GPSMAP 195/196 vs. Lowrance AIPMAP 1000

Please excuse me for cross posting. There are two separate
discussions going on about the Lowrance Airmap 1000.
Mike,
I just bought an Airmap 1000. I placed a pirep over on rec.
aviation.piloting last night. I've never flown with a 195 or 196. It
sounds like they are very nice, but cost more than I wanted to pay. I
used to have an Airmap 100 and liked it for the intuitive interface.
I'm a vfr pilot and use the Lowrance obstruction database often. As
of yet I haven't used the AM 1000 unit to it's full capabilities and
still have much to learn. It is very easy to use but is much more
configurable than the 100. It came with a MapCreate CD set to add
even more detail to the charts. It has a full phone book and poi,
(places of interest) search feature. It came with a suction cup RAM
mount and a RAM yoke mount. I never have had much luck with the
suction cup mounts and the yoke mount would've worked but I actually
used the old Airmap 100 yoke mount because it positioned the unit
further away from me when the yoke was pulled fully back. It was also
at a better angle and didn't interfere with anything on the panel.
Battery life is said to be about 12 hours at the normal settings.
There are battery saver settings that can extend that time but
decrease position accuracy and update frequency. If you have found
the 1000 for $625, then that is a good buy. I paid $725. I probably
should have waited until Sun and Fun to see if prices dropped more but
I'm so spoiled by my old unit that I consider a backup gps a potential
safety of flight issue. Unfortunately, I was going to load the Map
Create software on my computer and play with it today but I found that
the CD set they shipped me has two of the same East coast CD so I'll
have to check their customer service to see if they'll make it right.
Jay Honeck says he's disappointed in the Lowrance support because they
dropped the 300. I never had to use their support until now, so we'll
see what happens. Lowrance has a downloadable AM 1000 simulator on
their website. Garmin may have one as well if you'd like to fly
before you buy. To me it boils down to how much do you have to spend
and what features are most important to you.

Joe Schneider
Cherokee 8437R

"Mike Spera" wrote in message
...
Thanks for everyone's replies on the 195 vs. 196 question.

Went in to look over a Garmin 196 and also looked at the Lowrance
unit.
I found that every advertisement for the 196 showed every page
EXCEPT a
map. Curious, I thought. When I called up the map page on the 196, I
found it to be difficult to read. Played around with the contrast
and
such, but it still never looked quite "right". Maybe it was because
I
was inside a store that had pretty dim lighting. I probably should
have
spent more time with various decluttering options.

Anyway, I set it down and started up the Lowrance unit and was
surprised
that it was MUCH easier to read. Even with the same level of detail
(aka
"clutter"), the Lowrance was easier to read. Well, it IS a bigger
screen.

I then played around with the various menus, pages, features etc. on
both units without cracking open either manual. I figure that any
piece
of computer equipment that requires you to read the manual to get at
its
basic functions is not worth my investment. Curiously, again, the
Lowrance unit was a bit easier to navigate. Remember, I am currently
using a 10 year old unit. For better or worse, the Lowrance unit
seems
more aligned with my old Apollo. There is a higher similarity of the
actual buttons and what they accomplish.

But, the Lowrance will not do the "turn by turn" street navigation
that
the Garmin will do (once you pay the stiff additional $250 for the
"kit"). But, the Lowrance appeared to go down to the street level
for
many cities right out of the box, the Garmin does not do this
without
the "kit". So, I could use the Lowrance to find my way around on the
ground, but it will not do the turn by turn navigation. I would have
to
pan around the map and make up a plan. Am I correct on this?

I really want to buy a quality unit because I will probably keep it
for
a LOOOOOOONG time. I also don't want to cheap out and buy a "second
string" unit. The Lowrance unit can be had for about $625, the
Garmin is
$875 without the additional street kit. In aviation, I have learned
that
less expensive is usually not a better value. I know that Garmin has
a
rock solid reputation for quality units and support. Can the same be
said of Lowrance? I lost GPS lock on my old Apollo about 3 times in
the
last 7 years, and this was only for about 10-15 seconds. I use the
external antenna tossed up on the top of the glareshield
(unsecured).
How will the Garmin and Lowrance units do under similar usage?

The Garmin mount looked much better than the Lowrance. Also, the
Garmin
unit snaps in and out of the mount, the Lowrance causes you to back
off
the screws, or back off the main socket extension to get it out. I
never
leave the unit in the plane when it is tied down over night.

Even though I have my doubts, and the Lowrance has some limitations,
AND
it is less expensive (not necessarily a "good" thing), I still LIKE
the
Lowrance.

Anyone ever use both of these units and can compare them?

Thanks again,
Mike




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Jay Honeck says he's disappointed in the Lowrance support because they
dropped the 300.

A bit more precisely, I'm disappointed because they dropped their *support*
of the Airmap 300, after just 48 months.

When the airport database in my 300 decided to no longer function, Lowrance
informed me that they could not fix the problem.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay,

Hmm. Their website at http://www.lei-extras.com/store/search.asp shows
current aviation database updates for the Airmap 300 available for 75 $
(single update, subscription is 61 $). Not sure what the problem is.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Hmm. Their website at http://www.lei-extras.com/store/search.asp shows
current aviation database updates for the Airmap 300 available for 75 $
(single update, subscription is 61 $). Not sure what the problem is.

My 300 will no longer recognize that -- or any other -- database.

Without even looking at it, Lowrance diagnosed it as a "chip" problem. It's
apparently a very common problem with the 300.

They told me they can no longer obtain that particular chip. Thus, the 300
is orphaned.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 19:57:10 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:


They told me they can no longer obtain that particular chip. Thus, the 300
is orphaned.

I have the 100. I found that the restore function was failing (it kept
dropping routes). I finally figured it happened when ever certain
VOR's were in the route. I reported it to Lowrance and got a reply
that they confirmed the problem and would look into it. A couple of
weeks later they sent me an email saying that aviation was not a big
enough part of their revenue to make fixing it worthwhile. I am still
using my Airmap 100, but my next GPS will not come from Lowrance.