 4705. The heat problem is well
> documented for the 4705, but the real problem was not knowing. Now that I
> know, I don't have any issues with it and the whole setup works like a
> charm.

Even the Dell Axim x50v? It appears to have the same processor specs as
the 4705, but a slightly smaller display.

In any case, I think the key with the 4705 is to keep air circulation
going when the ambient temperatures are high. I haven't had a problem
with it regardless, but I did a clean install of AnywhereWx a while ago
and immediately performed a backup. So hopefully, if I ever need to
hard reset, I can restore the system fairly quickly.

JKG

Andrew Gideon

July 11th 05, 01:50 AM

Jonathan Goodish wrote:

> Not to mention that you only get NEXRAD and METARs on the 430/530
> displays, unless Garmin has changed something recently.

What I was told a number of months back is that, once a 430/530 is upgraded
for WAAS, the additional WX features of the XM feed will be supported.
Whether this was ever actually, or still is, true is unknown.

But it does make sense to me, in that the WAAS upgrade is a significant
system improvement from what I've read even ignoring the actual WAAS
service. Perhaps the 430/530 haven't the power to handle/display all that
the GDL69 can provide w/o that upgrade.

- Andrew