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02-01-2017, 08:03 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Posts: 3,932
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by olyolson
Finally got around to getting a Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 camera mounted to replace the GO Pro. I think Garmin has broken the code with this one. Why do I have comments here in the Aera 660 you ask? Because not only is the 660 an awesome and capable GPS, is has a VIRB button in the menu to control the VIRB camera.
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Oh, great... Now I want another toy... :P I had problems with the battery life on my Stealth Drift camera too, the USB option sounds compelling. Now if I could get a USB jack up at the tip of the vertical stab where I mounted the Drift...
__________________
Rob Prior
1996 RV-6 "Tweety" C-FRBP (formerly N196RV)
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02-01-2017, 08:07 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: St Louis, MO
Posts: 957
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Rob,
Patiently awaiting Garmin to go one step further and have all this capability built into a 360 camera.........
__________________
RV-8, Flying
Previous airplanes: Corby Starlet, Citabria, Cessna 140, Vari-Viggen, RV-3, RV-4
RV grin every flight
"Sure is nice to have smart friends"
2018 dues paid
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02-01-2017, 08:46 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Olathe, KS
Posts: 2,885
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Quote:
Originally Posted by olyolson
Finally got around to getting a Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 camera mounted to replace the GO Pro. I think Garmin has broken the code with this one. Why do I have comments here in the Aera 660 you ask? Because not only is the 660 an awesome and capable GPS, is has a VIRB button in the menu to control the VIRB camera.
You are gonna love this- the best part is you can plug the camera into an onboard USB port and never have to worry about batteries again! I have mine plugged into a USB port for power, use Bluetooth from my headset to simultaneously record audio and stop and start recording with the 660 VIRB button. Don't know if the 660 shows a preview like you can get with the Garmin VIRB app on a phone but it does have Wifi so I'm going to try it and see. I can use the IPhone and Wifi with the app to see what the camera is recording though I don't know if you can do all this at once.
For those of you with a Go Pro, this was always my biggest complaint- the sh***y battery life. If I had an external audio source plugged in and tried to use Wifi (with the IPhone Go Pro app) as well, the battery would be lucky to last 20-30 minutes. And on top of that, the Wifi was very unstable and would kick off and the camera would freeze after only a couple minutes of use. If I didn't use the Wifi and pressed the record button before climbing in it would work fine but the battery never lasted more than 30-40 minutes.
Way to go Garmin- you hit this one out of the park. BTW- the video is much better than Go Pro in my opinion. Will try to get some video and post here on the forum soon.
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Hello Oly,
Thanks for your kind feedback on the Virb Ultra 30.
For those that may not remember the Aera 660 camera control screenshot from earlier in this thread, here it is again.
Just a reminder for those with the GMA 245 audio panel. Not only does it have a USB power port that can be used to keep your camera powered, but it supports a Bluetooth audio link to the camera so it can record all of the audio you hear on the intercom including music, passenger conversations, and all radio tx/rx.
To setup this audio link to the camera just press and hold the TEL button on the GMA 245 until the audio panel says "Pairing Enabled", go to the Wireless Bluetooth page on the Virb and select Add New, and touch the GMA 245 audio panel which it shows up in the list. Finally, go to the Virb main setup page and make sure that Microphone is set to "External". This setup only has to be done once.
We use a Virb Ultra 30 with audio link to the GMA 245 to record all of our test flights.
Thanks,
Steve
__________________
Garmin G3X Support
g3xpert@garmin.com
1-866-854-8433 - 7 to 7 Central Time M to F
Please email us for support instead of using Private Messaging due to the limitations of the latter.
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02-01-2017, 09:33 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Posts: 3,932
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Steve, can the 245 audio panel pair to the VIRB and your phone at the same time? Using an audio profile for the VIRB, and telephone profile for the phone?
__________________
Rob Prior
1996 RV-6 "Tweety" C-FRBP (formerly N196RV)
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02-01-2017, 11:56 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Olathe, KS
Posts: 2,885
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowflake
Steve, can the 245 audio panel pair to the VIRB and your phone at the same time? Using an audio profile for the VIRB, and telephone profile for the phone?
