Garmin 396 Glitch??

Has anyone experienced significant "loss of signal" hiccups with their
new 396?? Since getting ours a few months ago, we have had
several...some lasting 15-20 minutes. System shutdowns/start ups may
or may not re-initialize it. THe antenna is unobstructed and in plain
view of the sky. An older Garmin is still in our plane and works fine
so its not some GPS system glitch.

I've thought about re-installing the software. There is a new upgrade
on the Garmin site so it wouldn't hurt, but none of the fixes address
any "loss of signal" problems.

Any similar experiences out there???

Thanks!!!

In article .com,
"Jeff B" wrote:
Has anyone experienced significant "loss of signal" hiccups with their
new 396?? Since getting ours a few months ago, we have had
several...some lasting 15-20 minutes. System shutdowns/start ups may
or may not re-initialize it. THe antenna is unobstructed and in plain
view of the sky. An older Garmin is still in our plane and works fine
so its not some GPS system glitch.


I've been using the 396 for almost 2 months, and I haven't had a loss of
GPS signal in flight EXCEPT when I was using the "stick" GPS antenna on
the unit. Since I switched to the external patch antenna, I've had no
problems. However, I have continuously updated the software, so I would
recommend that you update to the latest software (v2.60) and try again.

I seem to recall that the 296 had a similar issue when it was new, and
that successive software updates eventually fixed it. I would be
surprised if that same issue exists in the 396 with current software.



JKG

I used to get that problem with the stick antenna flying north. I started
using the other antenna and the problem went away.
"Jonathan Goodish" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
"Jeff B" wrote:
Has anyone experienced significant "loss of signal" hiccups with their
new 396?? Since getting ours a few months ago, we have had
several...some lasting 15-20 minutes. System shutdowns/start ups may
or may not re-initialize it. THe antenna is unobstructed and in plain
view of the sky. An older Garmin is still in our plane and works fine
so its not some GPS system glitch.


I've been using the 396 for almost 2 months, and I haven't had a loss of
GPS signal in flight EXCEPT when I was using the "stick" GPS antenna on
the unit. Since I switched to the external patch antenna, I've had no
problems. However, I have continuously updated the software, so I would
recommend that you update to the latest software (v2.60) and try again.

I seem to recall that the 296 had a similar issue when it was new, and
that successive software updates eventually fixed it. I would be
surprised if that same issue exists in the 396 with current software.



JKG

"Jeff B" wrote:

Has anyone experienced significant "loss of signal" hiccups with their
new 396??

Nope. I've made a half dozen flights with the 396 with no problems.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Hmmm...my problems occur WITH the external antenna (suction cup mount).

In article .com,
"JB" wrote:
Hmmm...my problems occur WITH the external antenna (suction cup mount).

Perhaps you have a bad antenna? Might want to give Garmin a call and
see what they say, but they are going to want to start troubleshooting
from the latest software.



JKG

"JB" wrote:

Hmmm...my problems occur WITH the external antenna (suction cup
mount).

I use the external antenna, too.

Maybe it's interference from one of your radios. I've replaced two
Cessna ARC-385s because they messed up my GPS reception.

Or it might be your antenna, as Jonathan suggested. I had one develop
an intermittent open circuit in the cable where it entered the antenna.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

No loss of signal... but I just sent my 396 in for service.

Long story short -it would just stop working for no apparent reason.
Screen would go black. Only way to restart was with a battery re-insert.

The only apparent pattern it that it would never happen in the a/c.
Only on the ground. Swapped everything except for the stick attenna
which I used 100% on the ground and 0% in air.

So back it goes for repair.

Jeff B wrote:
Has anyone experienced significant "loss of signal" hiccups with their
new 396?? Since getting ours a few months ago, we have had
several...some lasting 15-20 minutes. System shutdowns/start ups may
or may not re-initialize it. THe antenna is unobstructed and in plain
view of the sky. An older Garmin is still in our plane and works fine
so its not some GPS system glitch.

I've thought about re-installing the software. There is a new upgrade
on the Garmin site so it wouldn't hurt, but none of the fixes address
any "loss of signal" problems.

Any similar experiences out there???

Thanks!!!

"Maule Driver" wrote, "... So back it goes for repair."

Please let us know how it behaves after the repair and what, if anything,
they said was wrong with it.

Jon

I had a similar problem with my 296 except that is would turn itself off in
the air. I sent it in and Garmin ended up calling it corrupted user data.
After they purged the stored data, it worked OK for a while. When it
started doing it again the Garmin tech had me clear the data by removing
and re-inserting the battery, then holding down three buttons to give it a
lobotomy.

It's working OK for now, but I suspect I will have to kill the user data
again sometime to re-fix it.



"Maule Driver" wrote in message
. com...
No loss of signal... but I just sent my 396 in for service.

Long story short -it would just stop working for no apparent reason.
Screen would go black. Only way to restart was with a battery re-insert.

The only apparent pattern it that it would never happen in the a/c.
Only on the ground. Swapped everything except for the stick attenna
which I used 100% on the ground and 0% in air.

So back it goes for repair.

Jeff B wrote:
Has anyone experienced significant "loss of signal" hiccups with their
new 396?? Since getting ours a few months ago, we have had
several...some lasting 15-20 minutes. System shutdowns/start ups may
or may not re-initialize it. THe antenna is unobstructed and in plain
view of the sky. An older Garmin is still in our plane and works fine
so its not some GPS system glitch.

I've thought about re-installing the software. There is a new upgrade
on the Garmin site so it wouldn't hurt, but none of the fixes address
any "loss of signal" problems.

Any similar experiences out there???

Thanks!!!