Garmin is the gold standard in GPS, but I have a problem, and want to see if anyone else has experienced it.
I had a panel mount GNC300XL installed. It has a tendency to drop ALL the satellites. Several times this has happened, and only sometimes do they come back.
I went back to the installer, and they swapped out the panel unit. Before I got 10 miles toward home, I lost them again. They then swapped out the antenna, and I lost them again. Ditto for the cable.
Now they are saying that it is a cooling problem since it is mounted above the transponder, and they want to put in a cooling fan. They are willing to do it "at cost" which turns out to be about 3X what I can buy a fan for from Spruce.
Has anyone had a similar problem? How did you fix it?
Dave
Garmin GPS Problem
Moderators: GAHorn, Karl Towle, Bruce Fenstermacher
You probably already talked to Garmin about it?
I fiddled around with my Garmin GPS (asking everyone but Garmin how to fix it) for 6 months before calling them. Was a simple 5 min fix!
Diff GPS, but mine sits in the tray right on top of my transponder also.
Garmin Technical Support - (913) 397-8200 or 1-800-800-1020
I fiddled around with my Garmin GPS (asking everyone but Garmin how to fix it) for 6 months before calling them. Was a simple 5 min fix!
Diff GPS, but mine sits in the tray right on top of my transponder also.
Garmin Technical Support - (913) 397-8200 or 1-800-800-1020
The cure for your problem has been out for a number of years now...it's called LORAN 
Long live the KLN-88 (at $300 per unit)! But I would put in a fan. Don't know if your Garmin has a CRT or an LCD display, but the CRT displays generate a LOT of heat and you are already behind the game with the unit on top of a hot-running transponder. The install instructions for the KLN-88 say to keep it away from the transponder and you must run a fan providing at least 4 CFM air movement if you want your unit to continue to function. I used a small salvaged single port fan from a Robinson helicopter. I was going to intall an exterior cooling scoop, but everyone said NO to that idea as I would take in mass quantities of moist air and put it right into the radio stack where it would then warm and condense moisture inside of my investment. 
Long live the KLN-88 (at $300 per unit)! But I would put in a fan. Don't know if your Garmin has a CRT or an LCD display, but the CRT displays generate a LOT of heat and you are already behind the game with the unit on top of a hot-running transponder. The install instructions for the KLN-88 say to keep it away from the transponder and you must run a fan providing at least 4 CFM air movement if you want your unit to continue to function. I used a small salvaged single port fan from a Robinson helicopter. I was going to intall an exterior cooling scoop, but everyone said NO to that idea as I would take in mass quantities of moist air and put it right into the radio stack where it would then warm and condense moisture inside of my investment. John, 2734C in Summit Point, WV
John, all the air in your cabin that supplies the cooling fan comes from outside the aircraft, and is mixed with your humid breath before it's injected into your KLN-88, the heat of which tends to dry it, not condense it.
I installed a cooling scoop, slipped a small piece of bug-screen onto the back of it before I connected the hose which then turns forward and runs UP about 2 feet before it goes into the KLN-88. This prevents bugs and water from getting to the unit. It uses no electricity, is not failure prone, and is powered on the ground by a 76-inch McCauley fan.
http://globalair.com/images/george/kln-88scoop.jpg
[img]http://globalair.com/images/george/kln-88scoop.jpg
I installed a cooling scoop, slipped a small piece of bug-screen onto the back of it before I connected the hose which then turns forward and runs UP about 2 feet before it goes into the KLN-88. This prevents bugs and water from getting to the unit. It uses no electricity, is not failure prone, and is powered on the ground by a 76-inch McCauley fan.
http://globalair.com/images/george/kln-88scoop.jpg
[img]http://globalair.com/images/george/kln-88scoop.jpg
Last edited by GAHorn on Mon Jan 05, 2004 2:30 am, edited 8 times in total.
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
GA, your solution is brilliant. I also agree that you spend way too much time with the polishing cloth a far too little with the broom. I wonder if there is enough air available elsewhere less visible. The GPS as installed in my 170, has a cooling fan. I don't think it helped much, as the supply hose was kinked shut after about nine months after installation. It was probably that way when it was installed. Fortunately, ( or hopefully), the GPS was not in service for long and only during winter. Which one gets hotter? The GPS or the transponder? I would think the hottest one would go on top.
I don't know if it qualifies as "brilliant' or not. Perhaps it would be more correct to say that I "plagarized a brilliant Cessna idea". 
It's a standard on mid-70's C-172's.
