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Bendix King AV8OR handheld GPS

638RS

Well Known Member
King has announce the release of a new handheld GPS with weather capability called the AV8OR.

Has anyone wandering around OSH looked at this unit? I have been trying to find out if it is capable of driving a autopilot. The web site says it cannot drive a autopilot in a certified A/C but nothing on if there is a GPS out put.

If they did not provide a GPS output I think they really missed the boat in competing with Garmin, AvMap, etc...
 
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Thanks for the link, but that's where I initially got confused. They have the following in their FAQ's:

1.Can the AV8OR interface with certified GPS systems?
Yes. Using the optional serial interface cable, the AV8OR can be configured to display the course and way points loaded in panel-mount GPS systems, including the Bendix/King KLN 94 and the Garmin? 430/530 GPS units.

2.Can I connect my unit to my autopilot?
No. The AV8OR is an uncertified, portable device, and cannot be linked to an autopilot on a certified aircraft.

The questions imply that there is a serial interface cable but it can't be used to drive a autopilot... Or can you, and they are only telling you it is not allowed on certified a/c..

I would just like some clarification...
 
This looks like a very nice alternative to the Garmin portables. This unit has a larger screen, though slightly lower resolution, is smaller in overall size and half the weight of the Garmin. $750 for the basic unit with XM option for another $473 is VERY competitive with the Garmin units.

It think that has to be their official statement but as long as the unit can output NMEA via the optional RS-232 interface, you should be able to use it with a TruTrak.

AV80R.jpg
 
AV8OR

PIREPS would be useful, as details about specs are somewhat sketchy on the Bendix website.

What does the navdata include? (i.e. private airports, Victor airways, approaches, center/FSS freqs, etc) Terrain and airspace profile is a nice feature, but does it also provide TAWS-like alerts and airspace alerts? Any plans to incorporate TIS-like information (from Zaon XRX?)

Nonetheless, looks like a good value, and should prompt Garmin to consider a pricing adjustment.
 
I'm a little torn about the touch screen interface. On the one hand it sounds pretty intuitive, on the other, I don't know how useful it would be in turbulence.

Nice unit though.
 
The Honeywell site is pretty slow today probably as many seek to get information on their announcements. Here are the direct links to the Quick reference and pilot guides.

Quick Reference:
https://www.bendixking.com/servlet/...ame=/TechPubs/repository/005-03702-0013_0.pdf

Pilots Guide:
https://www.bendixking.com/servlet/...Name=/TechPubs/repository/D200803000008_0.pdf

As for touch screens, I use my Nuvi in the cockpit all the time and I find it easier than buttons. The secret is that you have to steady your hand by using one of your other fingers against the unit, allowing your index finger precise control.
 
If I understand the manual correctly, the RS232 port is only active if you select "external gps" as the source. If you are using the internal gps then the rs232 port is not active... which means I can't drive my AP or my fuel computer....

Bummer... If I am wrong on this please correct me...
 
AV8tor

I went to their presentation tent this afternoon. The price of the unit is $750, and the price of the USB WxWorks receiver is $625-ish, but Bendix is offering a $250 rebate on the XM receiver. This makes for a much cheaper option to the Garmin 396. The unit looks very small, but the display is 4.3", which is about the same as the x96 models, I think. The reason it looks so small is that there are no external buttons on it, since it is touch-screen.

I must admit, I have not yet had time to play with one as the line was very long. I'll try to report back on it later in the week. I also don't have any idea about the A/P output capabilities.
 
Picked one up yesterday. The folks at the Bendix booth indicated that it would be as simple as "Buy the GPS, then take the discount coupon to the WeatherWorx folks, then buy the Weatherworx hardware. Next, get an XM plan and you're off and running." Not even close.

