howdy all,i saw a garmin 296 in alaska airmen web page it was selling for $900 need a battery and a up date it two years old what do you think it should sell for thanks.marc n43643

E-Bay sets the price for used Garmin portables.

The current sold prices for the 296 is $900. (This is with a used battery & database.)

A battery from E-Bay is $20-40.

An aviation database is $35 from Garmin.

If I were you I would be willing to pay the $900.

-Todd Giencke A&P/IA & Avionics

tgiencke wrote:E-Bay sets the price for used Garmin portables.

If I were you I would be willing to pay the $900.

-Todd Giencke A&P/IA & Avionics

I have the Garmin 396, which is, I believe, the 296 + XM radio/wx. It's been absolutely flawless, flew with it last summer for Yute Air in Bethel and it was as good as the MX20 I was used to with my Capstone equipped airplanes. I would really feel naked flying without it now.

Gump

I agree with you 110% the 396 is much better than the 296 *if* you are willing to pay the $30-50/mo for the XM weather.

I fly with the 396 w/ XM weather almost everyday and absolutely love the on screen weather. I was coming back from Sisseton, SD to Waconia, MN and it was great seeing the big, lighting making, thunderstorms on the screen.

As the commercial says...

"Being able to know that around the next rainshaft we are in the clear... Priceless."

But with that said, if you can't afford the XM weather get the 296 for the terrain. If you can't afford the 296 get the 96c for the obsticals (towers). If you can't afford the 96c get an etrex so you know where you are.

-Todd Giencke

Anybody used a 496? Pretty nice. It's about the same as the 396, but the image seems to refresh quicker. I agree though, the 396 or 496 is an amazing tool to have in the cockpit.

I've used the 296 all over the Idaho backcountry. When the weather is scuzzy, I think few things are as reassuring as looking down at the GPS and seeing the map and the terrain and knowing exactly where you are. If you fly the same route several times, you get a very well defined track on the map that you can follow.

John

I don't know where you guy's fly, but where I do the 396's database of terrain and particularly the radio towers is nice to have. My 295 doesn't have it, I'm not sure the if 296 does. If it does then it's worth a lot more than the 295.

I posted this on SuperCub.org, but never got an answer. I'll try here: has anybody out there hard wired XM Satellite Radio into a plane using a Garmin 396/496? If so, how did you do it? Did you run it through an intercom with stereo input? How do you control volume?

Thanks.

375HandH

375handh wrote:I posted this on SuperCub.org, but never got an answer. I'll try here: has anybody out there hard wired XM Satellite Radio into a plane using a Garmin 396/496? If so, how did you do it? Did you run it through an intercom with stereo input? How do you control volume?

I haven't done it, but I'm going to. Most of the modern intercoms have an auxiliary channel for CD players or 1/8" stereo input jacks that you could then use to plug in an iPod or PDA. I don't see why you couldn't make a 1/8" stereo mini plug part of your umbilical for the 396/496, that leads back to the intercom. Volume would have to be controlled either by the output volume on the handheld, or by the channel volume/input gain on the intercom, or both.

375handh wrote:I posted this on SuperCub.org, but never got an answer. I'll try here: has anybody out there hard wired XM Satellite Radio into a plane using a Garmin 396/496? If so, how did you do it? Did you run it through an intercom with stereo input? How do you control volume?

Thanks.

375HandH

I just did last week at annual.

Hard wired a Sigtronics four-place stereo intercom, and used an AirGizmos docking station in the panel for the 396 (which filled in a lot of unused/plugged holes too). Hooked up the audio input wires of the intercom and placed the input jack on the bottom/center of the panel, where the factory mike holder sits. The XM audio plug just barely shows when plugged in, with wiring all behind the panel, and the jack is there for CD player or MP3 too.

All very sanitary, and so nice to have the music to listen to. The volume of the XM is all controlled by the 396 itself. Only thing I have left to do is get an extension for the XM antenna (why they make it so much shorter than the GPS antenna I don't know), and get it mounted exterior airplane. Signal is not a problem down here, but in Alaska the XM is real fussy about a clear southeast exposure. And, that'll get rid of suction cup mounts and exposed wires. I hate wires!!!!!

Gump

Low&Slow wrote:Anybody used a 496? Pretty nice. It's about the same as the 396, but the image seems to refresh quicker. I agree though, the 396 or 496 is an amazing tool to have in the cockpit.

John

Yes the 496 refreshes 5 times per sec and the 396 refreshes 1 per sec. Not something you really going to need in the air. Infact IMHO the greatest difference the 496 has that the 396 doesn't is private airports.

Having the land data preloaded in the 496 is nice but I already had the 396 with a 512mb card with all of central US maps loaded so the 496 wasn't much of a step-up so I still have my 396.

