donaziza

donaziza

Well Known Member
Just got a Garmin 396 with XM Weather from a friend, but can't find anything on the computer on how to mount it. ( The guy I bought it from had the yoke mounting device which of course is no good on a stick). There must be hundreds of RV 8 drivers out there with portable Garmins mounted in your cockpits. Can anyone help?

A thousand thanks to all you guys--This helps greatly. Forgot to ask one other thing. I saw somewhere that the XM antenna ( for the GPS) messes up a wet compass if within 15 inches. My wet compass is right in front of my eyes on top of the glare shield, and of course right behind that, on top of the glareshield is where I've noticed all the guys put their GPS antennas. My XM antenna wire is 4' 2" long. Any thoughts on where that should go would be greatly appreciated.:confused:
 
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RAM Mounts

If you're not going to mount it in your panel, look online for RAM mounts. They make several different mounts that might fit your needs.
 
Psst...Don't tell RAM!

Similiar in general concept to the sill mounted installation I designed for my -6A shown below, I find a scrap piece of .063 angle stock works just as well the -8.

2w5tx1h.jpg


2rddbb7.jpg
 
angerole GPS mount

There is a new 2/3/496 mount out there now.

It is from a company called Angerole. It is beautifully machined out of aluminum and is designed to fit into a 2.5" hole on a standard instrument panel. You could simply mount it to any flat surface.

The mount has two tapers that allow swivel in 2 axes, and they lock down with finger pressure on the screws. It is amazingly rigid. All the hardware is of best quality. I bought one and installed it and am very happy. Not affiliated, but a happy customer.

You can buy it from aircraft spruce or direct from the manufacturer. Lots of pictures, slideshow, downloads at the link. Not cheap at about $150, but sure is nice.

Hope this helps someone,
 
Nice pictures Rick!

Another alternative is, of course, the RAM mount off the right side 804 cap - sits just above your right thigh.

Paul
 
Don,
Before you decide on a mount and location, I would recommend hand holding the Garmin 396 where you think you want or can locate it. You might notice that a lot of the RVs use the Garmin 196, which I did too, because you can see the reflective gray scale design under any lighting condition. With the colored displays, which are transmissive, sunlight readable can become an issue for the RVs. Like you, I wanted the weather option, so I purchased a Garmin 396 and mounted it up at the level of the glareshield where I had my 196. I was EXTREMELY disappointed, and couldn't see it at certain sun angles and sun altitudes. I had contacted the purchasing source to obtain a return number when one of my buddies made a few suggestions. The first was to look at the GPS location, and second to add an extended flexable glareshield that also block all the light sources from the instrument panel to the windshield. My airplane is an RV-4, but it's a slider, so the two piece canopy is essentially the same as an RV-8. Here are a few pictures, and I'm very happy with the results. I also moved the compass, which was panel mounted in the upper center to the lower left on the panel to minimize effects from the antenna.

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt228/willymac104/BackseatGPS3.jpg
http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt228/willymac104/frontdisplays1.jpg
http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt228/willymac104/frontseatdisplays3.jpg
http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt228/willymac104/glareshieldcockpit.jpg
http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt228/willymac104/glareshield2.jpg

Hope this helps,

Bill
Eyeball Mechanic
Sky Dancer
 
WillyEyeBall said:
Don,
Before you decide on a mount and location, I would recommend hand holding the Garmin 396 where you think you want or can locate it. You might notice that a lot of the RVs use the Garmin 196, which I did too, because you can see the reflective gray scale design under any lighting condition. With the colored displays, which are transmissive, sunlight readable can become an issue for the RVs. Like you, I wanted the weather option, so I purchased a Garmin 396 and mounted it up at the level of the glareshield where I had my 196. I was EXTREMELY disappointed, and couldn't see it at certain sun angles and sun altitudes.
Click to expand...

FWIW,

My Garmin 696 has been bright, crisp, and colorful in all RV sun light conditions. It's not under the glaresheild either. My passenger side Lowrance Airmap 600c and Icom A210 do become un-readable though! :eek:

I had a Garmin 296, but it never made it into the flying RV. My 496 didn't seem to bad in regards to direct sunlight, but I just don't remember for sure.

L.Adamson --- RV6A (flying)
 
donaziza said:
Just got a Garmin 396 with XM Weather from a friend, but can't find anything on the computer on how to mount it. ( The guy I bought it from had the yoke mounting device which of course is no good on a stick). There must be hundreds of RV 8 drivers out there with portable Garmins mounted in your cockpits. Can anyone help?
Click to expand...

I made my own -- copied from someone else, of course..

496mount1-w.jpg


instend1-w.jpg
 
Ironflight said:
Nice pictures Rick!

Another alternative is, of course, the RAM mount off the right side 804 cap - sits just above your right thigh.

Paul
Click to expand...

Hi Paul,Would you by any chance have a picture of the RAM mount you're talking about? ( I'm assuming your airplane is like this). I've looked at the RAM mounts on the computer, but it's not real obvious from the pictures what would work.

Thanks, Don
 
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