Captain

May 31, 2006

I investigated EPIRBs recently on another aviation matter and the advice from AMSA was that if you want a small 406MHZ unit you should wait a little as they are lobbying for a reduction in a couple of EPIRB international design codes that would make them cheaper and smaller (which was important to my other matter).

There is a bit about it on AMSA's website.

But if you need something now and want to go with today's technology and the threat of Feb 2009 closure of one of the existing systems ... then don't wait.

Hope this helps. Geoff

May 31, 2006

I'm in the market for 2 new headsets and after doing the usual web based research am more confounded than before.

Added to that is the fact that my wife and I have totally different head shapes & sizes.... and mine is XXL.

How did you select yours .... and who has gone for noise cancelling with good results?

Is it just a matter of getting what you pay for? If so I'll just get 2 from Bose.

I've never bought a new type of Shoei or Arai motorcycle helmet without a fitting/trial and surely something like a headset (albeit that they have adjustments) that is strapped to your melon for hours needs a similar approach?

So how did you make a selectionwithout travelling the pilot stores trying on 60 or 70 different models for a couple of hours long distance test?

Regards & please help? Captain

May 30, 2006

Congratulations Don.

May 30, 2006

Thanks for your post Geoff.

I agree with you, and while I'd rather be flying it, I am having a ball with the building - see attached pics and the dog is having a good time too, as I am spending more time in the shed with her than with my wife.

This week sees the Brakes, Trim, Controls and flap drive installed and substantially complete pending disassembly for painting.

Main undercarriage is done and lots of blister packs have been emptied so that must be good.

Engine mounts and flap cross drive now off being painted.

Panel design is complete.

Have spent considerable time just reading the futuresections of the manual to gain an appreciation of what is to come and the interface + interdependancy of various items.

Now just past 72 hours in my builder's log.

Regards The/an other Geoff

Captain

May 29, 2006

Would anyone care to offer a recommendation for Tie-Down kits that can be kept in the aircraft, or hints and tips for same?

Regards Geoff

May 28, 2006

Roger

It looks like the AVMAP with the terrain awareness might be a good

thing. Below is a post on the RV Builder's Forum ... but it's fair to

say that a few on that forum expressed some issues with aftersales

support and responses to problems by the Italian Factory. Another issue

that was vented on that Forum is that there may have been a tendancy in

the past that when there was aprobelm with the units, AVMAP blamed

C-Map who blamed Jeppesen .. and none took responsibility to sort out

an issue ... but there are also quite a few happy users like the

reasonable comments below.

I hope one of the Aussie users might reply to confirm the accuracy of the data base down here.

Regards Geoff

AvMap is moving ahead with their terrain warnings ....Take a look at http://www.avmap.it/index.php?swt=12&sec=4&ipr=9

Quote

I have one of each, so I can at least provide some insight from both.

Yes, the 296 panel page is nice, but overall now that the AvMap has

terrain depiction it is my favorite. The display is much larger, more

detailed, and the terrain is like looking at the MX-20. Instead of

being blocky, it's shaded. .

Now for the negatives of the AvMap. When running that high resolution

terrain, you can only use it with "north up" instead of course up. Not

a big deal for people like me who alway fly with North Up. Also, they

call it "terrain awareness" not avoidance. So, it doesn't give you

specific warnings, but then again, this is a VFR unit, so you're not

"technically" supposed to be relying on it's terrain warnings during

VFR flight.....

Anyway, both are nice units and you'll be happy with either of them. I

like both of mine, I just like the bigger screen of the AvMap a little

better (being a 4 eyed spectacle wearer).

Unquote

May 28, 2006

Does anyone have experience, good or bad, with the AVMAP moving map display ... that they would care to share.

Any comments would be appreciated to assist evaluation of that unit against Garmin's 296.

Regards Geoff

May 28, 2006

Go on Paul.

I reckon you can do it .. and you'll never know for sure until you try .... (just jesting of course).

That is some good flying on those videos. Thnks for the links Rob. It

must be a buzz landing on the water like that the 1st time that you try

it.

Regards Geoff

May 28, 2006

It's interesting that there have been so few replies to my question.

Particular thanks to Clem for his ratings. That was a very welcome response.

And nobody has (yet?) come back with a glowing response about the 2000C.