Bendix does not have their act together in rolling out this product. The Weatherworks guys don't have the hardware at Osh to support XM on this unit. I discovered this after buying the GPS. The Weatheworx folks were to one-day ship the hardware to Osh for me to pick-up this morning. It was a no-show. When I followed up with Weatherworx, their story was that the XM hardware (I think we're talking proprietary cables from Bendix) that interfaces with the AV80R was only delivered to the Weatherworx warehouse yesterday and wasn't available for shipment until today. So I flew home into the face of nasty weather today without XM weather.

I tried to use the AV80R to guide my trip home, and was able to program my route home with it, but used my 10 year old Lowrance 100 as primary navigation. Why? The AV80R does not ship with a manual. Only a CD with the manual on it. So I was unable to delve deeply into the system set-up, and couldn't get the unit to display airspace. Therefore, I chose against using it as primary nav on the way home.

When I did use the unit, I found the unit's display is hard to read in bright sunlight. Again, there may be a setting I couldn't find (no manual, remember?) to address this issue, but my old Lowrance was MUCH easier to read in the cockpit than the AV80R. Additionally, the system didn't display certain information I am used to seeing - Bearing and distance to the next waypoint. Again, this may be user configurable. We'll see.

I'm about to plug in the CD and see if I can figure out how to address some of these issues. If they are fixable, I may be able to get over the fact that I spent a half day of my day and a half at Osh dealing with the butchered roll-out of this product. If the issues I found are not something I can resolve through user settings, I'll be returning the unit and the Weatherworx hardware that is supposed to arrive at my home (signature required... AARGH!!) tomorrow.

1st Edit: The system manual (on the CD) contained instructions on resolving several of the issues I originally had. The airspace issue is resolved (apparently, airspace info is turned off as a default setting). As far as data displayed goes, there are 20 or so options for data windows. You can select the 9 of these you are most interested in, and put those in your desired order. Four of them will be visible at any given time and the remaining 5 (of the 9 you selected) can be reached by scrolling.

At this point, the brightness of the display may still be an issue. I am still scrolling through the 274 pages of info on the CD looking for brightness controls. Boy, I wish there was a paper manual....

Also, the standard internal battery seems to last about an hour with me scrolling through a bunch of set-up screens and the like.
 
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AV8OR purchase

I had every intention of purchasing a 496 this year until I got a look at the few of the other products that will suit my needs. My needs are mostly weather since I have a KMD 150 for flight planning and Auto pilot driving. I spent a couple hours with Bendix on Thursday to get a feel for the new AV8OR hand held. It was evident that the sales force was not up to speed with the product so I just grabbed one and starting playing around with it. I quickly figured out the menu's in the "GOFLY" portion. Very easy to work through the touch screens. While I was working with the unit a guy walked up to me with one of the hand held units and started to show me how things worked. It turned out he was one of the engineers for the product and he was trying to get the Blue Tooth to pair up with the WXWORK box. We got it to work and began to show me some of the functionality of the weather. This unit will sync with the WXWORK box via Blue tooth or RS232 connections. The blue tooth is an extra $100. Well worth it.
Blah blah blah, so I bye the unit after the engineer tells me to go to Sarasota Avionics to purchase it. It was the only dealer where you could bye both the AV8OR and the WXWORX box. So I did it. $649 for the AV8OR and $500 (After rebate) for the WXWORX. Not bad to get weather in my RV. I then took both units over to the XM tent to have it programmed and purchase the Aviator plan ($49). Depending on who you purchased the box from, they might have forgot to tell people that they needed to take the box over to XM for assistance. This was causing an influx of calls to Bendix when people got home and tried to hook it up. My unit was ready to go after leaving it with them for two hours. I was 4th in line. Not a problem.. Lots to do at the show. I took it home and played around with it some more that night (Not that :D) and did find one bug that I would later bring up to Bendix. Friday morning off to install it and fly it. Nice thing to live so close to OSH. Installed the unit with the supplied mounting (After chopping it up a bit). It fits perfect mounted left of the panel on the angle brace. The WXWORX box I mounted on the right side under the vent hose against the outer skin with velcro. Since I purchased the Bluetooth all I needed to do was plug into the 12v power and run the very small antenna up to the dash. Lets go fly... I flew for about an hour and tested many of the options but wanted to really test the weather. The blue tooth never lost sync and everything on the map was clear and easy to touch and bring up for "More info" like the Metars. It was a very sunny day and I do have the Kroger shade so that helped out. No problems reading the screen but I can see where it would be with direct sunlight. Flight planning was very simple to program. Screen changes are very quick. The 4 gig SD card should be sufficient unless you load it up with pictures and music. Yes Music. Haven't tried pumping the music into my intercom yet but will do it soon. The Bendix people are aware of the need for better customer service and technical support. I do have there ear on a couple of bugs I found but I am confident that I will get these issues worked out. I spent hours with them yesterday. They just got this to market a little early and they are not used to dealing with us experimental users. They sold way more units than expected. I will be patient with them right now because I really like what they are doing with this product and the cost of not only the unit but with the $35 Database updates, it's worth the risk.