-Todd Giencke

375handh wrote:I posted this on SuperCub.org, but never got an answer. I'll try here: has anybody out there hard wired XM Satellite Radio into a plane using a Garmin 396/496? If so, how did you do it? Did you run it through an intercom with stereo input? How do you control volume?

Thanks.

375HandH

To add what gump said...

An even better reason to wire the 396/496 audio into the audio panel/intercom is so you can hear the audio terrain warnings. It announces towers, terrain, sink rate, 500' AGL, etc. It works just like (even better) the ground prox I installed in our King Airs a few years ago.

I wired my audio into the unused Nav channel in the audio panel so I can turn it off if it gets annoying.

-Todd Giencke

375handh wrote:I posted this on SuperCub.org, but never got an answer. I'll try here: has anybody out there hard wired XM Satellite Radio into a plane using a Garmin 396/496? If so, how did you do it? Did you run it through an intercom with stereo input? How do you control volume?

Thanks.

375HandH

I wouldn't use the 396/496 for that. I use the XM2GO little portable XM radio. The reason that I wouldn't use the Garmin is that the little XM portable radio just sits in a little cradle and is super easy to go from one vehicle to the other to include my airplane. With only one XM radio, I only pay for one XM subscription and can use the little radio in my truck, car and house. Also the little portable radio is a better radio, easier to use, records music, has a better menu etc. Sometimes a single specific device is better at what that device is designed for than a multi-purpose device.
OK I just read about the ground proximity warning, yes that would be nice, just forget what I said

Gump:

Maybe I have missed something (entirely possible since I haven't read the entire Garmin 396 manual). You say the volume of the XM is controlled by the 396 itself. Where do you do that?

My current intercom is a David Clark ISOCOM, which doesn't have a auxilliary input. So I have been research other intercoms. Anyone have any experience with the Flightcom 403? It has stereo in and out, auto muting of music. Looks pretty nice.

375HandH

To adjust the volume hit the power button then move the thumbpad right and left. Moving up and down adjusts the backlighting level.

-Todd Giencke

An even better reason to wire the 396/496 audio into the audio panel/intercom is so you can hear the audio terrain warnings. It announces towers, terrain, sink rate, 500' AGL, etc. It works just like (even better) the ground prox I installed in our King Airs a few years ago.

I actually turned the audio part of the ground proximity warning off. In AK most of my flying was way under 500 ft AGL, and down here in the wilds of NV I'm too old and dumb to learn something new, so I do the same. The damn warning voice was muting my music and driving me nuts.

Gump

Todd:

Thanks, the volume control works well.

Gump:

I have to agree with you. I went out yesterday for my pretty much every evening flight in the wine country up the Russian River and the terrain warnings were driving me crazy until I figured out how to turn them off.

375HandH

Instead of turning off the terrain audio you might try adjusting the sensitivity of the warnings down.

Getting annoying warnings is why I wired the 396 audio to the nav audio input of the audio panel so I can turn it off/on easily.

-Todd Giencke

I have my terrain warning set-up like this...

Caution Elevation: 500'

Look ahead time: 120sec

Terrain alert sensitivity: Medium

Obstacle alert sensitivity: Medium

Decent alert sensitivity: High

If you like to fly low (<500' AGL) set the Terrain alert sensitivity to Low then it will only go off when you are going to be <100' AGL in 120 sec.

Take a look at page 38 of the 396 manual.

-Todd Giencke

tgiencke wrote:I have my terrain warning set-up like this...

Caution Elevation: 500'

Look ahead time: 120sec

Terrain alert sensitivity: Medium

Obstacle alert sensitivity: Medium

Decent alert sensitivity: High

If you like to fly low (<500' AGL) set the Terrain alert sensitivity to Low then it will only go off when you are going to be <100' AGL in 120 sec.

Take a look at page 38 of the 396 manual.

-Todd Giencke

This may work in flat lands but here in the mountains the terrain function is of zero use while VFR. Flying around here bopping in and out of private strips the alerts never stop, no matter what the settings. I turned that stupid function off during my very first flight with it. Hasn't been on since. Now the obstacles, there's a useful function.

Bonanza Man wrote:

This may work in flat lands but here in the mountains the terrain function is of zero use while VFR. Flying around here bopping in and out of private strips the alerts never stop, no matter what the settings. I turned that stupid function off during my very first flight with it. Hasn't been on since. Now the obstacles, there's a useful function.

Same here in Nevada. It's not so much the lack of air below you, but off to the side. Squeeze thru a pass and drop down a canyon just a few feet away from the rock and that damn warning voice never shut up. I know where that rock is, and don't need the GPS to tell me.

Gump