Altitude Call Out is COOL

Okay, so I finally figured out how to turn the XM radio off without
killing all audio output from the 496. (It's not as easy as it should
be...)

This has enabled us to finally hear the little "Southwest Airlines"
chime, followed by bitchin' Betty purring "Altitude...500 feet..."
through our headphones.

Call me silly, and I honestly can't think of a real use for this
feature (since I fly VFR) -- but it's still WAY up there in the cool
factor levels. Feels like we're flying the heavy iron, now!

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ps.com...
This has enabled us to finally hear the little "Southwest Airlines"
chime, followed by bitchin' Betty purring "Altitude...500 feet..."
through our headphones.

It's calling out 500 feet and IOW is at 668? New Pathfinder Sub???
;-)

Jay Honeck wrote:
....
This has enabled us to finally hear the little "Southwest Airlines"
chime, followed by bitchin' Betty purring "Altitude...500 feet..."
through our headphones.

The folks on the Cessna forum have dubbed her the "Bitch in the Box".

What I object to is that the Garmin lawyers put her audio level about
6db above the entertainment. I designed an audio interface to my
headphone amplifier which partially cancels the Bitch relative to the
XM radio level...

Jay Honeck wrote:
....
Call me silly, and I honestly can't think of a real use for this
feature (since I fly VFR) --

Since most of my flights are about 3000' below the ridgelines, this
feature (and the terrain map) is very useful, especially on a dark
night.

MikeM

Jay Honeck wrote:


This has enabled us to finally hear the little "Southwest Airlines"
chime, followed by bitchin' Betty purring "Altitude...500 feet..."
through our headphones.

The 480 has a similar voice. It just chimes when you have a turn
in your flight plan coming up. But she's got a few phrases in
her bag "Localizer Alive" etc... The favorite is hearing
her say "Missed Approach Point" as you're rolling down the
runway on landing.

It's calling out 500 feet and IOW is at 668? New Pathfinder Sub???
;-)

That's AGL, Greg, AGL!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

Call me silly, and I honestly can't think of a real use for this
feature (since I fly VFR) -- but it's still WAY up there in the cool
factor levels. Feels like we're flying the heavy iron, now!

It *does* call out obstacles as well. If you do any night VFR flying,
it can come in handy. (Having not flown with it yet, I quickly plugged
in my 496 in Simulator mode and checked it out through my PC
speakers--very cool) I just got my 496 last week and your original
PIREP was the thing that really got me thinking about jumping into the
XM Weather capability. Thanks.

Marco

It *does* call out obstacles as well. If you do any night VFR flying,
it can come in handy. (Having not flown with it yet, I quickly plugged
in my 496 in Simulator mode and checked it out through my PC
speakers--very cool) I just got my 496 last week and your original
PIREP was the thing that really got me thinking about jumping into the
XM Weather capability. Thanks.

You're welcome, Marco -- although I really should apologize for costing
you three grand...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay,

I did a flight shortly after getting the 396 installed. I had the
altitude voice on, and had a multi-leg route programmed into it as the
active flight. I decided to land at an intermediate airport that wasn't
at the end of the flight plan. The voice came on during final approach
with terrain warnings and demands to "pull up". Thought it was rather
amusing but it is probably a good feature to have.

Eric Bartsch
1959 Pilatus P-3 A-848
http://www.hometown.aol.com/bartscher/P3A848.html



On Dec 17, 11:36 pm, "Jay Honeck" wrote:
Okay, so I finally figured out how to turn the XM radio off without
killing all audio output from the 496. (It's not as easy as it should
be...)

This has enabled us to finally hear the little "Southwest Airlines"
chime, followed by bitchin' Betty purring "Altitude...500 feet..."
through our headphones.

Call me silly, and I honestly can't think of a real use for this
feature (since I fly VFR) -- but it's still WAY up there in the cool
factor levels. Feels like we're flying the heavy iron, now!

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I did a flight shortly after getting the 396 installed. I had the
altitude voice on, and had a multi-leg route programmed into it as the
active flight. I decided to land at an intermediate airport that wasn't
at the end of the flight plan. The voice came on during final approach
with terrain warnings and demands to "pull up". Thought it was rather
amusing but it is probably a good feature to have.

That's a neat feature -- although I'm glad you told me about it
*before* it surprised me.

Can you imagine flying a newbie somewhere for lunch, diverting to a
different, nearby airport, and having THAT come over the intercom
turning base to final?

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"