Garmin Area 500 users help me out

[AKBill]

I'm am going to order a Garmin Area 500. Wondering if I should get the external antenna accessory? Does the internal antenna in the GPS work well during all areas of flight? Should I install a separate antenna for the GPS?

Opinions please. Any comments pro or con would be appreciated. It seems like a good bank for your buck to me.

Thanks.

 

[mondtster]

I've never had a problem using the internal antenna. I'd save your money and see how it works as-is to start out.

 

[DMD3.]

The internal antenna works just fine inside an aircraft or vehicle (it can also be used as a road gps).

According to the Garmin website however, the Garmin GDL 39 (which is an external ADS-B/weather receiver) can be plugged into the Aera to provide weather, even on the 500. I'm not sure if it'll display traffic on the Aera or not. Only thing is the GDL 39 costs around $600, though the weather is subscription-free.

 

[DMD3.]

Also be warned, the Aeras have a pretty short battery life. A fully charged device will last for a little over 4 hours, and if you brighten the screen on a bright day, it's actually less than that. Hope your aircraft has a cigarette lighter.

 

[FORANE]

I did the 496 to Aera 560 swap in our RV9A personally. Have you seen the Aera in sunlight? Have you gone through the user interface to select nearest? It is nice to have ads-b WX but that is about all in my view.

If you do it, remote mount the ads-b antenna down low with better view of ground by using a cable. I used these to remote mount the gdl39:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMA-Female-...047?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415f038777

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-FLEXIBL...690?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ce64246da

As to the question of GPS antenna, the internal has worked fine in our installation.

Here is a copy of an email I received from another pilot I sold my 396 to after confessing I regretted selling the 396:

I just finished building an RV-7A for a local pilot. I installed an Aera 560, but had never used one before. I absolutely hate the Aera line of GPS. As you stated the screen is impossible to see in bright light. It's not your eyes, the screen doesn't have the backlight intensity and appears to reflect too much ambient light. Incase of emergency and the need for finding the nearest airport you need to exit out of the map screen and go through too many steps. It's far from ideal in an emergency. Also the ability to zoom out and move the curser forward as the 396 and 496, and navigate to a point, cannot be done! One other gripe. In turbulence your finger will skate across the screen while trying to hit a "button" and the GPS will assume you want to navigate to the point your finger last touched the screen. Oh yes, one other thing! About 50% of the time I have to hit the touch screen "button" two to three times to get it to recognize the "button" has been touched. What a poor replacement for the previous "button" type Garmins. I believe the Garmin Aera GPS is more automotive oriented and far less aviation oriented. Personally, I would not install an Aera in my own plane. That's why I was looking for a 496 for sale, but a 396 works just as well for my needs. The "old" 396 is going in the panel of my next personal plane. Thanks again for the deal. Keep your 496!
__________________

 

[Texastaildragger]

Internal works great

 

[AKBill]

Forane---Thanks, I thought I had my mind made up about the Area. You have me thinking twice about the purchase. What is a good yoke mounted GPS with moving map? WX is not a big concern.

 

[FORANE]

Forane---Thanks, I thought I had my mind made up about the Area. You have me thinking twice about the purchase. What is a good yoke mounted GPS with moving map? WX is not a big concern.

396 OR 496 will yoke mount, are reliable, have sunlight readable screens, a nearest button, etc and with the newer generation stuff out the prices have come down considerably. Pay attention to when the database was last updated before you buy one.

Tablets perhaps as another alternative.

Just look around and find someone with an Aera, look it over in the sun and play with the user interface then decide if that is what you want.

 

[iflyvfr]

Forane---Thanks, I thought I had my mind made up about the Area. You have me thinking twice about the purchase. What is a good yoke mounted GPS with moving map? WX is not a big concern.

Why is Wx not a big concern, aren't you in Alaska? I have an Aera 510 w/ XM and it is amazing, in all light, and all conditions. Do you have Wx elsewhere?

 

[Tradford]

look into Garmin Pilot or Foreflight running on a 7" tablet. Lots of mounting options.

 

[AKBill]

Why is Wx not a big concern, aren't you in Alaska? I have an Aera 510 w/ XM and it is amazing, in all light, and all conditions. Do you have Wx elsewhere?

