Brantel

Brantel

Well Known Member
I am planning on upgrading my 296 soon and would like opinions...

I am either going with a slightly used 496 or a new 510 or 560.

The used prices for 496's are good but I hate to buy back into a unit that has a flaw in the backup battery system.

Is the 560 worth the difference in price for the 510?

The only feature I think means anything to me is the terain resolution. Is that worth it?

How does the screen and processor speed compare between the 496 and Aera? Sunlight readability and clarity??
 
Hi Brian...

FWIW, I have one in the Air Tractor and the -10, with wx...you couldn't pry them...:)...daylight readability is no problem...had one in the -6 for several years.

The 496 contains the entire AOPA airport directory, plus local hospitals, restaurants, rent-a-car agencies and has a much faster processor. I've never had any backup battery problems with either one....really one of my prized possessions,

Best,
 
How do you intend to use it?

Brian:
Haven't tried an Aera yet, but one feature I like about the x96 is the rocker pad. In IMC and turbulence, my fingers are around the side of the unit and I use my thumb to operate the pad. Not sure if a touch screen would introduce entry errors under those flight conditions. BTW, my GPS is on a bracket attached to the bottom edge of the IP. Kind of looks like this.
http://www.advanced-flight-systems.com/Installations/RogerPanel.jpg
With a panel mount, I'd be giving up too much real estate and would not be able to get my hand around the unit.
Terry, CFI
RV-9A N323TP
 
I went to the Garmin seminar on the 696 at Sun n Fun and decided to stay with my 496. The price/size/feature combination of the 496 is hard to beat particularly at the used prices I am seeing.
No battery issues in over 3 years of use. (Knocking on simulated wood).
 
The battery issue I am refering to is the backup battery that will die if you do not use the unit often. Once it dies, the unit can't keep time and it has a hard time locking on to sats until you change the battery.

Buying a used one would be a c r a p shoot on what condition this battery would be in. I have changed the one in my 296. It is a cheap replacement but the operation is major since you have to almost tear the thing completely apart to get to the battery.
 
snowbird said:
I went to the Garmin seminar on the 696 at Sun n Fun and decided to stay with my 496. The price/size/feature combination of the 496 is hard to beat particularly at the used prices I am seeing.
No battery issues in over 3 years of use. (Knocking on simulated wood).
Click to expand...

Since you mentioned the 696, I wouldn't go back to the previous 496 or 296 I owned. I just much prefer the larger screen. But they are kind of pricey.

L.Adamson --- RV6A
 
I have used both a 496 and an Aera 560 see>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> post#6
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?p=399871&highlight=aera#post399871 I REALLLY!!!!! liked it.

If you are not interested in the weather on your portable I see no real benefit of the 560 over the 510 and no operational benefit of the 510 over a 496.

If you are used to the 296 the 496 will be easier for you to adapt to.

The aera series has great sunlight readability and a good refresh rate. The worries of many about the touch screen, in my opinion, are unfounded.

The aera is small and takes up a lot less space. It is great on the street at the end of a trip the 496 much less so.

If there is a huge savings ($) in going with the 496 that is the route I would go and I would by a Nuvi for the car if that were important to me.
 
Brantel said:
The battery issue I am refering to is the backup battery that will die if you do not use the unit often. Once it dies, the unit can't keep time and it has a hard time locking on to sats until you change the battery.

Buying a used one would be a c r a p shoot on what condition this battery would be in. I have changed the one in my 296. It is a cheap replacement but the operation is major since you have to almost tear the thing completely apart to get to the battery.
Click to expand...

Brian, I have a 396 that I bought when I thought I was close to needing one. Of course, the very next year they came out with the 496. :mad:

Since the 396 sat unused for a long time -- literally years -- the battery went kaput. When I finally fired up the panel and was getting close to flying, it wouldn't lock onto satellites or do much of anything else using the plane's power. As I recall, that was just because after a long time without use, it needs to sit outside for awhile (15 minutes or so) to fully acquire the satellite signals. That's how it was explained to me.

I bought a new battery on eBay and replacing it was a snap -- just open the cover and pop it in. No big deal.

Brian, if size is an issue, I wouldn't hesitate to get a 496. In fact, I'm close to buying one and moving my 396 to the rear seat or sell it. They're both great units.
 
Not that battery, Don...

...there's a soldered-in battery inside that you can only access by opening the unit and doing some disassembly. IIRC, it is also part of a memory function.

Best,
 
pierre smith said:
...there's a soldered-in battery inside that you can only access by opening the unit and doing some disassembly. IIRC, it is also part of a memory function.

Best,
Click to expand...


Oh. Sorry. Couldn't imagine why Garmin would make it so difficult to replace the battery on a 296 ... :rolleyes:
 
396/496 Internal battery and "Autolocate" procedure

Brantel said:
The battery issue I am refering to is the backup battery that will die if you do not use the unit often. Once it dies, the unit can't keep time and it has a hard time locking on to sats until you change the battery...
Click to expand...

Brian, that's not entirely the way it is. When the internal battery dies, it can't keep time when the unit is off, but when it's on it keeps good time! :) But if you don't use it often, it will lose time. I have a 396 and last year after my heart surgery the 396 went unused for several months. When I started flying again, the 396 "Autolocate" feature was used to bring it back to "real time." For my unit, it only takes a few minutes to "Autolocate." It now is just part of the "getting ready to fly" checklist. (Manual Autolocate procedure: Hold the "out" button while powering up the unit. Hold the "out" button until the first screen prompts you for an "enter." At that point, release the "out" button and answer the prompts as usual. Not really a big deal.)

I agree Garmin should have done a better job of providing easy access for internal battery replacement. Doing the "autolocate" boogie is a bit of a chore, but it can be done in parallel to the usual preflight procedures prior to the runup and mag check. Considering all the other features of my 396 including XM weather (and music), I plan to keep it for a while.

As for the 510 or the 560, I can't offer any advice based on experience for those units.

Good luck. Let us know what you decide.
 
Its a small watch type rechargable lion battery that maintains the clock memory. It only charges when the unit is on and being powered externally. If you use your unit often, it seams to do well but if you leave it off for weeks at a time, it will die a slow death and once it is dead it is next to impossible to revive it.

It is buried deep in the unit and requires some skill to solder in a replacement correctly.

The battery is cheap but the risk to the unit during replacement is high.

I changed the one on my 296 that is many moons old. I would take pause doing it with a unit worth alot more money...it is pretty major surgery since many things could go wrong during the operation and the fine soldering required.

Like Don says above, when the battery dies, you can keep using the unit if you want to force an Autolocate.....Sometimes this takes forever, it depends on how out of whack the unit is with the current sat configuration/time/etc. I did this for several months but it got old...Like he said, once you get it running and locked, it will work fine till turned off.

N8RV said:
Oh. Sorry. Couldn't imagine why Garmin would make it so difficult to replace the battery on a 296 ... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
 
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