Garmin 396
 

Anyone heard how the weather part of the new Garmin 396 works? Garmin's website touts it as having traffic (if interfaced to their 330 xponder), terrain picture and avoidance modes, and weather through xm satellite. I think the other is all good, but havng the weather seems the most important to me. How does xm weather compare to the other good services I've read about, I wonder?

Do you mean "how well it works" or "how does it function"? The 396 is the talk of the show here at Oshkosh. GPS, terrain, TFRs and weather, all in one integrated box for $2495. For $300 more you can get a car kit, and use it for music in your car too! Must make the Controlvision folks feel a little green... The weather source is XM.

If you have other questions, I can probably find out this week for you. But I can't tell you how well it works in practice. But there will be a lot of folks who can soon, this thing is going to be very popular....

Kevin

XM Wx
 

Don't know about the 396, but the XM Wx works great on the Controlvisin PDA. I wonder what I did before without it.

Keven
________
Kid depakote

KEVIN,
HAD AN IFR RESERVATION FOR OSH TODAY AT 9 AM CDT AND HAD TO CANCEL. I WHINED AROUND WORK ALL DAY TODAY. TODAY HAD TO BE THE BEST DAY FOR THE SHOW ALL WEEK. PERFECT WEATHER.

THE 396 LOOKS TO BE THE UNIT TO HAVE RIGHT NOW. BUT YOU BETTER BUY IT NOW OR IF YOU WAIT THE MONTH AFTER YOU BUY IT THE NEXT BEST THING WILL ARRIVE. THE ONLY UNKNOWN FOR ME IS THE XM PART. I HAVE HEARD SOME TALK THAT IT CAN BE A LITTLE SENSITIVE TO GET STARTED WITH THE SOFTWARE. I LOVE MY 330 AND THE TRAFFIC OPTION. THE TERRAIN PART WOULD BE NICE BUT IN THE MIDWEST IS NOT REAL NESESCITY.

TOO BAD THE SITE HAS TO BE MODERATED RIGHT DURING OSH. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS KEVIN WITH THE BABYSITTING AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD TIME AT THE SHOW.

The 396 sure does sound impressive.

On the weather, I guess I was wondering how the "XM" type weather stacked up to the other kinds of satellite weather available. Is it as good as, or equivalent to the other stuff I've seen pilots talk about here and elsewhere? That's more or less what I'm wondering...

Kevin (admin) - I'm trying to order one before Sunday ends. But since Garmin doesn't sell the units themselves directly, the only dealers I can find locally that are open on Sunday (a day I normally don't shop) are Best Buy and CompUSA.

If you get a chance to ask someone about their offer that's advertised on their site - "buy one during Oshkosh and get a free car kit" - it'd be nice to know how they do that. If I order one from CompUSA, will Garmin throw in the car kit?

And I noted their website suggested $2695 for the unit and you mentioned 2495. Did they lower the price, or just divorce the car kit from the pkg?

In any event - thanks.

One of the folks I am here with, who has studied this stuff, says it is a good or better than other sources. There are really only two now - XM and WSI. The others (I am told) are falling by the wayside.

The deal I heard is $2495, and for $200 more you get a car kit. You said another was advertising $2695, with a free car kit. Sounds like the same deal more or less to me.

I will try to ask someone in the morning. If you want to email me your cell number, I can get you the answer faster...

I will be at the show from about 7AM to 10:30AM tomorrow, then I am headed back home.

Kevin

Sorry - by the time I got this you're probably gone, but: 801-647-7836.

The price I saw was from the Garmin website (even though they don't sell it directly that's what they listed).

Thanks for the info.

I didn't learn any more from Garmin. They said they don't know what Best Buy and CompUSA are doing...

Sorry,

Kevin

Thanks for trying anyway. Appreciate it. I'll try to see what I can find out this afternoon.

Traded Control for 396
 

I just bought 3 months ago and now sold my Control Vision unit for a Garmin 396.

While in OSH this last week, I went to a Garmin presentation on the unit, I can only say that Garmin has leaped frog all of the competition by a large margin.

The Conrol Vision unit I sold on Ebay along with my 296, and purchased a 396 for $2495 no tax with the Auto Kit included.

Flew with it home today, listening to XM radio and watching the weather on the 396.

All I can say is this is one slick unit.

For those that want another view, take a look at what Consumer Avionics had to say this month about it. Yeah, their view is the same as mine.

Rick

I have a GDL69 hooked up to a Garmin 530. The GDL69 uses XM weather. XM weathr is, in short, fantastic. If it works the same way on the 396, you'll love it. Actually, it will probably work better, at least initially, on the 396 than it does on the 53I0, because many of the features of the GDL69 won't be available until Garmin does their WAAS upgrade, which has now been pushed off until the end of next year.

If I had a chance to do it over again, I would buy the 396 instead of the GDL69. It is less money, has more features, and would give me a second GPS which is also battery operated.

One thing to watch out for, which even the avionics dealers weren't aware of. There is a failry powerful magnet in the base of the "smart receiver" of the 396. You are supposed to put the receiver on your glare shield, so that it can see the XM satellite...not a great place to have a magnet. Many people have reported compass deviations of 5 to 20 degrees because of the magnet. And it is sealed into the unit. Garmin says if you take it out, you void the warranty.

Mark

wsi vs xm
 

I fly WSI on a Garmin 530 in a P337, it's great. I also fly xm in a BE-58 on an MX-20, and in a C-340 on a 530. WSI's picture is a little better, and I think the response time is slightly better, but I'll buy a 396 anyway! The addition of music is very cool!

HOW DO YOU GET AROUND THE MAGNET PROBLEM??
IS THERE A REMOTE ANTENNA YOU CAN GET?

Larry:

The antenna that comes with the 396 IS a remote antenna. It is a USB device which gets its power and sends its data through a USB cable to the 396. Garmin has extension cables, but because it is a USB device, there are some limitations on cable length. Garmin's solution is to "move it as far away from your compass as you can". Not too swift for the leading aviation GPS company in the world.

Mark