Hi iflyvfr--The answer to you question got me thinking about the type of flying I do, when I fly, and the conditions I fly in.

Well NOOA, Juneau has a great aviation site, and the avcams.faa.gov has a great weather cam site. Almost every airport in the state has a weather cam. Using both gives you weather and current weather pictures, METARS, TAF's, PIREPS, and a lot more. So I check everything before I leave.

The type of weather we have is mostly rain, low ceilings. Very mountainous, terrain. There are about 15 airports in a 250nm radius from Juneau. In S.E. Alaska we follow channels and canals, valleys. What I really need is a moving map, so if I am forced to fly IFR, I don't hit a mountain.

A little wordy but that was my in a nut shell.

 

[AKBill]

look into Garmin Pilot or Foreflight running on a 7" tablet. Lots of mounting options.

Thanks we'll look at the Garmin and the Foreflight as I reevaluate my true needs. 3D moving map is my #1 priority.

 

[Tmcdavitt]

I actually have a 500 and love it. I have it coupled to a Zaon XRX (didn't see them going out of business...) and it does a decent job of calling out traffic. I also have a 430w and an ipad mini running foreflight with a Stratus 1 (primarily for weather). One of these days I'm going to move towards a single inter grated solution but for now all of the stuff works fine.

I've never used an x96 so I can't comment on those, but what I've read on this forum is that the menus are different and require some amount of adjustment going from one to the other.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[DMD3.]

Thanks we'll look at the Garmin and the Foreflight as I reevaluate my true needs. 3D moving map is my #1 priority.

The 2 apps also have synthetic vision, which could be life saving in mountainous terrain like you described. I think it's only an extra $25 a year.

 

[DMD3.]

Also, while I've been very happy with my Aera 500, I mainly during recreational VFR flights. The hardcore IFR pilot may want something more sophisticated (though more expensive). But its been reliable both as an aviation GPS and as a road GPS.

And I can see the screen ok even on bright days, though I have to turn the backlight up to 100%, which like I said reduces the battery life if your aircraft doesn't have a charger. It'll get you to your destination, but you better have a wall charger or extra battery if you plan on using it coming back.

 

[FORANE]

Clearly there have been mixed reviews on the Aera 5xx series gps units. Personally I have one in our RV and like it for the ads-b WX, compact size, reliability Garmin is known for, etc, but I think the screen suc$s. The poor screen and user interface keep me from replacing the 496 in the Lancair with one. Now I understand the 696 has a good screen and supports ads-b WX, but I do not have the space for it. The newer Garmin Aera 7xx series may have improved on the screen and user interface from the Aera 5xx series; I am not familiar with them but might be worthwhile for the op to check out. In any case, I still maintain the op should compare units in person and in flight before jumping; the difference between 4xx and aera 5xx series screens is striking side by side.

The tablets are good if one is looking for current sectionals, enroutes, plates, etc. Some of the newer tablets have great sunlight readability also. If shopping for a tablet I look for screen brightness in the 600 nits or greater range for good visibility in sunlight. The downside of the tablets is the recurring cost of the subscription and possibly a slightly lower reliability than a Garmin portable gps.

 

[Stewartb]

Had a 296 w/external antenna for years. Switched to a 500 and bought the accessory antenna adaptor. My unit doesn't work any better than a friend who has the identical airplane and identical panel dock and no ext antenna. Don't bother with an antenna. As for the GPS? I like the Aera better.

 

[tom28z]

I have a 500 in an airgizmos mount in my super cub, 396 had an external antenna, 500 does not. I have not had any problems with it. Touch screen works good with it hard mounted. I really like it.

 

[AKBill]

The 2 apps also have synthetic vision, which could be life saving in mountainous terrain like you described. I think it's only an extra $25 a year.

Thanks will look into. So do I need phone service to get the apps on the IPAD? I'm either old school or cheap, don't have mobile phone, the wife has one...

 

[AKBill]

Forane-----The tablets are good if one is looking for current sectionals, enroutes, plates, etc. Some of the newer tablets have great sunlight readability also. If shopping for a tablet I look for screen brightness in the 600 nits or greater range for good visibility in sunlight. The downside of the tablets is the recurring cost of the subscription and possibly a slightly lower reliability than a Garmin portable gps.

