paul kgyy wrote:
I fly in the Chicago area and sometimes find it awkward on a busy
frequency to break in to tell the controller that I need to check ATIS
at my destination. I've tried listening to both ATIS and ATC at the
same time but have never been able to make that work very well.

I do have the Garmin 396 and can pull up the METAR on that, but my
concern is that's not always timely.

Any other ideas?

Pick up ATIS the first time you get handed off within reception range of
ATIS. You've got a little bit of time between signing off with the
previous controller and the next controller expecting you to have signed
in with him. You can even turn down your primary comm radio while you
get the ATIS, since no one will call you until you check in unless you
are really tardy. Just don't forget to turn it back up before transmitting.