Kevin Black wrote:
Hi,

Firstly I'm in Australia and VFR. I have a Garmin III Pilot, but am also
about to purchase an iPaq PDA. Rather than upgrade to a colour GARMIN
(296/396) at megabucks I thought I could get similar functionality using
the PDA. Costings seem to be PDA nil (it's a sunk cost I'm going to buy
it anyway), Bluetooth GPS AUS$100 or so on e-bay, and the software
(Anywhere map special US$95 and NavGPS US$290).

The Anywheremap seems the standout bargain, at current exchange rates
I'm looking at about an all up cost of AUS$232 for software and GPS.

I'm e-mailing both companies with these questions, but I'm pretty darned
sure they will recommend their own product. For those that have used
either or both (and compared to say a G296):

1. Which of these two would you buy, and why?
2. Functionality compared to Garmin's offering?
3. Ease of use compared to Garmin?
4. Base mapping (Garmin has the intl Pacific Base map for Aus). The
Jepp DB has all of the avaiation info including control zones etc etc.
Do these systems have at least the same info depicted?
5. Updates - If I don't update the Garmin it still works with the 'old'
database. Do these keep functioning without updating the database. I
have no real reason to update more than once a year or so?
6. Any other advice much appreciated....

reply to group or kevinblack at bigblue dot net dot au.

Thanks,
Kevin
Thank to all for your excellent advice, given me something (actually a
lot) to think about.

The GIII Pilot is a great little unit for VFR use and I'd want the same
sort of functionality. Having said that I'm a little confused at some
of the comments regarding use of GPS for VFR flying. I use the GPS as
to navigate my VFR routes. I have the charts etc as a backup. I use
other NAV aids (ADF/VOR). Whether you say I'm using it as the 'primary'
form of navigation - moot point. E6B calculation errors, wrongly
calculated bearings, wrong markup on map, map sails out of open window,
E6B falls to floor, stuffing around refolding chart..... why is this
vastly superior to a modern GPS, I don't get it. Each have their short
comings and point(s) of failure, be aware and be alert. And just because
a GPS is certified doesn't mean it cannot fail yet IFR GPS approaches
are part of the norm....

I'm doing what you have suggested, downloading as much demo/trail stuff
as I can, hopefully this will give me a feel for the look/feel of the
software.

Again, thanks all for your advice - the big bugaboo for still seems to
be the quality of the data for Aus - with the Garmin etc stuff it's the
Jebb DB so not an issue. I wonder if there's any of the PDA systems
that use the Jepp DB??

Thanks,
Kevin