Garmin 496 data input line

Does anyone know if the data input line can be used for any function other than the Sonar mode shown in the manual ? If I understand the manual the data input is live only when the sonar function is enabled.

Would like to know if you can use the 496 as a multi function display...

If you have a Garmin panel-mount GPS (GNS 430, GNC 250XL, GX60, etc) you can connect it to your 496, and the flight plan in the panel-mount GPS will show up on the handheld.

Or, if you have a Garmin Mode S transponder, you can display TIS traffic data on the 496. I believe there's now also a third-party product that can send this same data to the 496 for display.

mcb

mburch said:

If you have a Garmin panel-mount GPS (GNS 430, GNS 250XL, GX60, etc) you can connect it to your 496, and the flight plan in the panel-mount GPS will show up on the handheld.
mcb

Click to expand...

Matt, this is exactly what we want to do... So i assume the data input line is live in other than the Sonar mode ? The manual indicates otherwise... or I'm mis reading it...

Thanks

Richard Suffoletto said:

Matt, this is exactly what we want to do... So i assume the data input line is live in other than the Sonar mode ? The manual indicates otherwise... or I'm mis reading it...

Click to expand...

Yep, you just need to go to the Main Menu --> Setup --> Interface, and change the mode to (for example) "Aviation In", "TIS In", etc.

mcb

Another recent addition to the Garmin 396/496 possible data inputs is the Zaon PCAS XRX device. The newest firmware is able to talk the Garmin TIS format to the 396/496 and thus the Garmin unit will be able to plot on the screen the approximate position of the traffic which is also shown on the XRX display, like this:



This is the required cable to hook up the two devices:

http://www.gulf-coast-avionics.com/detail/8719/GPS/Zaon_Flight_Systems/GARX-X/

Nowhere close to what TIS can do, but you don't need to have a mode S box, and since the future of TIS is as clear as muddy water, this seems a viable option.

Ciao, Luca

lucaberta said:

...Nowhere close to what TIS can do, but you don't need to have a mode S box, and since the future of TIS is as clear as muddy water, this seems a viable option.

Ciao, Luca

Click to expand...

In areas outside of TIS support this may be better! A lot of the new radars will no longer suport TIS.

Wow Luca. I was just daydreaming about this the other day and wondering why no one was doing it. I told a couple of pilot friends about my idea and they told me I was nuts because it wasn't as accurate as TIS.

Jamie said:

Wow Luca. I was just daydreaming about this the other day and wondering why no one was doing it. I told a couple of pilot friends about my idea and they told me I was nuts because it wasn't as accurate as TIS.

Click to expand...

agreed Jamie, it's quite a cool idea, and it would work great also for us overseas, where mode S and TIS are just things that we read about on the web...

Not as accurate, but better than nothing, still. And from what I have read about the PCAS XRX unit, it's quite a nice gizmo to have, and the link between the Garmin and the XRX to me it's just the icing on the cake.

But!! It's not a good excuse to stop scanning for other folks around, particularly for those more that 30NM outside a major airport...

This thing was announced at Sun 'n Fun and I was surprised that nobody brought this up earlier on, so I thought I could help from this side of the pond... the power of the Internet!

Ciao, Luca

CAUTION - CAUTION - CAUTION

lucaberta said:

Another recent addition to the Garmin 396/496 possible data inputs is the Zaon PCAS XRX device. The newest firmware is able to talk the Garmin TIS format to the 396/496 and thus the Garmin unit will be able to plot on the screen the approximate position of the traffic which is also shown on the XRX display, like this:

This is the required cable to hook up the two devices:

http://www.gulf-coast-avionics.com/detail/8719/GPS/Zaon_Flight_Systems/GARX-X/

Nowhere close to what TIS can do, but you don't need to have a mode S box, and since the future of TIS is as clear as muddy water, this seems a viable option.

Ciao, Luca

Click to expand...

Every time I hear this the hair on the back of my neck stands up.

These things will ONLY display airplanes that have transponders installed and there are a lot that don't. (I don't want to start the "All airplanes SHOULD have a transponder war." because it is a bit hard to install one in an airplane without electrics.)

And...

I think that for a transponder to transmit it has to be interrogated by something and not all of the country (USA) is covered by radar last I checked. (I could be wrong on this point, please correct me if I am.)

In short, you still need to keep your eyes looking out the windshield.

One last thing...

Everyone I have flown with who has one of these things installed turns them off when approaching airports because they are lighting up like a fish finder in a pro bass tournament. Kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think?

Ok, I?m off my soapbox.

N941WR said:

Every time I hear this the hair on the back of my neck stands up.

These things will ONLY display airplanes that have transponders installed and there are a lot that don't.

Click to expand...

very true, Bill. My reference to the 30NM outside of a major airport was made to point out that a lot of airplanes might not even have a transponder on board, as you say.

I think that for a transponder to transmit it has to be interrogated by something and not all of the country (USA) is covered by radar last I checked. (I could be wrong on this point, please correct me if I am.)

Click to expand...

well, you are semi-wrong and semi-correct. Don't forget that TCAS also interrogates your transponder all the time, and you can tell by looking at the reply LED, which typically these days is pretty much lit up steady... it's not just radars sweeping you, believe me. At the PCAS XRX does work equally well with a reply coming from an airplane being interrogated by a jetliner with TCAS up in the flight levels.

In short, you still need to keep your eyes looking out the windshield.

Click to expand...

absoutely! Never said the opposite, infact I made a clear reference to this issue. More stuff in the cockpit when VFR can be *deadly*, for real!

Everyone I have flown with who has one of these things installed turns them off when approaching airports because they are lighting up like a fish finder in a pro bass tournament. Kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think?

Click to expand...

doesn't the exact same thing happen with TCAS to the airliners?

Ciao, Luca

After a few close calls in the DFW area...

I would love to find/install a Garmin 330 to plug into my 496 but the budget minded in me is not really wanting to pony up the $ for a system that is on the way out. I would go the 330 route before I installed a pseudo "TCAS" though . If anyone knows of a GTX330 for a good deal I'm all ears