So educate me a little. Correct me were I am wrong. So I get a 7 inch table say $300.00. Then I get a phone subscription say $50.00/month. Subscription to Foreflight $150.00/year plus the added $25.00/year for synthetic app. Initial investment is $1075.00 and after the first year $750.00 a year.

Do you need cell service for this to work? Most of the area I fly has no cell service.

Weather here is mostly overcast, not a whole lot of truly sunny days, I'm thinking the sun will not be a factor.

 

[AKBill]

Had a 296 w/external antenna for years. Switched to a 500 and bought the accessory antenna adaptor. My unit doesn't work any better than a friend who has the identical airplane and identical panel dock and no ext antenna. Don't bother with an antenna. As for the GPS? I like the Aera better.

Thanks for the info.

 

[AKBill]

I have a 500 in an airgizmos mount in my super cub, 396 had an external antenna, 500 does not. I have not had any problems with it. Touch screen works good with it hard mounted. I really like it.

My wife thinks I should get the AREA 500 use it for 6 months and sell if I don't like. Or move it to the right hand side and let her play with it.

 

[Stewartb]

The rest of the story. I have an iPad mini with Garmin Pilot and Foreflight apps. I added a Garmin GDL39 3D accessory ADS-B receiver (add $900 to your equipment budget for the receiver). I much prefer my iPad over my Aera. More functions, more options, easier to use, and easier to see. A tablet with an app and an ADS-B receiver is a very good way to go if you can swing it.

PS: Both the Garmin and Foreflight apps provide weather info via cell. No cell service, no weather. Foreflight's aerial view also requires cell. An iPad with cell capability has internal GPS (not cell service dependent). An ADS-B receiver add-on will provide weather when out of cell range and also is a GPS receiver if you use a wifi iPad.

 

[AKBill]

The rest of the story. I have an iPad mini with Garmin Pilot and Foreflight apps. I added a Garmin GDL39 3D accessory ADS-B receiver (add $900 to your equipment budget for the receiver). I much prefer my iPad over my Aera. More functions, more options, easier to use, and easier to see. A tablet with an app and an ADS-B receiver is a very good way to go if you can swing it.

Starting to see your point. Guess there are lots of different mounts for the tables out there.

 

[FORANE]

So educate me a little. Correct me were I am wrong. So I get a 7 inch table say $300.00. Then I get a phone subscription say $50.00/month. Subscription to Foreflight $150.00/year plus the added $25.00/year for synthetic app. Initial investment is $1075.00 and after the first year $750.00 a year.

Do you need cell service for this to work? Most of the area I fly has no cell service.

Weather here is mostly overcast, not a whole lot of truly sunny days, I'm thinking the sun will not be a factor.

I am not familiar with AK and I do not personally use foreflight but you should not need cell service to run foreflight (other than for the functions listed by StewartB apparently). You need gps reception and for Wx you would need the stratus and ads-b coverage in your area. You need wifi to update the maps once a month or so whatever it is. So, after the initial purchase you would have recurring cost of just the foreflight subscription.

Agree with StewartB on this (and find many of his posts educational). A tablet has some advantages if you can swing the size along with possible external devices such as gps receiver. Tablets have multitouch zoom - the Aeras do not. Tablets do other functions - the Aeras are single purpose. Tablets may be updated with current data less expensively. Tablets run software which continues to evolve and add more features - the Aera is what it is.

Not sure about the quality of the internal gps in the ipad minis - if it is waas or not, what the Hz rate is, if it would suffer loss of location in the plane, etc. On my Asus TF700 I found that the non-waas internal gps differed from the 430w at times, most notably on approaches. Because of this, I use an external 10Hz bluetooth gps with it.

Not sure but I think only the cellular versions of the ipad have an internal gps. If that is what you want you will need to buy the cellular version of the ipad, but that does not mean you need to activate the cellular service.

 

[DMD3.]

Thanks will look into. So do I need phone service to get the apps on the IPAD? I'm either old school or cheap, don't have mobile phone, the wife has one...

