What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Garmin Aera 760 issue

olyolson

Well Known Member
Friend
Dear G3X guys,

With fondest wishes and Christmas cheer I want to say up front that I absolutely love my new Aera 760. To say that it blows away the IPAD Mini I used to use is an understatement. So very bright and easy to use and I doubt it will ever shut down due to overheating. Everything about it is pretty perfect with one exception.

In portrait mode the GPS is in essence upside down and I can’t figure out a way to flip it over. In portrait mode the charging port is at the top and most people that would need to charge it with USB have the charger down below the panel somewhere or at the bottom of the panel. As is, the cord sticks out the top instead of where it should be coming out the bottom. Along the same lines, the two open ports at the top can act like dust collectors as there are no covers. If the whole display could be flipped 180 in both portrait and landscape modes on the next software update that would be ideal. In portrait mode that would put the ports at the bottom to prevent dust getting in and have the USB charging cord coming out of the bottom out of the way. This same philosophy in landscape mode would also give users the flexibility with left or right mounting solutions.

I know Garmin listens because I bugged them unmercifully until they put a TOT in hours/minutes/seconds on the Aera 660 for timing events like flyovers. They did incorporate it and it works well. So Garmin please update the Aera 760 so we can flip the display 180 whether in portrait or landscape mode. At least with the IPAD Mini I could always flip it any way I wanted.

Perhaps there is already a way to do that, just haven’t figured it out yet.
 
Last edited:
Dear G3X guys,

With fondest wishes and Christmas cheer I want to say up front that I absolutely love my new Aera 660. To say that it blows away the IPAD Mini I used to use is an understatement. So very bright and easy to use and I doubt it will ever shut down due to overheating. Everything about it is pretty perfect with one exception.

In portrait mode the GPS is in essence upside down and I can’t figure out a way to flip it over. In portrait mode the charging port is at the top and most people that would need to charge it with USB have the charger down below the panel somewhere or at the bottom of the panel. As is, the cord sticks out the top instead of where it should be coming out the bottom. Along the same lines, the two open ports at the top can act like dust collectors as there are no covers. If the whole display could be flipped 180 in both portrait and landscape modes on the next software update that would be ideal. In portrait mode that would put the ports at the bottom to prevent dust getting in and have the USB charging cord coming out of the bottom out of the way. This same philosophy in landscape mode would also give users the flexibility with left or right mounting solutions.

I know Garmin listens because I bugged them unmercifully until they put a TOT in hours/minutes/seconds on the Aera 660 for timing events like flyovers. They did incorporate it and it works well. So Garmin please update the Aera 760 so we can flip the display 180 whether in portrait or landscape mode. At least with the IPAD Mini I could always flip it any way I wanted.

Perhaps there is already a way to do that, just haven’t figured it out yet.

Hi Oly,

Since you have a GTN 650, you must be wiring the MapMX out of the GTN 650 to one of the 2 serial ports on the 9 pin connector on the Aera 760 mount.

AM-JKLV7G7_488t7wP5M5vrweuHbSGYBtoaFaD8oELyqcTlYWKLyxgCGX4iLvyTRtJC0YNlfR5CW5tmYUgBmO48BtkyRFh95KQ2ef-XXi_saelKf0nmY3R4KMgd2o0nlaS-gYIgVsrnAIHiokjGhOUIRJneI=w508


Why not just wire up aircraft power and ground to pins 7 and 9? I would never dream of using a separate USB cable to power my Aera 760.

AM-JKLUz24WPeTUlxKho7gD9fCI9RZ5j1tfONHDFPlfrQvZn5T4QItrglh2-P7cUvYm_ozm2lPcCM4ZLPNjAulPOKiDBVnyUG-T81EAa0xNPehNz8jMn2IdI5RoQRkhuSBSpQwir5WY353U-7Ig2-RhNfo2D=w640


Aera 760 showing MapMX from Garmin navigator.

AM-JKLX8laLZMpr1kA9eoJly7jBk5JOEsDVHfnp7FspVBdje5CkPXENJQ4oHeTIs1kkIZ5RdtmJExZctSX40Bt9MShL3nuo3a9YMR-VBCoX2c8BAdAuXkf6M0EtiVi6xSgr0J1K3rUlP_EjpAdCCRVy175IO=w480


I love my Aera 760 as well. I have it wired into aircraft power, MapMX from the GNX 375, and traffic/weather/music (control) from the GDL 52R.

Steve
 
Last edited:
Garmin Aera760

Merry Christmas Steve,

I have the 760 on a ram mount on the right side of the cockpit and a USB port on the lower right shelf. I will primarily use internal battery power and wasn’t planning on wiring it to aircraft power. I just want to be able to charge it if needed in the plane. Having the USB cord come out of the bottom would keep it out of the way. As is, it will work OK but it would be better if all the connections and ports were on the bottom hence the request to be able to flip the display 180.

I can get all the weather & ADSB traffic via Bluetooth from my GDL-39 3D or via WIFI from the AFS 5400.
 
