Garmin 496 compared to the 396

In article om,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:

My question is for those of you that have tried out both systems. Is the
496 REALLY worth .6 AMU's more than the 396?

I've only played with the 396 a little, and the 496 for about 15 hours
of actual, in-flight use, so my comments are limited.

One this is certain, however: If the 496's agonizingly slow screen
refresh rate is REALLY "exponentially better" than the 396's, I would
go absolutely nuts trying to use the 396 in-flight.

Mike Granby has provided some rather thoughtful analysis of the
real-world performance difference between the two units, but from what
I've gathered, it isn't too significant. A Google Groups search should
provide the relevant discussions.

In either case, the only good solution that I've found is to zoom out,
then pan over, and zoom back in. That will eliminate the need to scroll
over long distances. You can also go to the route page, select a way
point, and get weather that way. If I want a big picture, I just zoom
out; very little scrolling required.



JKG