You'll have to buy the ipad, but you won't need phone service. Foreflight is only $75 a year if you get the standard subscription (not including the $25 for synthetic vision). You'll also need to purchase an external GPS receiver (like the bad elf) for around $100. If you're willing to pay an extra $900 you can get an ADS-B receiver (which will give you subscription-free weather and traffic) instead of an external GPS.

 

[RyanShort1]

Just an FYI. My new plane came with an Aera 500 and a GDL-39 and I'm VERY impressed. Used the units on an aerial photography mission today and they were quite helpful, as was the weather link on the flight home halfway across the country.

 

[AKBill]

396 OR 496 will yoke mount, are reliable, have sunlight readable screens, a nearest button, etc and with the newer generation stuff out the prices have come down considerably. Pay attention to when the database was last updated before you buy one.

Tablets perhaps as another alternative.

Just look around and find someone with an Aera, look it over in the sun and play with the user interface then decide if that is what you want.

Well I purchased an area 500 and don't like the screen. For me hard to see in an overcast/sunny day. Live and learn. Guess I will keep for this summer but will be looking for something else in upcoming months. Had the buyers itch, should have used one before I bought the one I have.

 

[Katamarino]

I upgraded from a 296 to a 550 and couldn't be happier. I also have the GDL-39 which is a real gamechanger; the weather info allows me to carry out flights that I really couldn't have done before I had it.

I've used the 550 all through the Americas, Europe, and Africa; the old x96 units only had a basemap for one of three worldwide regions and if you wanted to fly somewhere else and use a basemap, you had to buy an entire new GPS. The Aera series, thank goodness, has wised up and you get a worldwide basemap.

I have noticed that occasionally if the sun is at just the wrong angle, I need to shade the screen with my hand to read it clearly, but this has not happened often enough for me to ever think of it as an issue. More times than not, I find that I have forgotten to turn the backlight up after a night flight.

 

[AKBill]

I upgraded from a 296 to a 550 and couldn't be happier. I also have the GDL-39 which is a real gamechanger; the weather info allows me to carry out flights that I really couldn't have done before I had it.

I've used the 550 all through the Americas, Europe, and Africa; the old x96 units only had a basemap for one of three worldwide regions and if you wanted to fly somewhere else and use a basemap, you had to buy an entire new GPS. The Aera series, thank goodness, has wised up and you get a worldwide basemap.

I have noticed that occasionally if the sun is at just the wrong angle, I need to shade the screen with my hand to read it clearly, but this has not happened often enough for me to ever think of it as an issue. More times than not, I find that I have forgotten to turn the backlight up after a night flight.

Maybe am I to quick to criticize don't like the screen. Think I will mount it on right yoke and let the wife play with it.

 

[FORANE]

Well I purchased an area 500 and don't like the screen. For me hard to see in an overcast/sunny day. Live and learn. Guess I will keep for this summer but will be looking for something else in upcoming months. Had the buyers itch, should have used one before I bought the one I have.

Yup.
They are hard to pass up as they offer so much in a compact package. The good news is they are easily sold. For me the 496 would be almost ideal if it was capable of fis-b ads-b. And my 430w would be much better if it was capable of airway flight planning...

 

[AKBill]

Yup.
They are hard to pass up as they offer so much in a compact package. The good news is they are easily sold. For me the 496 would be almost ideal if it was capable of fis-b ads-b. And my 430w would be much better if it was capable of airway flight planning...

Thanks. I will test drive before I willingly spent my cash next time.

 

[yakdriver]

Look at the Ifly 740. I had an area 500 and hated it. Not intuitive at all and the touchscreen was way too sensitive. Also couldn't see it in bright light. I can hand you an Ifly and you will be able to figure out how to operate most of the features within 15 minutes with no instruction. You can add an ADS B receiver for around $500 and the VFR map subscription is $70 a year, IFR $100. ADS B out is also available. I've been using the 720 for the last 3 years and I'm going to upgrade to the 740 soon. iflygps.com

 

[Stewartb]

Maybe am I to quick to criticize don't like the screen. Think I will mount it on right yoke and let the wife play with it.

I don't know what you don't like but if it's the map itself consider spending $100 for the detailed Garmin topo card for Alaska. It's not a very useful GPS without the detailed maps.