who here works for Garmin Inc?

Any upgrades to the 396 I should know
about b4 purchasing?......thanx!!!

Someone just sent me an email with "insider information". Don't know if
it's true. It talked about a 496 being unveiled a OSH. I deleted it and
will ask him to send me the link again.

It talked about having AOPA Directory installed, Airport Taxiway guidance
for 600 airports, a faster processor and a pre-installed CitySelect
software. 2,795.00. Is this true? I don't know, but...they would have to
add a LOT more to make me trade in the 396. What was shown was way too
little and unnecessary.

AFAIK, what most pilots are screaming for are all the features of the 396
plus...
a.. TOUCH SCREEN...HELLO...TOUCH SCREEN!!!!
b.. Airways (so you can enter airways for your route instead of each fix
on the airway)
c.. The FULL IFR approach
d.. ALTITUDES shown for the IFR approaches as well as the MEA's on the
airways
e.. ALL taxiways with GPS navigation on ALL the airports
f.. I won't mind a graphical representation of the airport's traffic
patterns with the 45 entry shown.
I hope the rumor of the above mentioned new features is not true...I have
had MUCH higher hopes for the 496.

Kobra

In article ,
"Kobra" wrote:

a.. TOUCH SCREEN...HELLO...TOUCH SCREEN!!!!

No way do I want a touch screen!
Who wants to wear holes in an LCD screen?
Replacement costs would be prohibitive.

a.. TOUCH SCREEN...HELLO...TOUCH SCREEN!!!!

No way do I want a touch screen!
Who wants to wear holes in an LCD screen?
Replacement costs would be prohibitive.

Huh? They have been putting Touch Screens on auto GPS's for years. I
haven't heard of any data that says they break down or are a weak link.

Kobra

In a previous article, "Kobra" said:
AFAIK, what most pilots are screaming for are all the features of the 396
plus...
a.. TOUCH SCREEN...HELLO...TOUCH SCREEN!!!!
b.. Airways (so you can enter airways for your route instead of each fix
on the airway)
c.. The FULL IFR approach

You mean plates? That would be worth while.

d.. ALTITUDES shown for the IFR approaches as well as the MEA's on the
airways
e.. ALL taxiways with GPS navigation on ALL the airports
f.. I won't mind a graphical representation of the airport's traffic
patterns with the 45 entry shown.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Sheridan: "Well, as answers go, short, to the point, utterly useless and
totally consistent, what I've come to expect from a Vorlon."
Kosh: "Good."

In article ,
"Kobra" wrote:

a.. TOUCH SCREEN...HELLO...TOUCH SCREEN!!!!

No way do I want a touch screen!
Who wants to wear holes in an LCD screen?
Replacement costs would be prohibitive.

Huh? They have been putting Touch Screens on auto GPS's for years. I
haven't heard of any data that says they break down or are a weak link.

Any touch screen that is used for any length of time will have the touch
membrane worn through. The combination of dirt, pressure and contant
touching of the most often used screen position will lead to failure.

On 07/05/06 13:45, john smith wrote:
In article ,
"Kobra" wrote:

a.. TOUCH SCREEN...HELLO...TOUCH SCREEN!!!!

No way do I want a touch screen!
Who wants to wear holes in an LCD screen?
Replacement costs would be prohibitive.

Huh? They have been putting Touch Screens on auto GPS's for years. I
haven't heard of any data that says they break down or are a weak link.

Any touch screen that is used for any length of time will have the touch
membrane worn through. The combination of dirt, pressure and contant
touching of the most often used screen position will lead to failure.

Any length of time? Even 1 minute?

I don't think the issue was whether or not it will eventually break, but
how long between failures. If it's 10 hours, then there's a problem. If
it's 10,000 hours, there is not.

Do you have any data that shows what the MTBF is for touchscreens like
what would be used on a device like this?


--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA

Well there is one at the ATM at the bank I use that has been there for at
least a year.



"Mark Hansen" wrote in message
...
On 07/05/06 13:45, john smith wrote:
In article ,
"Kobra" wrote:

a.. TOUCH SCREEN...HELLO...TOUCH SCREEN!!!!

No way do I want a touch screen!
Who wants to wear holes in an LCD screen?
Replacement costs would be prohibitive.

Huh? They have been putting Touch Screens on auto GPS's for years. I
haven't heard of any data that says they break down or are a weak link.

Any touch screen that is used for any length of time will have the touch
membrane worn through. The combination of dirt, pressure and contant
touching of the most often used screen position will lead to failure.

Any length of time? Even 1 minute?

I don't think the issue was whether or not it will eventually break, but
how long between failures. If it's 10 hours, then there's a problem. If
it's 10,000 hours, there is not.

Do you have any data that shows what the MTBF is for touchscreens like
what would be used on a device like this?


--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA

In article ,
"Kobra" wrote:

a.. TOUCH SCREEN...HELLO...TOUCH SCREEN!!!!

No way do I want a touch screen!
Who wants to wear holes in an LCD screen?
Replacement costs would be prohibitive.

Huh? They have been putting Touch Screens on auto GPS's for years. I
haven't heard of any data that says they break down or are a weak link.

Kobra

A touch screen on an aviation GPS seems like a really bad idea, in my
opinion. Forget about the wear, who wants finger prints all over their
screen? Do you really want to aim for a touch screen button while
bouncing around in flight? What if you hit the wrong one?

Sony puts touch screens on their consumer camcorders, and I avoided
purchasing one partly for this reason. The concept seems nice, but in
practice it turns out to be not too brilliant (no pun intended.)

Back to the point, all of the information that was posted on the 496
came from Tom Rogers at Avionics West; it is posted on his web site. It
is not official, it is simply a rumor. I will say, if true, the rumor
would make the 496 consistent with Garmin's other portable units, with
the biggest change being the pre-loaded CitySelect NT data.



JKG

"Kobra" wrote:


AFAIK, what most pilots are screaming for are all the features of the 396
plus...
a.. TOUCH SCREEN...HELLO...TOUCH SCREEN!!!!

Only if the screen is bigger. It doesn't have to be MUCH bigger; just a
bit.

b.. Airways (so you can enter airways for your route instead of each fix
on the airway)

Yes!

c.. The FULL IFR approach

Yes! Doubt if the lawyers will go for this, though.

d.. ALTITUDES shown for the IFR approaches as well as the MEA's on the
airways

Same as previous.

e.. ALL taxiways with GPS navigation on ALL the airports

That would be lovely.

f.. I won't mind a graphical representation of the airport's traffic
patterns with the 45 entry shown.

I *would* mind that. I am not a 45-degree true believer.

I hope the rumor of the above mentioned new features is not true...I have
had MUCH higher hopes for the 496.

Ditto. No way I'd trade up for what's rumored. I want a larger,
touch-screen interface or I'm standing pat. Better mount/cabling
engineering is needed, too.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

You mean plates? That would be worth while.

I wasn't thinking of that, but that would be nice. I was just thinking of
what the 396 has now (FAF to AP) and adding the IAF's and intermediate
fixes.

Kobra