Garmin 296 or Airmap 2000C ?

Hi everybody -

I'm in the market for a handheld aviation GPS , and have narrowed down
to the Airmap 2000C & Garmin 296. I need color & terrain mapping ,
which both have.

Try as I will though , I can't find an honest comparision of the two ;
retailers push both (for obvious reasons).

The strange thing is that their prices seem to differ significantly.
Sample prices -
Garmin 296 (with inbuilt terrain mapping) = $1500 (aprox)
Airmap 2000C (plus terrain mapping extra) = $1100 (aprox)

All you enlightened folks...which should I choose and why ?


regards
Pavan Bhatnagar

Well Pavan... my .02...

We comparison shopped 18 mos ago, and chose the AM 1000.
Bigger screen, excellent RAM mount and all those who had one
.....well, not one negative comment.

Al we heard about was Garmin, Garmin, etc....but when we ASKED
the owners, the pilots that we heard from were very satisfied with
the Lowrance and were , umm.... mostly quite happy with the Garmin
units.

So... we tried a 196 in a Cessna here, ...what a tiny screen!
(In comparison) and tiny buttons. If all the air around here was
smooth, the small screen and buttons would not be a problem.

The AM fastens to the yoke with that EXCELLENT RAM mount, and
I can operate it with my big thumbs while holding on to the yoke..

The AM, yoke and my thumbs move as a unit in rough air, and I
rarely "miss" a button ...

Sad note, our AM 1000 died completely at 16 months, out of
warranty.

Shipped back to Lowrance (Canada) on a Thursday, inspected on
Monday, could not be repaired at their depot, so they will send me a
new replacement for $299 (Cdn) I made a deal to trade up to the AM
2000 Colour for another $100.

(I thought this was a great deal,---- less than the difference
between selling the 1000 and buying the new 2000)

Well.... the colour unit is all I expected and more!

Screen a little smaller (same case) , and battery life is
about 3 hrs compared to the AM 1000's 5 hrs.

We use ours on the Aircraft 12 Volt supply, so this is not a
concern. We treat the internal batts as emergency supply ONLY, and
carry extra.

Lowarnce service and phone help/guidance has been superb,
they (on the phone) seem knowledgeable and helpful, the mapping
("MapCreate"), downloads and upgrades all work as advertised.

I am told there will be a software upgrade for the Sat
weather, but so far Lowrance cannot confirm this , so don't quote me
here...

We are really happy with the performance and support of the
Lowrance product...

Dave


.. .On 19 Sep 2005 14:54:24 -0700, wrote:


Hi everybody -

I'm in the market for a handheld aviation GPS , and have narrowed down
to the Airmap 2000C & Garmin 296. I need color & terrain mapping ,
which both have.

Try as I will though , I can't find an honest comparision of the two ;
retailers push both (for obvious reasons).

The strange thing is that their prices seem to differ significantly.
Sample prices -
Garmin 296 (with inbuilt terrain mapping) = $1500 (aprox)
Airmap 2000C (plus terrain mapping extra) = $1100 (aprox)

All you enlightened folks...which should I choose and why ?


regards
Pavan Bhatnagar

On 19 Sep 2005 14:54:24 -0700, wrote:

All you enlightened folks...which should I choose and why ?

I would always go for Garmin. It's not that I'm superstitious (knock
on wood!) but Garmin has always gotten me home.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 22:42:41 -0300, Dave
wrote:

Sad note, our AM 1000 died completely at 16 months, out of
warranty.

Ah well, you should have bought a Garmin!

Reminds me of the Saab owner who was singing the praises of his mark.
"Every time I take it in for service, the dealer gives me a loaner
car!"

Erm, yes, but if you'd bought a Honda, you wouldn't be taking it in
for service!


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

In article ,
Cub Driver wrote:
Reminds me of the Saab owner who was singing the praises of his mark.
"Every time I take it in for service, the dealer gives me a loaner
car!"

Erm, yes, but if you'd bought a Honda, you wouldn't be taking it in
for service!


Honestly, that's a myth. Hondas need service just like any other make.
Hondas have unscheduled problems just like any other make. Hondas have
recalls just like any other make. We used to own one.


As for GPSes, I do agree. We've owned both Lowrance and Garmin, and
liked the Lowrance slightly better, but Lowrance just doesn't seem to be
as serious about the aviation market as Garmin. Garmins have better
resale value, and hold their value much better over time. I feel that
Garmin supports their product better than Lowrance over the life of the
product.


JKG

On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 14:54:24 -0700, pavansheel wrote:

The strange thing is that their prices seem to differ significantly.
Sample prices -
Garmin 296 (with inbuilt terrain mapping) = $1500 (aprox)
Airmap 2000C (plus terrain mapping extra) = $1100 (aprox)

Just FYI, you should be able to get the 2000C for ~$800.

Greg

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 07:34:32 -0400, Cub Driver wrote:

On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 22:42:41 -0300, Dave
wrote:

Sad note, our AM 1000 died completely at 16 months, out of
warranty.

Ah well, you should have bought a Garmin!

Hehe. My father bought a Garmin 295, right before they started to phase
them out. His is out of warranty with not many hours (maybe 30-40) on it
and it died. He never got much use out of it because shortly after he
bought it, he had a Garmin 430 installed in his 172. He sent the 295 to
Garmin. For *only* $600 bucks, they'll kindly give it a good going over
and send it back to him. The guy with the Lowrance paid $300 for a brand
new unit, which included an upgrade to their latest model. Hmmm....should
of bought a Garmin indeed...

Just FYI, shortly after he sold his 172, the display on the 430 went out.
It had to be sent to Garmin for service. Long story short, if you think
buying Garmin means superior quality then you are sadly mistaken. From
where I'm sitting, they seem to all be on the same quality page...each
with excellent service...yet you pay less for Lowrance. The only down
side to buying Lowrance, as far as I can tell, is that it makes your
wallet "fatter", which has been proven to cause back problems...

Greg

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 08:38:11 -0400, Jonathan Goodish wrote:

[snip]
As for GPSes, I do agree. We've owned both Lowrance and Garmin, and
liked the Lowrance slightly better, but Lowrance just doesn't seem to be
as serious about the aviation market as Garmin. Garmins have better
resale value, and hold their value much better over time. I feel that
Garmin supports their product better than Lowrance over the life of the
product.


JKG

Of course they do! They charge more for their product and when its out of
warranty, they charge for more to have the unit serviced. The cost
difference will buy you a brand new Lowrance...assuming Lowrance's service
doesn't allow you to upgrade with trade in.

Greg

I like the Garmin. I have never had one go bad so I cant tell you about the
service.If I were you I would get the 396. It doesnt get much better than
that.
"Greg Copeland" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 14:54:24 -0700, pavansheel wrote:

The strange thing is that their prices seem to differ significantly.
Sample prices -
Garmin 296 (with inbuilt terrain mapping) = $1500 (aprox)
Airmap 2000C (plus terrain mapping extra) = $1100 (aprox)

Just FYI, you should be able to get the 2000C for ~$800.

Greg

All - thanks for the valuable input.
Case anyone's wondering , I'll go with the AM 2000C.

Greg - any suggested website for getting the $800 tag on the AM 2000C ?

regards
Pavan Bhatnagar