garmin gpsmap 96

yoman793

yoman793

Well-Known Member
hey all, i was considering buying garmins relatively new gpsmap 96 and was wondering if anyone here at JC has one or has any experience with it. i am about 10 days out from having a wet stamped ppl and would like to have a cheap gps unit for vfr flying and to use during time building. i plan on tackling my ifr license as soon as i get the 50 x-country hours under my belt and wouldnt mind having a backup for that. at $375 its almost a no brainer. its a small price to pay for piece of mind when flying at night and to have in my bag if s**t hits the fan. (i rent a pretty old 172 with alot of "character" :laff:)

what you think JCer's? thanks for the help.
 
yoman793 said:
hey all, i was considering buying garmins relatively new gpsmap 96 and was wondering if anyone here at JC has one or has any experience with it. i am about 10 days out from having a wet stamped ppl and would like to have a cheap gps unit for vfr flying and to use during time building. i plan on tackling my ifr license as soon as i get the 50 x-country hours under my belt and wouldnt mind having a backup for that. at $375 its almost a no brainer. its a small price to pay for piece of mind when flying at night and to have in my bag if s**t hits the fan. (i rent a pretty old 172 with alot of "character" :laff:)

what you think JCer's? thanks for the help.
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I have the 96C and love it. For all the reasons you listed above and more it is a great unit. It really isn't new, I bought mine refurbished 3 years ago. I bought it thinking I would use it while I build my time then sell it, but I don't think I ever will. It is just to compact and useful, particularly if everything else goes out. It fits in my headset bag (not a full flight bag, just the headset bag) and is there whenever I may need it.
 
great, thats what i wanted to hear. im thinking of buying the non color version as its $125 bucks cheaper and still does the same thing. have you had any problems with it loosing satelite connection?

thanks for the input bdhill. any other advise would be awesome.
 
yoman793 said:
great, thats what i wanted to hear. im thinking of buying the non color version as its $125 bucks cheaper and still does the same thing. have you had any problems with it loosing satelite connection?

thanks for the input bdhill. any other advise would be awesome.
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1. The color is worth the extra cash
2.As long as the unit has an unrestricted view of the sky then I have never had any issues with losing satellite coverage. Sometimes I have only had the unit in my hand then set it down with the antenna pointed somewhere other than up and it will lose signal. But when I bring it back upright it regains signal pretty quickly. I bought the MCX antenna that is about an inch and a half wide with a 15 foot cable (about $25-35 depending on where you buy it) and will just throw that up on the dash.
 
RPJ said:
Don't get the 96c! Spend $100.00 more and get the Lowrance Airmap 600c at $499.00. It is totally superior in every way, it makes the 96c look like a cheap toy.

http://www.lowrance.com/en/Products/Aviation/AirMap-600C/
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How is it "totally superior in every way"?

I am looking at the link and can only see two real differences between the 96C and the 600c.

1. 16 GPS channels instead of 12 on the 96C. Which means nothing as you will be very hard pressed to be in a position on the face of the earth to get that many satellites at one time; and those additional satellites (if you can get them) will not improve the accuracy of the position solution. Stand alone my 96C is usually accurate to around 8-12 feet, with the external antenna 4 feet.

2. The memory is on a removable (read that as losable) SD card. The 96 is internal memory that is updated through a standard USB cable.

Can you program profiles for multiple aircraft, including weight and balance and fuel burn into the Lowrance? Does it have a fuel timer? Does it have a built in electronic E6B? Is it waterproof? Does it float? Can you set proximity waypoints (such as TFRs) that it will set off alerts if you are getting too close?

I absolutely hated the Lowrance Airmap 2000C that came with our plane. The menus were not very intuitive. The alarm was going off constantly. It ate batteries like crazy, and just plain took up too much space.

Go Garmin, come to the dark side:D
 
I love Garmins, but the Lowrance 600c has twice the screen resolution of the 96c, which would be a big factor in my decisions. That said, I'd spring the extra and get a Garmin 296.
 
bdhill1979 said:
How is it "totally superior in every way"?

I am looking at the link and can only see two real differences between the 96C and the 600c.

1. 16 GPS channels instead of 12 on the 96C. Which means nothing as you will be very hard pressed to be in a position on the face of the earth to get that many satellites at one time; and those additional satellites (if you can get them) will not improve the accuracy of the position solution. Stand alone my 96C is usually accurate to around 8-12 feet, with the external antenna 4 feet.

2. The memory is on a removable (read that as losable) SD card. The 96 is internal memory that is updated through a standard USB cable.

Can you program profiles for multiple aircraft, including weight and balance and fuel burn into the Lowrance? Does it have a fuel timer? Does it have a built in electronic E6B? Is it waterproof? Does it float? Can you set proximity waypoints (such as TFRs) that it will set off alerts if you are getting too close?

I absolutely hated the Lowrance Airmap 2000C that came with our plane. The menus were not very intuitive. The alarm was going off constantly. It ate batteries like crazy, and just plain took up too much space.