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Hello Rob,
The GMA 245 supports one Bluetooth connection at a time. If you want to make a phone call, it is pretty easy to move between the two uses. The GMA will remember both pairings, so it is just the connections to manage.
If you want a full time connection for phone/music to the audio panel, we recommend using the Virb headset adapter cable to the camera, which works by plugging into one of the 1/4" headset jacks in the plane.
Thanks,
Steve
__________________
Garmin G3X Support
g3xpert@garmin.com
1-866-854-8433 - 7 to 7 Central Time M to F
Please email us for support instead of using Private Messaging due to the limitations of the latter.
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02-02-2017, 05:51 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Posts: 924
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Steve:
Thanks for all the help on my 660. I sent it to Kansas as instructed. I received a new one. I see it doing things the other one never did do. I think there was more going on with it than just the battery issue.
Thanks again. Garmin is good stuff, and GREAT customer service. 
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02-09-2017, 05:02 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Olathe, KS
Posts: 2,885
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Hello,
If you are looking for another reason to own an Aera 660, here it is.
Effective Feb. 3, 2017, Garmin lowered the street price of the Aera 660 by $100 to $749, so it is even a better value than before.
Thanks,
Steve
__________________
Garmin G3X Support
g3xpert@garmin.com
1-866-854-8433 - 7 to 7 Central Time M to F
Please email us for support instead of using Private Messaging due to the limitations of the latter.
Last edited by g3xpert : 02-09-2017 at 05:14 AM.
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02-09-2017, 12:37 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Oro Valley, AZ
Posts: 14
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So there are two things that I miss from my old 496 not available in the 660.
Customizable Voltage Alarm: A wonderful way to monitor bus voltage of my aircraft and set an alarm that will pop up if my alternator drops off line. WOW, this was a nice feature that I realllllly miss! Maybe you could include this information in the Top Row title bar of the 660 near the Green Battery status bar??
Position Data Page: Provided a place to put all sorts of handy and customizable "nice to know" items. The only way to access these things in the 660 currently is to change the data fields on the map page. Even the little Edge 500 series bike computers allow you to set up custom page data fields.
I been very pleased with the usability and capability of the 660, especially the ability to push flight plans from Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight via bluetooth. I also have been impressed with how many improvements Garmin has made to the software in the first few months of the 660! Keep it up!
Matt
P.S. I'm away from my 660 at the moment and haven't been able to try the latest firmware.
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02-10-2017, 04:44 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Olathe, KS
Posts: 2,885
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krashmaster81
So there are two things that I miss from my old 496 not available in the 660.
Customizable Voltage Alarm: A wonderful way to monitor bus voltage of my aircraft and set an alarm that will pop up if my alternator drops off line. WOW, this was a nice feature that I realllllly miss! Maybe you could include this information in the Top Row title bar of the 660 near the Green Battery status bar??
Position Data Page: Provided a place to put all sorts of handy and customizable "nice to know" items. The only way to access these things in the 660 currently is to change the data fields on the map page. Even the little Edge 500 series bike computers allow you to set up custom page data fields.
I been very pleased with the usability and capability of the 660, especially the ability to push flight plans from Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight via bluetooth. I also have been impressed with how many improvements Garmin has made to the software in the first few months of the 660! Keep it up!
Matt
P.S. I'm away from my 660 at the moment and haven't been able to try the latest firmware.
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Hello Matt,
Thanks for your feedback and for purchasing an Aera 660!
The unit does have an alarm page with a few things like a reminder to switch tanks, but no voltage alarm. We will keep that in mind.
We expanded the number of data fields which may be overlaid on the map from 4 to 8 to accommodate additional data fields, and you can assign most of the same fields you show in your example including sunset, sunrise, fuel timer, flight timer, etc, but we will also consider a separate numbers page.
Thanks,
Steve
__________________
Garmin G3X Support
g3xpert@garmin.com
1-866-854-8433 - 7 to 7 Central Time M to F
Please email us for support instead of using Private Messaging due to the limitations of the latter.
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02-13-2017, 05:14 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Oro Valley, AZ
Posts: 14
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Steve,
I do like those additional data fields!! Very nice. Maybe you could put a little voltage indicator instead of the lightning bolt/plug icon. ;-)
-Matt
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