Garmin 296 or Airmap 2000C ?

Hi everybody -

I'm in the market for a handheld aviation GPS , and have narrowed down
to the Airmap 2000C & Garmin 296. I need color & terrain mapping ,
which both have.

Try as I will though , I can't find an honest comparision of the two ;
retailers push both (for obvious reasons).

The strange thing is that their prices seem to differ significantly.
Sample prices -
Garmin 296 (with inbuilt terrain mapping) = $1500 (aprox)
Airmap 2000C (plus terrain mapping extra) = $1100 (aprox)

All you enlightened folks...which should I choose and why ?


regards
Pavan Bhatnagar

Well Pavan... my .02...

We comparison shopped 18 mos ago, and chose the AM 1000.
Bigger screen, excellent RAM mount and all those who had one
.....well, not one negative comment.

Al we heard about was Garmin, Garmin, etc....but when we ASKED
the owners, the pilots that we heard from were very satisfied with
the Lowrance and were , umm.... mostly quite happy with the Garmin
units.

So... we tried a 196 in a Cessna here, ...what a tiny screen!
(In comparison) and tiny buttons. If all the air around here was
smooth, the small screen and buttons would not be a problem.

The AM fastens to the yoke with that EXCELLENT RAM mount, and
I can operate it with my big thumbs while holding on to the yoke..

The AM, yoke and my thumbs move as a unit in rough air, and I
rarely "miss" a button ...

Sad note, our AM 1000 died completely at 16 months, out of
warranty.

Shipped back to Lowrance (Canada) on a Thursday, inspected on
Monday, could not be repaired at their depot, so they will send me a
new replacement for $299 (Cdn) I made a deal to trade up to the AM
2000 Colour for another $100.

(I thought this was a great deal,---- less than the difference
between selling the 1000 and buying the new 2000)

Well.... the colour unit is all I expected and more!

Screen a little smaller (same case) , and battery life is
about 3 hrs compared to the AM 1000's 5 hrs.

We use ours on the Aircraft 12 Volt supply, so this is not a
concern. We treat the internal batts as emergency supply ONLY, and
carry extra.

Lowarnce service and phone help/guidance has been superb,
they (on the phone) seem knowledgeable and helpful, the mapping
("MapCreate"), downloads and upgrades all work as advertised.

I am told there will be a software upgrade for the Sat
weather, but so far Lowrance cannot confirm this , so don't quote me
here...

We are really happy with the performance and support of the
Lowrance product...

Dave


.. .On 19 Sep 2005 14:54:24 -0700, wrote:


Hi everybody -

I'm in the market for a handheld aviation GPS , and have narrowed down
to the Airmap 2000C & Garmin 296. I need color & terrain mapping ,
which both have.

Try as I will though , I can't find an honest comparision of the two ;
retailers push both (for obvious reasons).

The strange thing is that their prices seem to differ significantly.
Sample prices -
Garmin 296 (with inbuilt terrain mapping) = $1500 (aprox)
Airmap 2000C (plus terrain mapping extra) = $1100 (aprox)

All you enlightened folks...which should I choose and why ?


regards
Pavan Bhatnagar

On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 22:42:41 -0300, Dave
wrote:

Sad note, our AM 1000 died completely at 16 months, out of
warranty.

Ah well, you should have bought a Garmin!

Reminds me of the Saab owner who was singing the praises of his mark.
"Every time I take it in for service, the dealer gives me a loaner
car!"

Erm, yes, but if you'd bought a Honda, you wouldn't be taking it in
for service!


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

In article ,
Cub Driver wrote:
Reminds me of the Saab owner who was singing the praises of his mark.
"Every time I take it in for service, the dealer gives me a loaner
car!"

Erm, yes, but if you'd bought a Honda, you wouldn't be taking it in
for service!


Honestly, that's a myth. Hondas need service just like any other make.
Hondas have unscheduled problems just like any other make. Hondas have
recalls just like any other make. We used to own one.


As for GPSes, I do agree. We've owned both Lowrance and Garmin, and
liked the Lowrance slightly better, but Lowrance just doesn't seem to be
as serious about the aviation market as Garmin. Garmins have better
resale value, and hold their value much better over time. I feel that
Garmin supports their product better than Lowrance over the life of the
product.


JKG

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 08:38:11 -0400, Jonathan Goodish wrote:

[snip]
As for GPSes, I do agree. We've owned both Lowrance and Garmin, and
liked the Lowrance slightly better, but Lowrance just doesn't seem to be
as serious about the aviation market as Garmin. Garmins have better
resale value, and hold their value much better over time. I feel that
Garmin supports their product better than Lowrance over the life of the
product.


