XM question for Garmin 396/496 owers

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
newssUrk.310590$yE1.222838@attbi_s21...
Yes, yes, and yes. Everything -- airspace, navigation, and radar
returns --
can be shown on the same map. (You can add satellite, too.)
Sadly, the 496's screen is so little that it's difficult to see any of
this
great stuff.

That's because you have your 496 mounted in the dock in your panel.
I use a RAM suction cup mount to place the 496 within 12-inches of my
face. I don't like the yoke mount that comes with the 496.

Even before I had it panel docked (which, BTW, makes it more -- not
less -- readable, by putting it at nearly eye-level) that dinky screen
drove me nuts. I like your suction mount solution better than a yoke
mount (which I -- like most people -- used), though. When it was yoke
mounted I couldn't scrunch down far enough to "make the screen bigger by
getting closer" -- especially with old(er) eyes. Now, if needed, the
co-pilot can stick their face right up to that miniscule screen.

I take the opposite view of the 496. I like it because it has a small
screen. I have mine mounted on the yoke, which is where I prefer it. It is
convenient there, doesn't get in the way, and is easy to read. If it had a
bigger screen, the problem becomes where do you put it? The G1000 has a
huge MFD, but it's all the way over on the co-pilot's side and is
inconvenient for the pilot to manipulate. The older Bonanzas with their
yoke configuration has a nice place to mount a tablet PC, which is a great
mounting location. However if you don't have that type of yoke, you are out
of luck. I don't particularly like the interface for the tablet PC XM
weather applications anyway and prefer Garmin's approach, but that just may
be because I've used Garmin products for so long.

"John Smith" wrote in message
...
What are the weather overlay capabilities of these units? Can you
overlay
a radar map on top of your airspace map? Across a route you are
navigating?

Think of the presentation you see when you go to aviationweather.gov.
That is pretty much what you get on the 496.

It does look something like that, but there is a difference that most people
don't know about that makes a huge difference.

XM has their own very powerful weather processor rather than use the NWS's
processing functions. What this means is they are taking the raw scan data
and developing their own composite. The NWS waits until all scans are
finished and then they process all of them at once. The result is the
weather 'jumps' every few minutes when the update is performed and the new
composite is developed. XM processes each scan as it comes in and updates
accordingly. The result is a much faster update.

The 496 has a faster processor and updates faster when you are switching
views. IMO that's the biggest advantage although there are a few bells
and whistles you get with the 496 not found on the 396.

Yes -- although the 496 is still painfully slow to use. Scrolling is an
exercise in patience and frustration, and work-arounds to this problem are
unsatisfactory.

Hopefully a future iteration will address this issue, but -- as long as
there is no direct competition from Lowrance or AvMap -- there is little
incentive for Garmin to improve such a niche product.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
Ercoupe N94856
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in
news:ms3sk.311329$yE1.83256@attbi_s21:

The 496 has a faster processor and updates faster when you are
switching views. IMO that's the biggest advantage although there are
a few bells and whistles you get with the 496 not found on the 396.

Yes -- although the 496 is still painfully slow to use.

Perfect for you. It will match the speed of your tiny mind.


Bertie

Thanks for the XM weather processing info, Mike. I didn't know that.

I have my 496 on the yoke, using a RAM mount. I agree the location and
screen size are just right.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:IvKrk.309937$yE1.95597@attbi_s21...
What are the weather overlay capabilities of these units? Can you
overlay a radar map on top of your airspace map? Across a route you are
navigating?

Yes, yes, and yes. Everything -- airspace, navigation, and radar
returns -- can be shown on the same map. (You can add satellite, too.)

Sadly, the 496's screen is so little that it's difficult to see any of
this great stuff.


Horse****. You can see it fine all if you put it on the yoke where it
belongs.

Note to newbies: Honeck dogged Garmin until he realized the 496 beat the
crap out of anything else that would tell him where the hairy stuff was,
then he had to buy one.

Now he has to whine about the screen size or whatever, nitpicking in an
effort to avoid admitting he's been full of **** all along. IOW, typical
Honeck.

On Aug 24, 6:25*pm, "f-newguy" wrote:
"Jay Honeck" wrote in message

news:IvKrk.309937$yE1.95597@attbi_s21...

What are the weather overlay capabilities of these units? *Can you
overlay a radar map on top of your airspace map? Across a route you are
navigating?

Yes, yes, and yes. *Everything -- airspace, navigation, and radar
returns -- *can be shown on the same map. *(You can add satellite, too.)

Sadly, the 496's screen is so little that it's difficult to see any of
this great stuff.

Horse****. *You can see it fine all if you put it on the yoke where it
belongs.

Note to newbies: *Honeck dogged Garmin until he realized the 496 beat the
crap out of anything else that would tell him where the hairy stuff was,
then he had to buy one.

Now he has to whine about the screen size or whatever, *nitpicking in an
effort to avoid admitting he's been full of **** all along. * IOW, typical
Honeck.

I think the 496 id the greatest gagget ever made. Its an amazing
piece. the size is fine if u have your glasses on.

Kyle Boatright wrote:
What are the weather overlay capabilities of these units? Can you
overlay a radar map on top of your airspace map? Across a route you are
navigating?

The reason I ask is that the Bendix/King AV8OR I have does not have
these capabilities and I'm trying to get a better understanding of what
capabilities I'm forgoing by choosing the AV8OR over a Garmin product.



https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=156&pID=6426

Jay Maynard wrote:
On 2008-08-23, John Smith wrote:
That's because you have your 496 mounted in the dock in your panel.
I use a RAM suction cup mount to place the 496 within 12-inches of my
face. I don't like the yoke mount that comes with the 496.
I zoom in and out to obtain the best weather picture as necessary.

That's one reason my 496 is mounted on the center console, to the front of
the map case/arm rest. It's a lot more redaable there. The other reason is
that there's not a lot of other places to put it in the Zodiac...


There would be Jay if you didn't have the Avionics stack out of a G-V in
there.

Note to newbies: Honeck dogged Garmin until he realized the 496 beat the
crap out of anything else that would tell him where the hairy stuff was,
then he had to buy one.

Wow -- is that even English?

I don't know who you are, "F-Guy", but I calls 'em as I see 'em. I've
owned and flown behind half a dozen GPS's, from Magellans to Lowrances, from
AvMaps to Garmins -- and I'm here to tell you that the 496 is an incredibly
over-priced piece of crap, with ONE major, unequivocally outstanding
feature -- seamless, built-in XM satellite weather.

Were it not for XM capability, the 496 would be an almost laughably bad GPS.
It would also no longer be made, as no one would have bought it. Sadly,
because there is no other logical alternative, I won't fly without it on
board -- but the moment AvMap or Lowrance matches Garmin's XM capability,
the 496 will be on Ebay.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
Ercoupe N94856
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"