Garmin 396 Replacement Antennas

In article .com,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:

Another poster says the 496 antenna has a "known problem" and suggested
I can get Garmin to replace it. I have the same antenna. Hear anything
about this?

Nope.

Mine has only done this the one time. I'm hopeful that it remains a
one-time affair.


The GA25 (I believe) is a known poor performer. If you have the GA26C,
you should be okay. If you don't, you might want to request one from
Garmin.


JKG

"Mike Spera" wrote:


This is a known fault in the remote antennas originally shipped with 496s.
Did you ever call Garmin for the free replacement?


Was that ever acknowledged or published anywhere?

Not to my knowledge, and shame on Garmin for not making a better effort to
notify owners. This is a safety of flight issue, IMO.

Get the model # off your antenna and call them about it.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

"Jay Honeck" wrote:

Another poster says the 496 antenna has a "known problem" and suggested
I can get Garmin to replace it. I have the same antenna. Hear anything
about this?

Nope.

Mine has only done this the one time. I'm hopeful that it remains a
one-time affair.

That's an odd attitude. The antenna design is known to be faulty, a
replacement that works is free, but you're depending on hope to keep your GPS
working properly?

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

I left an e-mail support question to Garmin on Monday night. 9:45
Tuesday morning I got the following reply:
__________________________________________________ _________________________
I first recommend that you update the GPSMAP 396 unit software from the
following link to the Garmin Website:
http://www.garmin.com/support/agree.jsp?id=921. I also recommend that
you use the GPSMAP 396 with the flip up antenna and the external antenna
to see if you experience loss of GPS signals with either of the two
antennas. We will be happy to replace any antenna that is not
acquiring satellites.

Thank you and best regards,

Aaron S
Product Support Specialist
Garmin International
1200 E 151st St
Olathe, KS 66062
Toll Free: 1-800-800-1020
Fax: 913-440-5488
__________________________________________________ _________________________
I checked the link and was surprised to see I was several versions
behind (7 versions in 6 months - YIKES!). Downloaded the latest (3.9)
and loaded it into the unit. I will check it out this weekend. I also
plan to buy another antenna. Given the very intermittent nature of the
failure(s), I may be out of warranty by the time it happens again. And,
I want to have a replacement on hand when it happens. As I said, they
are relatively cheap (about $40 - $50).

If I recall correctly, the original unit I bought would lose lock
immediately upon takeoff pretty regularly. Switching to the stubby did
nothing to correct the problem. I swapped the unit for a new one and it
did the same thing. Updating the SW appeared to make the problem go
away. The "fix" lasted for months. Now it is back again.

I hate intermittent crap...

Mike

In article .net,
Mike Spera wrote:
I checked the link and was surprised to see I was several versions
behind (7 versions in 6 months - YIKES!). Downloaded the latest (3.9)
and loaded it into the unit. I will check it out this weekend. I also
plan to buy another antenna. Given the very intermittent nature of the
failure(s), I may be out of warranty by the time it happens again. And,
I want to have a replacement on hand when it happens. As I said, they
are relatively cheap (about $40 - $50).


Just call them, tell them you're on the latest software, and ask them to
send you another antenna. If you have the GA25 antenna, mention that
you're aware that the GA25 has a history of issues with sat reception,
and that you want the GA26C to which they eventually switched back.

If you have the GA26C already, chances are that your problem isn't the
antenna.



JKG

Mike Spera wrote:
I left an e-mail support question to Garmin on Monday night. 9:45
Tuesday morning I got the following reply:
__________________________________________________ _________________________
I first recommend that you update the GPSMAP 396 unit software from the
following link to the Garmin Website:
http://www.garmin.com/support/agree.jsp?id=921. I also recommend that
you use the GPSMAP 396 with the flip up antenna and the external antenna
to see if you experience loss of GPS signals with either of the two
antennas. We will be happy to replace any antenna that is not
acquiring satellites.

Thank you and best regards,

Aaron S
Product Support Specialist
Garmin International
1200 E 151st St
Olathe, KS 66062
Toll Free: 1-800-800-1020
Fax: 913-440-5488
__________________________________________________ _________________________
I checked the link and was surprised to see I was several versions
behind (7 versions in 6 months - YIKES!). Downloaded the latest (3.9)
and loaded it into the unit. I will check it out this weekend. I also
plan to buy another antenna. Given the very intermittent nature of the
failure(s), I may be out of warranty by the time it happens again. And,
I want to have a replacement on hand when it happens. As I said, they
are relatively cheap (about $40 - $50).

If I recall correctly, the original unit I bought would lose lock
immediately upon takeoff pretty regularly. Switching to the stubby did
nothing to correct the problem. I swapped the unit for a new one and it
did the same thing. Updating the SW appeared to make the problem go
away. The "fix" lasted for months. Now it is back again.

I hate intermittent crap...

Mike

I would think that once this problem is reported (identified) it would
be covered even after the warranty period.

--

Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP
KSWI