New Garmin 396

"Jonathan Goodish" wrote in message

I will be very interested to
hear user reports once they start coming in, but until then, I'd rather
not try to sell a product that hasn't shipped yet.

That is an excellent point. It could well be that when it arrives the smart
antenna is too big to be practical or that the screen is to small to view
the wealth of available information.

On the other hand, Garmin used portable GPS receivers have always held their
value well on the used market. A great feature of portable avionics is that
if you do not like them there is no cost to uninstall them from your
airplane. The risk is not too great to buy a 396 and then sell it used on
Ebay if you do not like it; availability will probably be so tight initially
that the economic risk to doing so will be minimal.

--------------------
Richard Kaplan

www.flyimc.com

In article 1120968238.3ff1e0afbbb3cd058381c5a3d8350c74@teran ews,
"Richard Kaplan" wrote:
That is an excellent point. It could well be that when it arrives the smart
antenna is too big to be practical or that the screen is to small to view
the wealth of available information.


The display is my primary concern. Why would I buy this device,
portability aside, for a primary weather display when the display itself
is lousy?

I am particularly interested to hear how the 396 handles the XM issues
that folks have reported with WxWorx on Wings and other products. I
haven't experienced them myself (knock on wood), but they seem to be
inherent in the XM delivery system, so I doubt that Garmin will be able
to work around them.



JKG

What XM issues?

I used WeatherWorx on Wings for 2 years and now have XM on my EX500 and with
both coverage is rarely more than 5 minutes old.

--------------------
Richard Kaplan

www.flyimc.com

"Richard Kaplan" wrote:
What XM issues?

There have been a few that have required software revisions. I have had
to reboot a few times in the past. Right now it seems nearly bug free on
my gear.

I used WeatherWorx on Wings for 2 years and now have XM on my EX500
and with both coverage is rarely more than 5 minutes old.

When I was using it Friday, the radar button went red for nearly 20
minutes, even though I had a good locked satellite and other features
continued to work. That was the first time I've ever seen that happen.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

In article 1121145299.5ff82c7a61b1b3c0c826f2d0c4394000@teran ews,
"Richard Kaplan" wrote:

What XM issues?

I used WeatherWorx on Wings for 2 years and now have XM on my EX500 and with
both coverage is rarely more than 5 minutes old.


There have been issues with retaining activation, so you fire up your
system and find it not activated, requiring a call to XM to have the
receiver re-activated before you can receive weather. Apparently the
issues are XM issues, but I'm not sure whether the problem is with the
service side or with the receiver. If it's with the receiver, Garmin
may have found a way around the problem if they built their own receiver
or via their code to drive the receiver.

I've heard of the activation issues from both Control Vision and WxWorx
on Wings customers, both of which use the WxWorx receiver hardware. I
haven't ever experienced them myself.




JKG

My understanding is that the activation issue occurs when the XM receiver is
not used for 90 days and the XM system thus suspends the account.

Regardless of whether this is an appropriate "feature," it does speak to my
point about the wires etc. being inconvenient. I suspect a good number of
the affected pilots fly more than once in 90 days but only turn on the XM
receiver on days when significant weather is forecast because it is too much
of a hassle otherwise.


--------------------
Richard Kaplan

www.flyimc.com

In article 1121204022.4aa10b5a2edbb1bcd2266fd346218c74@teran ews,
"Richard Kaplan" wrote:

My understanding is that the activation issue occurs when the XM receiver is
not used for 90 days and the XM system thus suspends the account.


I'm not sure about this particular "feature," but all of the pilots I've
heard mention this issue claim that it can change from day to day.
Activate it today and receive weather, and tomorrow it shows as
unactivated and needs to be re-activated. This seems to be a problem
that's been mentioned on a number of different forums by users with the
WxWorx receiver. However, some users seem to experience it and others
don't, and some of those who have experienced it chronically have had
their XM receivers replaced and no longer have the problem. I've heard
various theories as to what the problem is, but it sounds like it could
be an XM problem that the newer receivers are working around.


JKG

"Richard Kaplan" wrote:
My understanding is that the activation issue occurs when the XM
receiver is not used for 90 days and the XM system thus suspends the
account.

It's happened to me one week after a previous use. Very disconcerting
when there's convective stuff about.

I believe this is an XM, rather than WxWorx issue.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

"Dan Luke" wrote in message

I believe this is an XM, rather than WxWorx issue.

Yes, that is disconcerting. But how can it be an XM issue if it only
happens with certain brands of hardware?


--------------------
Richard Kaplan

www.flyimc.com