Garmin GpsMap 396 - Flight Test

Dan wrote:
I inquired to Garmin Tech support about our problems and got the
following response about clearing the almanac. Probably worth a shot.


Dan,

I spoke with Garmin today and got the same reply today. I followed the
procedure to reset the almanac and it took maybe 20 minutes to
complete. I also discussed a problem I am have having with my
lightspeed thirty 3Gs where I get a squeal through the headset when
attached to the 396 when the 396 is plugged in to the cig. lighter.

The support guy suggested I try a ground loop isolator between the 396
and the headset battery box. He mentioned RadioShack, but theirs does
not natively support the 3.5mm (1/8 inch) jack (RS requires a cable
adaptor). I did find a product at crutchfield.com ( 127SNI135 PAC
SNI-1/3.5 Minijack Ground Loop Isolator) that has female / male 3.5 mm
jacks. They web site has 5 testimonials, 2 from 396 owners, asserting
it solved all problems with using the 396's XM radio in the cockpit. I
ordered one today for about $18.00 + $6 shipping. I'll post a reply
next week with the result, but it looks promising.

-Bernie

wrote:
Dan wrote:
I inquired to Garmin Tech support about our problems and got the
following response about clearing the almanac. Probably worth a shot.


Dan,

I spoke with Garmin today and got the same reply today. I followed the
procedure to reset the almanac and it took maybe 20 minutes to
complete.

I flew today with the newly rebuilt almanac and had no loss of sat.
lock in 2 hours of flying. The GPS page showed much better reception
then before. The almanac rebuild looks like it has had a positive
effect on GPS performance.

-Bernie