"Ardna" wrote in message news:ZtXFc.9738$151.5316@fed1read02...
I know a Google search reveals a lot about the Airmap 500 but I am more
interesting in hearing from people who actually own and use one. I am not
interested in discussions between Lowrance and Garmin and which is better
than the other.

In particular..

1. Battery life is meant to be 12 hours , any personal experiences with
this.

This has been the case with mine. I took it on several cross-country
flights, and changed out the batteries after about 11 hours, before a
4 hour XC, with a reasonable portion of battery life still showing, so
12 hours seems reasonable.

2. The external antenna, anyone had to use it inside the aircraft or is the
unit good by itself on the yoke mount?

I have just used the yoke-mount, sans the external antenna. It has
worked fine, with basically no loss of signal in several different
types of planes, including Cess 172s, Cessna 206s, and Beech 24s. The
only signal loss I saw was a dropout of altitude for about 2 minutes.

3. "high-contrast Film SuperTwist display" is meant to be easier to read in
sunlight, experiences ?

The screen is great. I have never had any issues with it in light
ranging from direct sun to moderate, low-level sunset light. Contrast
range and backlighting are fine.

4. "One Free Database Update" : how much are normal database updates

Beats me. It's not an IFR unit, and the places I fly into don't change
much. I'm pretty certain that Nashville International will be in
basically the same place in a year or so. The 500 doesn't contain
approaches (I believe the 1000 does), so I'm not overly concerned
about database updates. It's only an 'aid' to flight, after all.

5. Anyone had any warranty issues ?

Not yet. had it about 3 months.


Overall, it's a nice unit. I like the obstructions database, and I
like the extended runway feature (almost like a localizer). The HSI
mode is a nice feature and well implemented, although I wish it had a
panel display like the Garmin 196. The features are nice, and the
menuing system is easy to use with one hand.

The Garmin 196 may be a slightly nicer unit simply due to the size of
the display and the panel display (they are quite close in
capability), but costs more than twice the price (when you factor in
buying the yoke mount, external stuff that comes with the Lowrance,
but not with the garmin). It refreshes fast, locks quickly, is pretty
accurate on altitude (due to WAAS, I assume) and has a pretty
reasonable learning curve. Additionally, the manual is very well done.

I'd buy it again with no hesitation.

Cheers,

Cap