As this one purchase will add a fair bit to my cost and my cockpit, and

for anyone else who cares, below is an update of the comments that RV

owners have given to this question since my original post:

Regards Geoff

Garmin is the new Bendix/King

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been buying Garmin GPS units since the days when Beindix/King

owned the market, and acted like they thought that situation would

never change. Today, Garmin has taken over the role of the "take it or

leave it" monolith.

I had a problem with my 295: turn it on, go to the moving map page, and

the unit would shut itself off. Called Garmin support: send it in with

a check for $250 and we'll fix it. Having been around computers since I

bought a TRS-80 Model I back in the 70's, I figured this to be more of

a software glitch than a hardware problem since it only happened with

one of the pages. No way I was blindly sending then $250 for that. A

little time with Google led me to a little internet backwater where I

found a list of the apparently trade-secret master reboot codes for

Garmin GPS units. Three finger salute and the problem was resolved.

It is inconceivable to me that Garmin has never heard of the problem I

had, and equally inconceivable that the first response from the tech

support team wasn't to suggest trying a reboot. I also find it somewhat

less than customer friendly to not have the reboot codes available on

their support web site. Al I can assume is that they make a bundle on

charging $250 to press three keys. Yes, I understand that $250 is a

blended flat rate, and if I had a $500 fix it would look like a

bargain, but as the first step in the support process, I find their

motives questionable.

The whole thing left me wondering why I would ever buy another Garmin unit.

Having shared my $.02 on the topic, I now have $249.98 left in the bank for my next Garmin support issue.

Originally Posted by aparchment

My experience with Lowrance left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I was

pretty unimpressed with how they supported, or failed to support, my

Airmap. I basically got to use it for a little over a year (I bought it new) before it became obsolete (database became too big for the unit).

They offered me $100 for it if I bought another of their models. I am

sure Lowrance knew that memory size would soon be an issue for the

unit. Buyer beware you may say, but I view it as borderline deceitful.

Then to offer to buy the unit back for a fraction of its purchase price

is a great way to treat customers. How difficult could it have been to

charge the customer for a memory upgrade? Maybe that would have been

cost prohibitive, who knows.

Has this sort of thing happened to the Garmin 296 people?

Antony

__________________

Dave Gamble

#15 Yesterday, 06:19 AM

mrreddick Join Date: Jan 2005

Location: Hangar/home at Hicks Airfield (T67), Fort Worth, TX

Posts: 78

Lowrance

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All,

The 2000C can be flown in the "auto zoom" mode and if you need a closer

look you can zoom in to check an airport identifier, lake name, highway

name, whatever!, and within a short time delay, the Lowrance returns to

the auto zoom range for your route.

I keep one of the nav maps on auto zoom and one on manual. I can

navigate out of the DFW Class B using the manual map and then switch to

the other when I don't need as much surface detail.

I've been a Lowrance user since 1998 and have never had a problem with

them. I prefer my 2000C over my panel mounted Garmin, any day of the

week!

__________________

Mike Reddick

#16 Yesterday, 06:37 AM

L.Adamson Join Date: Apr 2005

Location: KSLC

Posts: 183

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Posted by mrreddick

I prefer my 2000C over my panel mounted Garmin, any day of the week!

The resolution and memory of a panel mounted Garmin 430/530 is much lower compared to a Garmin 296/396.

How about the 2000C versus the Garmin 1000 panel mount?

L.Adamson

#17 Yesterday, 07:47 AM

cobra Join Date: May 2005

Location: Utah

Posts: 170

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Larry,

It seems to me the resolution issue might be significant if you use the 396 as a handheld (close to your eyes)

or mounted a "steering wheel", but not if it is mounted on the panel.

On the panel, bigger seems better to me, particularly with the digital

number displays.

__________________

Mike Parker

#18 Yesterday, 023 AM

RV8N Join Date: Mar 2006

Location: Richmond, Tx.

Posts: 17

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I bought an Airmap 100 in 1999 at Oshkosh. I would have bought a Garmin

but I needed a vertical orientation for the only place I can mount it.

If you buy a Garmin with vertical orientation, the buttons are above

the screen, you cover the screen every time you push a button. That was

unacceptable. I bought the Airmap 100 and have been very happy with it.

I recently tried to upgrade the database and was told the about the

memory size and the $100 trade-in. I will probably buy an Airmap 500 or

600C but will not trade in the Airmap 100. I will use a RAM mount to

attach it to the seat back support so my wife can play with it and

navigate from the back seat. She will love it and it will be worth a

lot more than $100 to her.

