C

C5Engineer

Member
I've been flying with a 196 for basic navigation for 6 years in all different types of airplanes. The current airplane I'm flying cruises at 85 mph. Twice a year I fly to the Idaho Backcountry and I really want the color terrain for navigating the drainages in the Backcountry. As far as the GPS goes the 196 does more than I've ever needed except for that color terrain database. I started poking around for a used 296 or 396 and I came up with two options. One guy was gracious enough to offer me a 296 he was no longer using for FREE. Another guy wants my 196 because of the low power draw for a glider and will trade me his 396 for my 196 plus some cash which works out to a great deal as well.

Here's the kicker. I fly out of Central CA where our wx is awesome 95% of the time. I only go on two long X-countries a year from CA to ID. Besides that I'm usually within 100 miles of home dinking around. I don't need the XM stuff. I've heard the 396 has a faster processor. I am having a tough time finding a side by side comparison of the two. I was hoping to hear from somebody who has had or operated both.

Free is always good but I'm willing to spend a little to upgrade too if someone can convince me the 396 is that much better.

I found a few threads by searching on here but they were all comparing to a 496. Any opinions would be great!
 
I have spent quite a bit of time with both models. If you don't use the XM features of the 396, the only other notable feature I can think of that it has over the 296 is the ability to input traffic data from a GTX 330 or similar compatible traffic source source. The 296 also has 2 RS-232 ports whereas the 396 has a single one (this generally doesn't matter to most users) In all other important respects the 296 and 396 have identical specs and behavior.

mcb
 
296 vs 396

I believe the update rate on the 296 is 1 Hz vs 5Hz on the 396. Don't have manuals with me so pls. check this out. Panel page works on either for emergency IFR flight, but 396 (496) is better.
 
Bill - of course it's always possible I'm wrong, but I'm reasonably sure the 296 and 396 both had a 1 Hz GPS update rate. Perhaps you are thinking of the 496, which was the first one to have 5 Hz GPS.

cheers,
mcb
 
Terrain and the Garmin Handhelds

You mentioned about navigating terrain ... while the color handhelds do have the color terrain database, don't rely on it to keep you clear of the terrain. The altitude is GPS dervied and hence the color coding for the terrain on the display does not often reflect your actual altitude above the ground. I have a 496 which was an upgrade from a black and white 195, so we're talking a quantum leap in capability and speed.

I've done some experimenting in perfect weather conditions with a safety observer on board and found that most of the time, the terrain mapping is off by 200-500 feet depending on how many satellites you are receiving. A friend has both a 296 and a 396 ... doing a side by side comparison in flight with the 296, 396, and 496 the two former models cannot keep up with turns and mapping like the 496 does, their refresh rate is too slow.

So if terrain awareness is the main reason you want to upgrade, go with the 495 or 496, if you shop around, thay can be bought for under $700 now, and you could sell your old unit to reduce the final cost event more.
 
What are you comparing the GPS altitude to?

Glas467 said:
You mentioned about navigating terrain ... while the color handhelds do have the color terrain database, don't rely on it to keep you clear of the terrain. The altitude is GPS dervied and hence the color coding for the terrain on the display does not often reflect your actual altitude above the ground. I have a 496 which was an upgrade from a black and white 195, so we're talking a quantum leap in capability and speed.

I've done some experimenting in perfect weather conditions with a safety observer on board and found that most of the time, the terrain mapping is off by 200-500 feet depending on how many satellites you are receiving. A friend has both a 296 and a 396 ... doing a side by side comparison in flight with the 296, 396, and 496 the two former models cannot keep up with turns and mapping like the 496 does, their refresh rate is too slow.

So if terrain awareness is the main reason you want to upgrade, go with the 495 or 496, if you shop around, thay can be bought for under $700 now, and you could sell your old unit to reduce the final cost event more.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.