JKG

Of course they do! They charge more for their product and when its out of
warranty, they charge for more to have the unit serviced. The cost
difference will buy you a brand new Lowrance...assuming Lowrance's service
doesn't allow you to upgrade with trade in.

Greg

In article ,
Greg Copeland wrote:
Of course they do! They charge more for their product and when its out of
warranty, they charge for more to have the unit serviced. The cost
difference will buy you a brand new Lowrance...assuming Lowrance's service
doesn't allow you to upgrade with trade in.

The Garmins may cost more, but they are better supported and usually
have more features. In 8 years of owning my Garmin 195, I never once
had to send it back to the factory for any type of defect, and Garmin
still publishes Jepp database updates for it. The comparable Lowrance
unit 8 years ago was the AirMap 300, which I also owned, and which
Lowrance abandoned shortly thereafter.

The Garmin 296 has provided features for a couple of years now that the
AirMap 2000c does not yet possess. Lowrance does not have a product to
compete with the Garmin 396. It's up to the individual to decide what's
important. Lowrance does support airport taxi diagrams on its newer
units, which I think is a big deal if you fly into larger airports.



JKG

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 08:38:11 -0400, Jonathan Goodish
wrote:

Hondas have unscheduled problems just like any other make.

My four Hondas, owned over a course of 15 years (usually two at a
time), had fewer repairs that this guy's Saab in three years. Three of
the four Hondas never had a repair other to the exhaust system, this
being considered a disposable part in New Hampshire like sparkplugs.
I drove one of the former Hondas 10 years and the other 12 years; the
two others are still going strong after 3 years (no repairs) and 8
years (none but exhaust).

I have become a bit religous about them. I appreciate that Toyotas are
also good, and that all cars have become more durable in since about
1990, but my experience with the Honda mark has been almost magical.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

I have had a similar experience with Town Cars... (on my 3rd,
since 1985)

Yeh, I keep them a long time...

These big "Rincolns" are boiler plate cars... and will
haul ass AND freight... (and boats, campers and travel trailers)

...over 30 mpg is easy on the hwy even if your foot is in
it...

Drove in one 4 yrs ago (airport limo in Toronto) that was
being "retired" at the end of the week with 1,325,000 kilometers on
it....

BTW, I have a friend who is a technician at a Honda
dealership. He says he and 7 others make a good living fixing brand
new Hondas...

Around here (Eastern Canada) MOST brands are quite good these
days, - locally the Chrysler products seem to be a bit on the low
end, with Jeeps being the most pain...

Quality of the DEALER is a large factor as well...

And this could all change next year.....

YMMV!

Dave



On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 06:58:12 -0400, Cub Driver
wrote:

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 08:38:11 -0400, Jonathan Goodish
wrote:

Hondas have unscheduled problems just like any other make.

My four Hondas, owned over a course of 15 years (usually two at a
time), had fewer repairs that this guy's Saab in three years. Three of
the four Hondas never had a repair other to the exhaust system, this
being considered a disposable part in New Hampshire like sparkplugs.
I drove one of the former Hondas 10 years and the other 12 years; the
two others are still going strong after 3 years (no repairs) and 8
years (none but exhaust).

I have become a bit religous about them. I appreciate that Toyotas are
also good, and that all cars have become more durable in since about
1990, but my experience with the Honda mark has been almost magical.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 07:34:32 -0400, Cub Driver wrote:

On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 22:42:41 -0300, Dave
wrote:

Sad note, our AM 1000 died completely at 16 months, out of
warranty.

Ah well, you should have bought a Garmin!

Hehe. My father bought a Garmin 295, right before they started to phase
them out. His is out of warranty with not many hours (maybe 30-40) on it
and it died. He never got much use out of it because shortly after he
bought it, he had a Garmin 430 installed in his 172. He sent the 295 to
Garmin. For *only* $600 bucks, they'll kindly give it a good going over
and send it back to him. The guy with the Lowrance paid $300 for a brand
new unit, which included an upgrade to their latest model. Hmmm....should
of bought a Garmin indeed...

Just FYI, shortly after he sold his 172, the display on the 430 went out.
It had to be sent to Garmin for service. Long story short, if you think
buying Garmin means superior quality then you are sadly mistaken. From
where I'm sitting, they seem to all be on the same quality page...each
with excellent service...yet you pay less for Lowrance. The only down
side to buying Lowrance, as far as I can tell, is that it makes your
wallet "fatter", which has been proven to cause back problems...

Greg

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 08:57:07 -0500, Greg Copeland wrote:
[snip]

Quick follow up on this. My father got his 295 back from Garmin. They
seviced the unit for no fee.

Greg