Go Garmin, come to the dark side:D
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1. SD memory I think is advantageous. With the map create software thats included you can transfer complete road maps with all road, town, city, county names to the screen and a host of other maps/way points. That is a worth while feature for some air operations. You can also switch it to ground mode once in your car and have a fully capable car GPS with all roads and points of interests.

2. It has a timer, E6B, fully customizable alerts for airspace, terrain/obstructions and custom proximity way points, back-up 6 pack, VNAV, terrain/airspace/obstacle profile view, better screen resolution, bigger screen size, safe flight 21 airport taxiway diagrams, FULL TERRAIN DATABASE for the Americas, back-up on board memory, split screen presentation, WAAS, comes with more accessories and a bunch of other stuff.

Download the manual on the website to see everything if so inclined. I really think you would of liked the 2000c better if you had a minute on the ground to customize everything. The terrain database and the profile views are worth it by themselves. The 96c came out long before the 600c and Lowrance just used all the features of the Garmin and added some more.
 
RPJ said:
1. SD memory I think is advantageous. With the map create software thats included you can transfer complete road maps with all road, town, city, county names to the screen and a host of other maps/way points. That is a worth while feature for some air operations. You can also switch it to ground mode once in your car and have a fully capable car GPS with all roads and points of interests.
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The Garmin does this too, but with internal memory.

RPJ said:
2. It has a timer, E6B, fully customizable alerts for airspace, terrain/obstructions and custom proximity way points, back-up 6 pack, VNAV, terrain/airspace/obstacle profile view, better screen resolution, bigger screen size, safe flight 21 airport taxiway diagrams, FULL TERRAIN DATABASE for the Americas, back-up on board memory, split screen presentation, WAAS, comes with more accessories and a bunch of other stuff.
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The 96 will not do the split screen thing, nor the terrain profile thing, though it comes with the terrain and obstacle database. I have used it primarily for general situational awareness and airspace avoidance. I actually prefer the smaller lower resolution screen as it does not tempt one to stare at it for too long. Just look at it to tell me how far I am from a waypoint and if I am on track.

As to the 2000C, we replaced it with a panel docked Garmin 496 underneath our existing 530. SO now we have a backup GPS, XM weather and Music, and all the taxiway database info. Its a pretty slick setup.
 
i've been reading about the lowrance and it seems that alot of people have problems with seeing it in the cockpit. besides the extra $125 it costs the only problem with it seems to be problems with sun glare. it doesnt look like the screen is that much larger than garmins gpsmap 96 either. plus i think the small scale of the unit is a plus. im a renter, so the ease of being able to put the gps in my pocket after im done with it is a must.

bd, why do you like the color version so much. there is no weather or terrain and the gray scale seems like it would be easier to see with lots of sun in the cockpit.
 
yoman793 said:
i've been reading about the lowrance and it seems that alot of people have problems with seeing it in the cockpit. besides the extra $125 it costs the only problem with it seems to be problems with sun glare. it doesnt look like the screen is that much larger than garmins gpsmap 96 either. plus i think the small scale of the unit is a plus. im a renter, so the ease of being able to put the gps in my pocket after im done with it is a must.

bd, why do you like the color version so much. there is no weather or terrain and the gray scale seems like it would be easier to see with lots of sun in the cockpit.
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Because the terrain, obstacles, and airspace are color coded. Also I use mine for driving, hiking, biking, hunting, boating, etc... the color screen is really nice with topo maps and other out of the cockpit uses.
 
Yoman, I will sell you my 96C for $300 if you are interested. With an external MCX antenna. It makes it much more accurate and better reception. It looks brand new and the screen has no scratches. It was always put in a case after use and has a nice yoke clip. I loved using this GPS for general aviation. I could comfortably navigate anywhere with it and the airspace loaded on it is awesome. You can track all your flights and input them into Google earth to study where you went.

I just don't have the need for it as much anymore, now that I only fly airlines and not GA.
 

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SierraPilot123 said:
Yoman, I will sell you my 96C for $300 if you are interested. With an external MCX antenna. It makes it much more accurate and better reception. It looks brand new and the screen has no scratches. It was always put in a case after use and has a nice yoke clip. I loved using this GPS for general aviation. I could comfortably navigate anywhere with it and the airspace loaded on it is awesome. You can track all your flights and input them into Google earth to study where you went.

I just don't have the need for it as much anymore, now that I only fly airlines and not GA.
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dang, thats cheap
 
bdhill1979 said:
As to the 2000C, we replaced it with a panel docked Garmin 496 underneath our existing 530. SO now we have a backup GPS, XM weather and Music, and all the taxiway database info. Its a pretty slick setup.
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Yeah, that is really nice. I flew an LSA with a panel mounted 496.
 
I've got an AnywhereMap ATC.

Since the new software load, it's da bomb.

Love taking it out of the plane, switching it to car nav mode and having that feature, too.
 
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