Karl

__________________

RV-8 N288K

#19 Yesterday, 07:13 PM

L.Adamson Join Date: Apr 2005

Location: KSLC

Posts: 183

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Posted by cobra

Larry,

It seems to me the resolution issue might be significant if you use the 396 as a handheld (close to your eyes)

or mounted a "steering wheel", but not if it is mounted on the panel.

On the panel, bigger seems better to me, particularly with the digital

number displays.

Mike,

The Garmin 1000 "glass panel" system uses 1024*768 resolution for it's

10 & 15" MFD displays. The Avidyne Entegra uses 800*600, and the

difference is quite noticeable. High res gets rid of the "blocky" look.

With the 296/396 you have choices for sizing the letters & numbers,

as well as a host of other display options, and I'll assume the same

with the Garmin 1000.

L.Adamson

Garmin or Lorance

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[/img]I have the Lorance 1000 and I must admit I think it is a great

value and very easy to read with old eyes. But the Garmin has a logbook

feature that I wish I had. I wanted to upgrade at Sun-N-Fun to the 2000

but the color did not show up in the sun as well as the 1000

mono-chrome.

Tom McCutcheon Join Date: Oct 2005

Location: Vancouver, Washington

Posts: 42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have a Lowrance 2000c and really like it for all the reasons already

described. My son has the Garman 296 and he really likes it. We both

have RV-4's. Each gps unit has it's advantages and drawbacks. Trying to

be completely fair I think the 296 is a bit more user friendly and does

have a bit more information available about airports and services. It

also has an instrument page that is sometimes nice.

The 296 also displayes a bit more overlay information than the 2000c

such as ground speed, altitude, ete, and distance remaining. The 2000c

does these things just fewer at a time. Seems like I run out of overlay

available at 3 items. The 296 displays at least 4 items at a time.

The Lowrance has a big advantage in price. And, I really like it's size of display for my aging eyes (although I didn't have a problem with the 296).

The 296 also has a big advantage in battery life. We flew from south of

Houston TX to Vancouver, WA on one charge with the 296. The 2000c

required airplane power. It's own batteries will probably only go about

5 minutes. Forget buying the external battery for the 2000c as I never

would have room for that.

In the end each have advantages and compromises. I can live with the

compromises of the 2000c and I am very happy with it. My son loves his

296 and is talking about getting a 396 for the WX.

Either unit becomes a bit of a challenge for room in an RV-4. We both

have them mounted down by the fuel selector valve. Out of the sun and

seems to work pretty good there. No room on the panel in a -4 for

either. At least not on either of our panels. Good luck in deciding.

Tom McCutcheon

#22 Today, 06:42 AM

mrreddick Join Date: Jan 2005

Location: Hangar/home at Hicks Airfield (T67), Fort Worth, TX

Posts: 78

Lowrance vs Garmin 1000

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

L Adamson wrote:

How about the 2000C versus the Garmin 1000 panel mount?

Okay! How many pallets of Lowrance 2000C's could I get for the price of one installed Garmin 1000 system? Hmmm..........

__________________

Mike Reddick

#23 Today, 12:44 PM

Shine'r Join Date: Jan 2005

Location: Pittsburgh, Pa

Posts: 9

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Has anyone else had problems with the color not showing up in the

sunlight? What about the Garmin in the sunlight? For less than half the

cost the 2000C is looking real good!!!!!!!!

Shine'r

#24 Today, 01:02 PM

AZtailwind Join Date: Nov 2005

Posts: 12

Discounted 2000C

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Posted by Shine'r

Has anyone else had problems with the color not showing up in the

sunlight? What about the Garmin in the sunlight? For less than half the

cost the 2000C is looking real good!!!!!!!!

And check out PAcific Coast-

http://www.pacificcoastavionics.com

Is that a mistake? $699 for a 2000C?

I just read this thread and started looking at the differences and ...

wow Ther must be no accessories included or something? what a deal mon!

Brad

AZtailwind

#25 Today, 01:08 PM

rv8ch Join Date: Feb 2005

Location: Switzerland

Posts: 848

Airmap 2000C

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Posted by AZtailwind

And check out PAcific Coast-

http://www.pacificcoastavionics.com

Is that a mistake? $699 for a 2000C?

I just read this thread and started looking at the differences and ...

wow Ther must be no accessories included or something? what a deal mon!

