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Garmin 496 PIREP -- Navigating while Driving
Okay, so it's not quite aviation related, but we DID use the 496's
capability today to navigate by road to Blakesburg -- the annual AAA (Antique Aircraft Association) fly-in. (Which was fantastic, by the way. It runs through the weekend, so I urge you to check it out!) This morning we were considering flying into Blakesburg, but the thought of flying our spam can into that exclusive (members only) fly-in was a bit too daunting for either of us. And, since Blakesburg is less than 2 hours away from Iowa City, it seemed like a great reason to drop the rag top on the Mustang and do a little road trip! First, let me tell you that Blakesburg is absolutely the most rural area in Iowa, which itself is one of the most rural areas in America. We're talking lots of gravel roads, farms -- and not much else. This would be a difficult test for ANY GPS, let alone one that purports to do triple duty (aviation, marine, and driving). So, sitting in my driveway, I first found Blakesburg's Antique Airfield in the aviation side of the 496's database. Being a private strip, this would not have been found in the 396's database -- so chalk one up to the new 496. Once I found the airport, I switched over to the driving mode, and told the unit that I wanted the "Shortest Route" (as opposed to the fastest) to Antique Airfield. Within 15 seconds, it had the course loaded, and off we went. The unit is amazing. Garmin put the speaker (for audible commands) in the cigar lighter cord, which, at first, seemed counter-intuitive. However, we soon discovered that this location enabled them to make the speaker big enough to be LOUD, and also enabled them to keep the 496's dimensions small. We were driving with the top down, at highway speeds, and the voice commands were plenty loud enough to be easily heard over the wind noise. Chalk up number 2 for the 496. Other than routing us into some road construction (which we could have hit anyway), the route the 496 selected was awesome! It was completely different than what we would have chosen using a standard road map, but it was very scenic, interesting, and quick. One amazing thing we found about the 496 was that if you don't like a road that it has selected (because, for example, it's gravel) -- just drive right past it. Within seconds the unit has recalculated your route to your destination, using your new current location, and audibly TELLS YOU where to go! Chalk up number 3 for the 496. We were quite pleased (and surprised) with the ease and accuracy of navigating to such an out-of-the-way location. On our way home this evening, we decided to test the database further, and let the unit select a place for us to eat in Sigourney, IA -- a little town of maybe 1000 people. Within seconds of selecting "nearest food", we had directions to the three restaurants in town. We selected one, and drove right to it, no muss, no fuss. The food was awesome, the prices reasonable -- and after dinner, we simply turned the unit back on and it remembered where we were going, where we were, and recalculated a new route back to our original course. Chalk up number 4 for the 496. The unit comes with a remote mount that has a "sand bag" on the bottom (like the old "bean bag" ash trays of yore) that conforms to anything is sets on. This enables the unit to simply sit up on the dash board, and not move even when I did some fairly spirited twisties in the Mustang. Again, we were most pleased with the way the unit performed, and will be using it on all future driving trips, for sure. Actually, to be honest, I am far more impressed with the 496 in driving mode than in aviation mode. In aviation mode, our Lowance and AvMap GPS's were equal or superior to the 496 -- in the driving mode, nothing comes close. (And, of course, with regards to weather capability, the 496 is *it* -- there is no competition.) -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
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Garmin 496 PIREP -- Navigating while Driving
Jay Honeck wrote:
Okay, so it's not quite aviation related, but we DID use the 496's capability today to navigate by road to Blakesburg -- the annual AAA (Antique Aircraft Association) fly-in. snip Jay, is there a service that provides periodic updates to the 496's road and food service database? If so, how is this done and what does this cost? -- Peter |
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Garmin 496 PIREP -- Navigating while Driving
Okay, so it's not quite aviation related, but we DID use the 496's
capability today to navigate by road to Blakesburg -- the annual AAA (Antique Aircraft Association) fly-in. snip Jay, is there a service that provides periodic updates to the 496's road and food service database? If so, how is this done and what does this cost? I'm not sure, but I presume that is updated at the same time that you purchase the Jeppesen updates? -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
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Garmin 496 PIREP -- Navigating while Driving
http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap496/
http://www.garmin.com/cartography/ "Jay Honeck" wrote in message ups.com... | Okay, so it's not quite aviation related, but we DID use the 496's | capability today to navigate by road to Blakesburg -- the annual AAA | (Antique Aircraft Association) fly-in. | snip | | Jay, is there a service that provides periodic updates to the 496's road | and food service database? If so, how is this done and what does this | cost? | | I'm not sure, but I presume that is updated at the same time that you | purchase the Jeppesen updates? | -- | Jay Honeck | Iowa City, IA | Pathfinder N56993 | www.AlexisParkInn.com | "Your Aviation Destination" | |
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Garmin 496 PIREP -- Navigating while Driving
Jay Honeck wrote:
Okay, so it's not quite aviation related, but we DID use the 496's capability today to navigate by road to Blakesburg -- the annual AAA (Antique Aircraft Association) fly-in. snip Jay, is there a service that provides periodic updates to the 496's road and food service database? If so, how is this done and what does this cost? I'm not sure, but I presume that is updated at the same time that you purchase the Jeppesen updates? The street maps and businesses/etc. (called POIs) are part of Garmin's CityNavigator software. Updates come out annualy each summer and currently cost $75. Garmin gets the street data from NavTeq which also supplies most of the other automotive navigation makers. |
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Garmin 496 PIREP -- Navigating while Driving
I just put my order in for one. Anyone need a 296?
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Garmin 496 PIREP -- Navigating while Driving
In article ,
"Aluckyguess" wrote: I just put my order in for one. Anyone need a 296? hmmmm, maybe now is the time to consider a GPS... -- Bob Noel Looking for a sig the lawyers will hate |
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Garmin 496 PIREP -- Navigating while Driving
"Jay Honeck" wrote: Again, we were most pleased with the way the unit performed, and will be using it on all future driving trips, for sure. It is definitely superior to the 396. I use mine in the car any time I'm going somewhere I've never been. Have you got a replacement antenna from Garmin yet? -- Dan C172RG at BFM |
#9
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Garmin 496 PIREP -- Navigating while Driving
Have you got a replacement antenna from Garmin yet?
If that question was for me, my antenna was (and is) fine. If not, "never mind..." :-) -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#10
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Garmin 496 PIREP -- Navigating while Driving
"Jay Honeck" wrote in message Have you got a replacement antenna from Garmin yet? If that question was for me, my antenna was (and is) fine. The original remote antenna only causes trouble intermittently, when it gets hit by interference (from cell phone towers?) at low altitude. It is very disconcerting to have it quit on you when you're using it to help navigate around a Class B, for example. It'll get you, eventually. Call Garmin and they'll send you a replacement, free. -- Dan C172RG at BFM |
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