Garmin 496 screen brightness

Bubblehead · #1 12-09-2015, 05:06 AM

The RV-8 I bought in 2007 came with a Garmin 496, which was the primary nav aid until a couple of years ago when I upgraded the panel with SkyView. The 496 is my backup now but it seems like it is getting dimmer and dimmer.

I have the brightness setting all the way up but it's almost useless.

1) do the screens degrade over time?
2) If so, is it possible to replace the screen for a reasonable price?

turbo · #2 12-09-2015, 07:56 AM

i would try a hard reset. not sure how to do that but it can't hurt.

flightlogic · #3 12-09-2015, 10:05 AM

There were some secrets at Garmin in the engineering department.
Probably still are.... !!!!
Part way through the production run of the 396... they could not get the screens from the vendor any more. They wanted a brighter screen because customers had trouble in sunlight. The new vendor they found supplied brighter displays. Then during the evolution of products... the 496 came out. It appeared even better. Then the 696 came along... it was really good! BUT... now the pilots were convinced that they needed touch screens... and all the fingerprints etc. that come with that. iPads were stealing a huge market segment... and they are very poor in the cockpits. They over heat. They have glare.... they need mounting somewhere. Garmin has now expanded well into experimental and certified... to keep market share. Your old 496 might look dim... but probably is the best you can get in that size GPS. A 696 used might be something to look at down the road. Or you can do what everyone else does and get a tablet for Christmas and suffer through that. Best of luck... Really !!! Happy Christmas.

DaleB · #4 12-09-2015, 10:39 AM

LCD screen backlights, especially the older fluorescent tube types, do get dim. They have high-voltage inverters that go "soft" and eventually fail entirely. I don't have any specific information about the 496, but I would guess the parts to fix it are available from somewhere. It's more a matter of whether you or someone you know has the expertise to dissect it and replace the backlight.

Flyingleap · #5 12-09-2015, 11:00 AM

BTW the Garmin 430 has 2500volts on the screen. Replaced a battery
in one and read the maint manual. What a job that was, "by the book".
John

Bubblehead · #6 01-17-2016, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flightlogic

...Your old 496 might look dim... but probably is the best you can get in that size GPS. A 696 used might be something to look at down the road. Or you can do what everyone else does and get a tablet for Christmas and suffer through that. Best of luck... Really !!! Happy Christmas.

The 496 has gotten noticeably dimmer over the last couple of years to the point it is almost unreadable. I do carry a iPad mini with Fore Flight for backup to my SkyView. Maybe it's time to mount that and use the 496 primarily for XM Radio and a second GPS data source for SkyView.

Thank you all for the replies. Maybe someone who knows how to do it will see this someday and I can regenerate the 496.