Brad

That's the price I get. Wow - that is really a lot cheaper than the

296. I hope they come out with a model with weather and traffic!

__________________

Mickey Coggins

#26 Today, 01:20 PM

cobra Join Date: May 2005

Location: Utah

Posts: 170

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dont forget the the 2000C also comes with "free" software for auto

navigation- the Garman charges a bundle extra for theirs. It doesn't do

weather mapping yet

__________________

Mike Parker

#27 Today, 02:22 PM

alpinelakespilot2000 Join Date: Jan 2005

Posts: 598

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Posted by cobra

Dont forget the the 2000C also comes with "free" software for auto

navigation- the Garman charges a bundle extra for theirs. It doesn't do

weather mapping yet

Out of curiosity, how much does a weather subscription for a 296 cost each month?

__________________

Steve Moore

#28 Today, 04:03 PM

cobra Join Date: May 2005

Location: Utah

Posts: 170

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Only the 396 has WX- expect a one time charge of $75+ either $30 or

$50/month for the weather data feed depending on level of service

options. Id expect you will have to suscribe to XM radio as well (~10/month).

__________________

Mike Parker

#29 Today, 04:19 PM

keen9a Join Date: Jan 2005

Location: St. Louis, MO

Posts: 68

XM Weather Cost

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The costs/service for XM are here: XM Aviation Weather

You don't have to subscribe to XM radio, but its only $6.99 to add it to a weather subscription (click on the .pdf pricing guide on the left).

__________________

Ben Keen

#30 Today, 04:31 PM

alpinelakespilot2000 Join Date: Jan 2005

Posts: 598

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

$30 a month doesn't sound too bad, but $50... ouch. That would mean

$600 a year extra! I'm not sure I'd get even $360 worth out of it,

though if someone were determined to try to weave their way around or

through storms it would be a nice thing to have.

Lowrance 2000C, sans weather, is looking pretty good at $699, particularly since I'm "budget" ($50K +/-)building.

Other's I've heard, on this forum as elsewhere, have indicated the

lowrance resolution is more than adequate, though I'm sure that is a

preference thing. Fortunately I've still got 12 months or so before I

have to commit.

__________________

Steve Moore

Ellensburg WA

RV-9

Fuse upside down

May 28, 2006

Below is the discussion from the RV Forum on these units.

Does anyone have any experience or opinion in OZ that compliments this.

Just look at those US prices.

Regards Geoff

Shine'r Join Date: Jan 2005

Location: Pittsburgh, Pa

Posts: 8

Garmin or Lowrance

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok guys and gals...... getting ready to buy a new GPS which should it be? Garmin 296 (don't need the weather)

or the Lowrance 2000C . How about some input, which one should I buy and of course WHY. Thanks for the help

Shine'r

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#2 Yesterday, 11:20 AM

Mel Join Date: Mar 2005

Location: Dallas area

Posts: 550

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just had the same decision a few months ago. I tried the Lowrance

first. I like to use Vnav. The lowrance does not have Vnav. I know,

they say it does, but you have to input all information every time.

It's just a calculator. Lowrance is too big physically for my taste.

Also you cannot change the scale when you are in "auto zoom" like you

can with Garmin. These are minor things that may or may not be your

preference. But these are the things that made my decision.

Mel...DAR

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#3 Yesterday, 11:53 AM

cobra Join Date: May 2005

Location: Utah

Posts: 166

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mel,

Can you explain "... you cannot change the scale when you are in "auto zoom" like you can with Garmin."

Maybe I don't understand autozoom..., I know you can easily change the

screen scale by a touch with either unit. Personally, my aging eyes

prefer the larger Lawrence 2000 screen.

__________________

Mike Parker

RV-9a under construction,

planning Mazda 13B rotary power

cobra

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#4 Yesterday, 12:49 PM

Mustang Join Date: Jan 2005

Location: Kamloops, B.C.

Posts: 127

Lowrance is my pick.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shiner,

I'm a Garmin guy from way back. I own two Garmins in addition to the

Lowrance. However, the Lowrance is our choice for the RV-8.

Here are my reasons for liking the Lowrance;

1. The screen is oriented in the correct way.

By that I mean it is in Portrait orientation rather than Landscape. Why

Garmin think that you might be more interested in what is beside you

rather than what is in front of you is beyond my comprehension.

