Garmin 796 feedback

Chino Tom · #1 10-19-2011, 12:26 PM

Anyone out ther take the plunge and buy the new Garmin 796? Any
real world feed back? likes - dislikes. Inquiring minds want to know!

bkthomps · #2 10-19-2011, 01:42 PM

I am debating one really soon to fly on a leg mount before my skyview upgrade, then again, $2500 torwards a skyview goes a long way

Mike Macon · #3 10-19-2011, 01:54 PM

The last word I got was they may start shipping +- 11/2/11. I do not know how other vendors are doing.

humptybump · #4 10-19-2011, 05:49 PM

I was already to get one but decided, with the 796 out, the price of the 696 on the used market has been very attractive so I am going that route.

sailvi767 · #5 10-19-2011, 06:27 PM

I made the same choice, Picked up a 696 for what I expected to pay for a 496.

George

F1R · #6 10-27-2011, 10:02 PM

I had 2 of 20 minute flights last night with the first 796 in Canada. I must say for never having used any Garmin hand held previously it was easy and intuitive to use effectively. The touch screen makes zooming in/out and map scrolling a dream. The syn vis had the runway centerline within about 5 feet.

Brantel · #7 10-28-2011, 05:36 AM

How good is the screen in the Sun?

sailvi767 · #8 10-28-2011, 05:55 AM

The 696 screen is outstanding in the sun. I would be very surprised if the 796 is not at least as good.

George

Brantel · #9 10-28-2011, 06:20 AM

The 696 is not a touchscreen. This really changess things in the Sun on most devices. I will not assume that the 796 is good in bright light until I see some real good reviews on the screen.

Seems that all the marketing hype ignores talking about this area of performance and this is a Red flag for me

RV7ator · #10 10-28-2011, 07:21 AM

I compared the various Garmin products at Pacific Coast Avionics a couple days ago. This was indoors, but I have plenty of experience with 696s and 510s in RVs, so I think a comparison is valid.

The 79X screens were not as bright as the 69X. Maybe color saturation is a better metric. The 5XX Nuvi boxes were clearly fainter. BTW, no other manufacturers boxes were as clear and bright at the 79X. The 69X is the top pick for legibility. I wish I paid more attention to slant angle, but I think the touch screens faded quicker with offset.

Airborne, the 696 remains very legible in sunlight. The 510 is like looking through a fog. So I would expect the 79X to be somewhere between. Operation of the the "Home" button devices hardly requires looking in the manual. The 69Xs are much more difficult.

The deal killer for me is touch screen. Maybe in a flight level machine, but a bouncing RV guarantees often missing the mark when you poke the screen.
This doesn't require moderate to severe (where you you want to scrunch down in the seat for more canopy clearance) to be annoying. Buttons are superior in this alone.

Only problem is: Garmin will probably drop the 69Xs within a year, then support will fade.

John Siebold