On another GPS "problem" such as that which started this thread, lost satellites and poor reception, I was recently made aware of an interesting website that discusses such problems and thought I'd share it.
http://www.scn.org/%7Ebk269/gps.html
It's a standard on mid-70's C-172's.On another GPS "problem" such as that which started this thread, lost satellites and poor reception, I was recently made aware of an interesting website that discusses such problems and thought I'd share it.
http://www.scn.org/%7Ebk269/gps.html
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
-
N73087
An update.
The avionics dealer who installed the unit decided that it was a temperature problem since the unit was mounted over the transponder. they offered to install a cooling fan at cost (about $300, they said) to fix it.
I installed an approved fan (Ameriking from Spruce, $100), had it signed off, and the problem hasn't repeated.
The avionics dealer who installed the unit decided that it was a temperature problem since the unit was mounted over the transponder. they offered to install a cooling fan at cost (about $300, they said) to fix it.
I installed an approved fan (Ameriking from Spruce, $100), had it signed off, and the problem hasn't repeated.
Brian Ward, who is restoring a '54 B-model tells me he intends to steal air from the wing-root cabin ventilation to cool his avionics.
He plans to route sceet hose down the forward door post and behind the sidewall (kickpanel) upholstery to bring cool air to the avionics.
When he told me that I couldn't help but think....'Why didn't I think of that!"
Great idea. It'll be completely invisible and no power required.
He plans to route sceet hose down the forward door post and behind the sidewall (kickpanel) upholstery to bring cool air to the avionics.
When he told me that I couldn't help but think....'Why didn't I think of that!"
Great idea. It'll be completely invisible and no power required.
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
-
rudymantel
- Posts: 451
- Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2002 4:03 pm
When I first started using my Garmin 295 I occasionally lost all signals. I called Garmin and was told that this could happen when using certain VHF frequencies. (I always lost the satellites when tuning in the Pompano ATIS)
Garmin said it was the proximity of the unit to the VHF radio. I installed an external antenna for the GPS and never had a problem again.
FWIW,
Rudy
Garmin said it was the proximity of the unit to the VHF radio. I installed an external antenna for the GPS and never had a problem again.
FWIW,
Rudy
Has any one bought or used one of the new Lowrance Airmap 500's.
It is small enough and light enough (7.6oz) that it should not put a strain on the yoke. It cost half as much as the Garmin 196 that weighs twice as much. Looking at it in from the Garmins perspective, is the 196 worth twice as much
Later, Randal
It is small enough and light enough (7.6oz) that it should not put a strain on the yoke. It cost half as much as the Garmin 196 that weighs twice as much. Looking at it in from the Garmins perspective, is the 196 worth twice as much
Later, Randal51 Cessna 170A N1263D
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zero.one.victor
- Posts: 2271
- Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2002 12:11 am
I know a guy who lives in central Texas hill-country who shot a 300' and 1 approach to his private strip last night in the fog/rain with his Garmin 196. He thinks it's the cat's meow. 
It has not displayed any tendency to lose signals despite the other radios in his panel are the exact ones mentioned earlier as being the ones most troublsome. The satellite signals are not affected despite deliberately selecting the so-called "trouble' frequencies on the com and the 196 using the attached antenna.
The 196 has a top-of-the-panel mount that is far better than any yoke mount. It's like a heads-up display. (It also has the published approaches loaded into it.)
I don't like any weight at all on my yoke because it adds momentum/mass to the yoke and makes it sluggish. (No telling what it does to contol bearings/bushings/etc., and the wires all over the place are a hazardous mess.)
Do not try this at home. Results may vary. The surgeon general has determined that cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your headliner.
It has not displayed any tendency to lose signals despite the other radios in his panel are the exact ones mentioned earlier as being the ones most troublsome. The satellite signals are not affected despite deliberately selecting the so-called "trouble' frequencies on the com and the 196 using the attached antenna.The 196 has a top-of-the-panel mount that is far better than any yoke mount. It's like a heads-up display. (It also has the published approaches loaded into it.)
I don't like any weight at all on my yoke because it adds momentum/mass to the yoke and makes it sluggish. (No telling what it does to contol bearings/bushings/etc., and the wires all over the place are a hazardous mess.)
Do not try this at home. Results may vary. The surgeon general has determined that cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your headliner.
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons.
-
jcraver
No but I had an airmap 100 and loved it. I think it had better features than a 196, but it did take a little more button pushing. I went to the 196 because my eyes are gettin old and I could not see the small screen anymore. It's simple to use and easy to read. The week after I bought my 196 Lowrance came out with the 500 with the big screen for 1/2 the price of the 196. I would have definitely looked at the Lowrance had I known about it. Aviation Consumer said good things about it.R COLLINS wrote:Has any one bought or used one of the new Lowrance Airmap 500's.
jc