2. Although the resolution is less than the Garmin, the font size is just right for my ancient eyes.

3. I like that I can download into the SD cards whatever mapping level

I choose. I currently have the Canadian Topo mapset downloaded for the

entire B.C. and NWT with every tiny creek and duckpond shown. Not to

mention roads with addresses.

4. I have just installed the Lowrance Terrain Awareness SD card which

is pretty good. The elevations are shown in relief rather than contour

lines as in the Topo map sets but the presentation is good.

5. This unit is very good for reading in the sunshine.

6. The unit is capable of running an autopilot and Trio Avionics have

set up our A/P to run off the Lowrance. The update interval is every

second.

Having flown to Wisconsin using this unit last summer from the Canadian

West Coast, I was very happy with the performance of the unit.( I was in an RV-4)

After crossing the border, I never used charts again. It was all there.

Even zipping under Milwaukee's control zone on the way into Racine was

a breeze with the Lowrance giving me the warnings and the layers of the

wedding cake.

If someone stole this unit, I would buy another one.

Cheers, Pete

Mustang

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#5 Yesterday, 01:24 PM

L.Adamson Join Date: Apr 2005

Location: KSLC

Posts: 181

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kitplanes magazine did a side by side comparison between these two

units last year. In the end, the 296 was the "hands down" winner due to

it's resolution and user interface.

They mentioned that the resolution and color of the 296 made it much

easier to define overlapping airspace boundary's, where the Lowrance

appeared to blend some together, and was harder to define.

I myself, think highly of improved resolution, as I don't like the

blocky look. I also found that I like the landscape mode, even though

my older Garmin used the portrait view.

My Trio A/P is also connected to the 296's output.

L.Adamson

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#6 Yesterday, 01:36 PM

Ollie Join Date: May 2005

Location: Loves Landing Airpark (97FL)

Posts: 2

Price

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One thing everyone left out is price.If you shop around you can almost

buy 2 Lowrances for the price of one Garmin. I have used Lowrance since

they first came on the scene many years ago and they have never let me

down.

Ollie 6a

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#7 Yesterday, 02:35 PM

yooper Join Date: Jan 2005

Location: Boston. MA

Posts: 16

Evil Empire

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And don't forget Garmin is the Evil Empire building their monopoly slowly but surely.

Check out the new Lowrance 600C. Looks pretty cool. Smaller, but has neat Terrain features . ..

TDT

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#8 Yesterday, 03:08 PM

Mel Join Date: Mar 2005

Location: Dallas area

Posts: 550

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mike,

Unless they have changed since I tried it, with the Lowrance, you must

be in manual zoom to change scales. In the auto zoom mode you cannot

change the scale without first changing to manual zoom.

I will certainly admit that there are several things I like about the

Lowrance; mainly the vertical orientation of the screen. But just the

physical size made it difficult to use in the -6.

Mel...DAR

Mel

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#9 Yesterday, 06:23 PM

svanarts Join Date: Jan 2005

Location: Modesto, CA

Posts: 176

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been a longtime Garmin user but this time around I went with a

Lowrance unit. I went with the new 600C model because in my RV-4 I

don't have much room. I have to confess I really like the unit. It's

not as configurable as the Garmin unit and I'm still getting used to

the interface but overall I really like it. It locks on quick, has

great resolution, terrain awareness, SD cards for hi-rez mapping,

ground navigation mode, marine navigation mode, all for $500. Not bad.

__________________

--

Scott VanArtsdalen

RV-4 N311SV Flying since 2002!

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#10 Yesterday, 06:24 PM

Sam Buchanan Join Date: Dec 2004

Location: RV-6 based at DCU, Athens, AL

Posts: 102

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I will certainly admit that there are several things I like about the

Lowrance; mainly the vertical orientation of the screen. But just the

physical size made it difficult to use in the -6.

The large Lowrance Airmap 1000 fits nicely in my RV-6, my eyes appreciate it, and my wallet really liked it!

Does a fine job of driving the very capable EZ-Pilot, too. The only

quirk of the Lowrance units when used with the Trio units is that

Lowrance doesn't send the standard airport identifier via the NMEA data

stream. The EZ-Pilot works precisely as advertised, but the waypoint in

the EZ-Pilot display will be a number instead of a K-indentifier. The

same issue was present in my old Airmap 100. If I forget where I've

pointed the plane, I just glance over at the GPS.

Sam Buchanan

Yesterday, 06:26 PM

aparchment Join Date: Oct 2005

Posts: 84

product support