Garmin 296/396 Terrain Data

Scott Moore wrote:
wrote On 12/08/05 16:00,:


Because terrain changes very slowly, I suspect these three terrain files
would be good enough for a very, very long time.


And then, they build that nice new 2,000 ft radio tower....

That's what the 56-day obstacle file is for. Different beast than the
terrain database. Outside the U.S. you better fly IFR or have a current
topo aero chart.

Ron Lee wrote On 12/09/05 13:15,:
Scott Moore wrote:


wrote On 12/08/05 16:00,:


Because terrain changes very slowly, I suspect these three terrain files
would be good enough for a very, very long time.

And then, they build that nice new 2,000 ft radio tower....



Who flies that low?

Ron Lee

Who flies that high ?

wrote On 12/09/05 13:16,:
Scott Moore wrote:

wrote On 12/08/05 16:00,:



Because terrain changes very slowly, I suspect these three terrain files
would be good enough for a very, very long time.


And then, they build that nice new 2,000 ft radio tower....


That's what the 56-day obstacle file is for. Different beast than the
terrain database. Outside the U.S. you better fly IFR or have a current
topo aero chart.

And the "I clipped off relivant information and didn't bother to read back"
award goes to....

And then, they build that nice new 2,000 ft radio tower....
Who flies that low?

I do. All the time. I like to fly at 500 feet, but the towers are
getting a bit too numerous for this around here.

Jose
--
You can choose whom to befriend, but you cannot choose whom to love.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

In article ,
(Ron Lee) wrote:

Scott Moore wrote:

wrote On 12/08/05 16:00,:


Because terrain changes very slowly, I suspect these three terrain files
would be good enough for a very, very long time.

And then, they build that nice new 2,000 ft radio tower....

Who flies that low?

2000 feet is 4x higher than I normally fly in the Champ.

"john smith" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(Ron Lee) wrote:

Scott Moore wrote:

wrote On 12/08/05 16:00,:


Because terrain changes very slowly, I suspect these three terrain
files
would be good enough for a very, very long time.

And then, they build that nice new 2,000 ft radio tower....


This brings up an interesting idea of putting an electronic beacon on new
structures for the first year or so until all terrain data bases get
updated.

john smith writes:
(Ron Lee) wrote:
Scott Moore wrote:
wrote On 12/08/05 16:00,:

Because terrain changes very slowly, I suspect these three terrain files
would be good enough for a very, very long time.

And then, they build that nice new 2,000 ft radio tower....

Who flies that low?

2000 feet is 4x higher than I normally fly in the Champ.

You fly that high? I thought anything over 50 ft. AGL
was being extravagant with fuel.

Ok, I give up. Would someone post the URL where I can download the
terrain update for *free*. (I can only find the Garmin page where you
have to pay the $295.) Is Garmin really giving it away for free? Or did
you find an unsupported back door?

Thanks in advance!
Ekim V.


wrote:
Well, guess what! Garmin just updated the terrain 2004 data files to
2005 and, for a time (probably a very short time) all three coverage
areas can be downloaded FREE from the Garmin site.

Ekim wrote:
Ok, I give up. Would someone post the URL where I can download the
terrain update for *free*. (I can only find the Garmin page where you
have to pay the $295.) Is Garmin really giving it away for free? Or did
you find an unsupported back door?

Thanks in advance!
Ekim V.


Nothing tricky. Go to aviation database tab, then select your unit (296
or 396) then select "terrain" and it will say:

"Single Update: Regularly $295, but for cycle 05T1, the database is FREE!"

Nothing tricky or back-doorish about that. ;-)

Ted wrote:
And then, they build that nice new 2,000 ft radio tower....

This brings up an interesting idea of putting an electronic beacon on new
structures for the first year or so until all terrain data bases get
updated.

That's basically an idea we submitted to the FAA many years ago, back
before ADS-B was called ADS-B. In addition to the usual
"squirt/listen" in each aircraft, add a simple squirter to each tower
above a certain AGL height (same as the "flashing red light" rules).
Nothing special required to the aircraft installation - the antennas
and other such obstacles simply look like aircraft to avoid.

Total cost (we were talking about low power VHS) of the transmitter in
todays dollars would be around $15 per tower (less any FAA
administration fees and liability insurance). Even that is probably a
high figure - more for the weatherized case than anything else. Since
the obstacles presumably never moves, no GPS required - just a fixed
string msg.

[Oh yeah, the then administrator nixed the idea. Said in-cockpit
weather and aircraft imagery was too complicated for pilots to
understand, and that the only thing he would EVER approve was the
uplink of text weather and charts.]