J

JohnF

Well Known Member
I am happy to say I have no more issues with the RV-12 airplane, so now I can fiddle with auxiliary issues. The current one is the Garmin 396 - everything seems OK except I cannot get a magenta course line when a flight plan is set up. Even desperate measures, such as reading the instruction book, didn't help.

Do you have any pertinent suggestions?
 
Did you activate the flight plan? On the flight plan page, or by selecting a stored route, click menu and look for an 'activate route' selection...
 
I've owned both the 396/496 and you didn't need to activate a flt plan to have the course line, I almost always use direct to and always had it.

One thing I liked on those units that the 696 does not have was that you could set the magenta course line to always point to the airport from your current location, with the 696 it has an actual course line that is from departure to destination, if you deviate on the course you have to go back to "Direct to" to center up the course line again (hope that makes sense).
 
That may be in the setup...

....as it is in the 396/496. You have a choice of either a "bearing line" or a course line. IIRC, the bearing line always goes from your present position to your destination, whereas the course line is drawn from where you entered the destination and remains there.

An easy way to re-draw the line is to press 'direct to' and enter, enter and the line is redrawn from your present position.

Best,
 
pierre smith said:
....as it is in the 396/496. You have a choice of either a "bearing line" or a course line. IIRC, the bearing line always goes from your present position to your destination, whereas the course line is drawn from where you entered the destination and remains there.

An easy way to re-draw the line is to press 'direct to' and enter, enter and the line is redrawn from your present position.

Best,
Click to expand...

Using this line in a good X-wind could delay your arrival...........:(

p.s.The above statement only applies if you are not using an autopilot set to track on the course line...... See next post.
 
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Negative....

...because the TruTrak autopilot flies with a wind correction factor automatically. I saw around 12 degrees of correction on the Dynon's HSI coming back from the coast with a 40 MPH quartering headwind. The 430W was driving the TruTrak and has a course line that is followed, so to stay on track, it corrects for drift, whereas the 496 doesn't correct the way mine's setup with the bearing line.

Regards,
 
Magenta Course Line

Went to the plane to play with the Garmin 396 to resolve the "missing" course line, and for whatever reason it was there and works normally. Don't know what happened.

But what I do know is that I personally hate the Garmin. The first Lowrance GPS that I had which had a little 2-inch green window was FAR easier to use than this awkward Garmin. Its no loss that they are discontinuing it, but I much prefer the touch screen of the Anywhere Map pda unit I have. Having to keep pushing buttons (and trying to remember which ones, and in what sequence) on the Garmin is an example of failure to consider the human interface with your product. Garmin missed it big time.

I know some disagree with me but its what makes horse races.
 
JohnF said:
Went to the plane to play with the Garmin 396 to resolve the "missing" course line, and for whatever reason it was there and works normally. Don't know what happened.

But what I do know is that I personally hate the Garmin. The first Lowrance GPS that I had which had a little 2-inch green window was FAR easier to use than this awkward Garmin. Its no loss that they are discontinuing it, but I much prefer the touch screen of the Anywhere Map pda unit I have. Having to keep pushing buttons (and trying to remember which ones, and in what sequence) on the Garmin is an example of failure to consider the human interface with your product. Garmin missed it big time.

I know some disagree with me but its what makes horse races.
Click to expand...

It's all what we're use to ! :D

I've owned five "aviation" Garmin GPS's. The last ones were the 296, 496, and now the 696. For backup............I have a Lowrance 600c. I can't get use to the settings on that thing.........if I had to. So I just don't bother...

L.Adamson ---- RV6A
 
L.Adamson said:
It's all what we're use to ! :D

I've owned five "aviation" Garmin GPS's. The last ones were the 296, 496, and now the 696. For backup............I have a Lowrance 600c. I can't get use to the settings on that thing.........if I had to. So I just don't bother...

L.Adamson ---- RV6A
Click to expand...

I own a Lowrance 100, 500, 600C and a 2000. This is what happens when you understand a system. Last year at Oshkosh at the Garmin Boothe, I tried to like the -96 family and as hard as I tried, it would not give me the information that I wanted. It was very limited on the way that it would display the info.

So I will stay with Lowrance till they all die.
 
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