I have RAM mounted a few aera 760s and always use the supplied cradle screwed onto a standard RAM B sized diamond base, B size round base or B size AMP base and then hard wire power and ground at a minimum.

Also, you might try using your 760 in landscape mode if space will allow.

My one and only heartburn with the 760 is the location of the external GPS antenna port being on the back instead of the side like the 660. This can screw up flat surface mounting or using a flush mount dock when an external antenna is needed. And if the antenna connector can be used it is well hidden on the back so that when a casual user pops it out of the cradle they are likely to pull the antenna connector out violently without realizing it. That’s a quick way to ruin an MCX connector. Thankfully the internal GPS receiver is sensitive enough to pick up GPS signals easily for most installs, especially canopy-type aircraft like RVs. But imagine imbedding one deep in a panel in a small-windowed cabin plane with an aluminum glareshield at the bottom of a conventional stack. I had this very situation to deal with.

Oh. And I completely agree with the other assessments above about the unit itself. It is a phenomenal device and puts EFBs to shame and back in the flight bag. It is way more than just a portable GPS.
 
Last edited:
Garmin Aera 760

Jim,

Thanks for the input, good thoughts but I don’t like using landscape mode. It makes the cockpit feel crowded and gets in the way of using the EFIS. For my RV-8 with the radio stack on the left, portrait mode is perfect over on the right side. I too have the 760 on a the supplied cradle attached to a Ram mount on the right side. The internal antenna works perfect for a bubble canopy -8 so no reason for an external one. Like the IPAD Mini I used to use, I start each flight with a fully charged battery. Local flights are never an issue as the battery has good duration. I’m mostly concerned about cross country flights and the occasional need to recharge in flight. With the inability to switch the portrait display right side up when charging so the cable comes out the bottom that is the pain in the rear issue.

I also don’t want to wire the 760 to aircraft power. For the few times it would need a charge it’s not worth it to run the wiring and dedicate yet another CB. Since it has USB charging capability this seems the easiest method but I just need Garmin to update the software so the display is always right side up which would allow the USB charging port to be on the bottom out of the way. I can’t believe they didn’t think of this during the development of the 760.

I have contacted Garmin and they have responded and put this request to the software update team so hopefully it will be incorporated eventually. Seems like a simple thing to allow the display to be in the correct upright view no matter how you orient it, just like the IPad does.

And lastly- the 760 blows away the IPAD Mini in pretty much every category. It’s so much brighter, NEVER overheats, never shuts down and I can use it to start and stop the recording on my Garmin VIRB Ultra 30 cameras.
 
Last edited:
Another request is the ability to select the direct access buttons that are displayed like you could with the 796 that I replaced. Some actions now require multiple button presses versus direct action.
I have mine mounted horizontally below the EFIS on an angle mount which work great in the 7.
Another feature request is bi-directional flight plan capability with the 375 so that flight plan updates in real time can be done on the 760 screen versus the 375 screen.
Also auto glide on the 375 displayed on the 760 would be cool.
Steve I know you are watching :D
Figs
 
Why not just wire up aircraft power and ground to pins 7 and 9? I would never dream of using a separate USB cable to power my Aera 760.

I agree, this "problem" disappears if you use the device's accessories properly.
 
Aera 760

Matt,

With respect, that kind of defeats the whole purpose of a “portable” GPS. I don’t want to wire it to aircraft power. Using the big cradle isn’t really necessary either if Garmin would have designed a smaller, truly “portable” mount that doesn’t have any power connections. I just want to keep it portable and be able to use it in multiple aircraft, charge it when necessary and not have cables in the way. If Garmin would have put all the charging and data points on the bottom of the unit in the first place this wouldn’t be an issue.

I bought a Ram ball mount specifically made for the Aera 760 but it doesn’t connect directly to the 760, it attaches to the cradle which the 760 snaps into. Seems like overkill to me if all I want is a simple mount.

The whole issue can be solved by simply allowing the display to always be “right side up” regardless of orientation.
 
Oly. I hear you on USB C port location. Meanwhile, you could get one of these 90 degree connector charge cords. I use them in my cars and airplanes and they are very unobtrusive. It would make the top low profile and then hide behind the unit on it's way to your charge port.

USB-3-1-Type-C-to-USB-Cable-Data-Sync-Transfer-Fast-Charger-90-Degree-Bent.jpg
 
760

Those of you using the Aera 760. Is a second G3x screen on the right side more advantageous than the 760 mounted to the right? Wiill the 760 do most everythign a second G3X screen would do? The one benefit I see with the 760 is the 4 hr back up battery if I lose ship power. Then I could eliminate the IBBS.

Thoughts?
 
Good question

Those of you using the Aera 760. Is a second G3x screen on the right side more advantageous than the 760 mounted to the right? Wiill the 760 do most everythign a second G3X screen would do? The one benefit I see with the 760 is the 4 hr back up battery if I lose ship power. Then I could eliminate the IBBS.

Thoughts?

Good question
 
Back
Top