Garmin 396 Glitch??

"Alexandros" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello to all - especially Dan Luke,

I had already my battery to normal and not saver mode....
But still no luck

It seems their support in not at the same level of quality like their
devices (when they have no problems)....

I am thinking to get rid of the device and choose another brand...

Like what?? AFAIK there is no other brand that competes with the 396.
--


Darrel Goheen

http://www.tvnav.com

Stick around, within 2 and at most 3 years the 396 will be obsolete.
ADS-B right now works on the East coast from New Jersey to Florida and
in a few other places. The momentum is just starting to pick up.
Several companies, Garmin among them, have announced they will be
bringing to market these new products. The weather that will be offered
won't be quite as extensive as XM's but it will be free. You will also
be able to display traffic, also for free.

tvnav.com wrote:

"Alexandros" wrote in message
oups.com...

Hello to all - especially Dan Luke,

I had already my battery to normal and not saver mode....
But still no luck

It seems their support in not at the same level of quality like their
devices (when they have no problems)....

I am thinking to get rid of the device and choose another brand...


Like what?? AFAIK there is no other brand that competes with the 396.

I would agree... 2-3 years should lead to obselescence. Except that
Garmin really hit an aviation sweet spot with this one. Surely there
will be competitors (turn-key fully integrated GPS/Weather systems) with
advantages over the 396 but I'm guessing that the 396 will still be a
fine machine in 2 - 3 years. We'll see.

My first few experiences blew me away.
Newps wrote:
Stick around, within 2 and at most 3 years the 396 will be obsolete.
ADS-B right now works on the East coast from New Jersey to Florida and
in a few other places. The momentum is just starting to pick up.
Several companies, Garmin among them, have announced they will be
bringing to market these new products. The weather that will be offered
won't be quite as extensive as XM's but it will be free. You will also
be able to display traffic, also for free.

tvnav.com wrote:

"Alexandros" wrote in message
oups.com...

Hello to all - especially Dan Luke,

I had already my battery to normal and not saver mode....
But still no luck

It seems their support in not at the same level of quality like their
devices (when they have no problems)....

I am thinking to get rid of the device and choose another brand...



Like what?? AFAIK there is no other brand that competes with the 396.

Maule Driver wrote:
I would agree... 2-3 years should lead to obselescence. Except that
Garmin really hit an aviation sweet spot with this one. Surely there
will be competitors (turn-key fully integrated GPS/Weather systems) with
advantages over the 396 but I'm guessing that the 396 will still be a
fine machine in 2 - 3 years. We'll see.

What will make it obsolete is having to pay for weather. Take away the
XM and you have a 296.

In article ,
Newps wrote:
I would agree... 2-3 years should lead to obselescence. Except that
Garmin really hit an aviation sweet spot with this one. Surely there
will be competitors (turn-key fully integrated GPS/Weather systems) with
advantages over the 396 but I'm guessing that the 396 will still be a
fine machine in 2 - 3 years. We'll see.

What will make it obsolete is having to pay for weather. Take away the
XM and you have a 296.


I'm not sure what ADS-B provides as far as weather, but the XM service
is pretty comprehensive--I doubt that ADS-B will provide all of the same
information.

In addition, ADS-B doesn't provide an entertainment services like XM
radio, for those who might use it.

I'm not sure how ADS-B is delivered, but my guess is that it won't be as
portable or versatile as the XM service.

The bottom line is that the 396 and XM weather service will probably
continue to be very useful even after ADS-B is fully deployed, whenever
that may be.



JKG

Jonathan Goodish wrote:



I'm not sure what ADS-B provides as far as weather, but the XM service
is pretty comprehensive--I doubt that ADS-B will provide all of the same
information.

You're right, XM provides more, but not $30 more per month, much less $50.



In addition, ADS-B doesn't provide an entertainment services like XM
radio, for those who might use it.

I have an XM radio in my plane now. Although XM in the 396 works it is
a secondary function and as such is not all that convenient to use.



I'm not sure how ADS-B is delivered, but my guess is that it won't be as
portable or versatile as the XM service.

It will be delivered by many hundreds of ground transmitters and will be
available in handhelds like the 396 as well as PDA's. Versatility is up
to the software designers. I would expect it to be the same as the 396.

In article ,
Newps wrote:
I'm not sure what ADS-B provides as far as weather, but the XM service
is pretty comprehensive--I doubt that ADS-B will provide all of the same
information.

You're right, XM provides more, but not $30 more per month, much less $50.

Not sure that I agree with your assessment. I subscribe to the $50 XM
option and have found almost every element provided to be very useful.
Not to mention that Baron seems to do a decent job with data quality--I
wonder where the data from ADS-B comes from.

I just don't understand the whining that I hear everywhere about the
cost of XM weather. In an era where folks pay close to $100/month for
cable television, give a cell phone to every pre-teen in their
household, and drive huge SUVs, I can't understand where the pain of
paying $30-$50/month for weather uplink is coming from. It's not for
everyone, but frequent flyers can certainly benefit from it.



In addition, ADS-B doesn't provide an entertainment services like XM
radio, for those who might use it.

I have an XM radio in my plane now. Although XM in the 396 works it is
a secondary function and as such is not all that convenient to use.

Actually, I think it's pretty intuitive. Garmin did a good job with the
integration, though it's not quite as convenient for things like channel
selection. But it is a nice, integrated package that works well.



I'm not sure how ADS-B is delivered, but my guess is that it won't be as
portable or versatile as the XM service.

It will be delivered by many hundreds of ground transmitters and will be
available in handhelds like the 396 as well as PDA's. Versatility is up
to the software designers. I would expect it to be the same as the 396.

Until those "hundreds of transmitters" are live and active, ADS-B is
pretty much moot. I doubt in 2-3 years we will see widespread ADS-B
available as we have XM available today. And, I wonder what happens to
your data if you're out of range of a transmitter?

The bottom line is that I firmly believe that there will be a strong
market for XM weather for a long time to come. I suspect that Baron/XM
will provide more, better quality information, that some folks will
always be willing to pay for. Once the ADS-B system is live and the
receivers have had time to mature, I'm sure that it will be a great
system, but that all isn't going to happen overnight.



JKG

"Newps" wrote in message
...
Stick around, within 2 and at most 3 years the 396 will be obsolete.

I don't know if it will be obsolete or what your definition of obsolete
is but I'm sure Garmin will have a better unit than the 396 by then.
--


Darrel Goheen

http://www.tvnav.com

Regarding Garmin Support:

I must admit that have to recall my posting 'It seems their support in
not at the same level of quality like their devices (when they have no
problems).... ', since I have been contacted and offered superior
service lately.

I have to say that I'm glad you've had that experience.

Dispite my frustration over the box crapping out on me and wasting time
getting the issue resolved, Garmin service, in retrospect, was good. I
called, they answered, limited wait time, a seemingly knowledgeable
person all 3 times (despite the fact that they didn't direct me
optimally). Heck, if you can call someone, get the call answered, and
'level 1' support is doing more than reading a script, that's pretty good.

Support isn't easy, zero defect SW isn't easy either. Making a 'wow'
product is priceless.

Can't wait for some more bad weather to circumvent.

Alexandros wrote:
Regarding Garmin Support:

I must admit that have to recall my posting 'It seems their support in
not at the same level of quality like their devices (when they have no
problems).... ', since I have been contacted and offered superior
service lately.