Richard Glick
Dodge County Wisconsin.
RV7A
 
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Purchased an AV80R

I purchased an AV80R at Airventure 2008, and I am very happy with it. I wanted a GPS with a touch screen and a displayable qwerty keyboard. The touch screen and stylist work perfectly. It was a pleasure to use on the way home. I like it better than the Garmin 396 I have been using. The AV80R is easy to use while flying, whereas, the Garmin takes too much attention. The AV80R yoke mount is excellent. The price I paid for the AV0R was $649. The screen is very bright, so I doubt I won't be able to read it in direct sunlight...worked well at 6:35PM Friday departing Oshkosh to the south. The best feature...it is easy. It is the iPhone of GPSs. It is also small! The Garmin 396/496 is too large...and I believe over priced.
 
New leader in GPS value?

Seems to me, if you forget about the weather(dont need that at this point), this is the new best deal out there?

Touch screen, can also use in vehicle and all for under $700.

Am i missing something or is this a pretty great thing. The lowrance 2000 for $600 seemed to be the deal up to this point but this new offering for us non IFR guys seems like a pretty big improvement from that several year old unit.

I am looking forward to buyers posting their pireps. I should have grabbed one.
 
Seems to me, if you forget about the weather(dont need that at this point), this is the new best deal out there?

Touch screen, can also use in vehicle and all for under $700.

Am i missing something or is this a pretty great thing. The lowrance 2000 for $600 seemed to be the deal up to this point but this new offering for us non IFR guys seems like a pretty big improvement from that several year old unit.

I am looking forward to buyers posting their pireps. I should have grabbed one.


I agree with the sentiments of this post. This GPS does more for the buck than any of the non-xm units out there. It is a rough feature match for Garmin's 495, and does a few things the Garmin won't - music and movies. I would say it redefines the non-XM segment of the market.

On the XM front, I've been in touch numerous times with the folks at Bendix/King and WxWorx. It is starting to look like *my* unit's XM issue is somehow related to the fact that my WxWorx box was direct shipped to me, instead of transitioning through the XM and WxWorx tent at Osh, where they performed some special initilization magic.

Unfortunately, the key players at WxWorx and Bendix/King are all just returning to their routine duties following Osh, and I'm still waiting on resolution to my problem (although things are moving now...).

In general, I am not an early adopter of technology. Experiences like this remind me how I got that way. ;-)
 
Yeah, I just pulled the cord and ordered one from Spruce. Schedule did not allow me to get out to OSH and get one at their show price, but Spruce has them for under $700. I intend to also order the serial adapter and connect it to my Garmin 430. In the car it will replace my Garmin Nuvi 350. Anyone want to buy a Nuvi 350 real cheap?:D Stay tuned for pireps--ground and air.

I was waiting for Gamin to incorporate the 496 aviation software in one of their Nuvi 600/700/800 form factor. If seems, Bendix/King has beat them to the punch however. Now even if they do come out with an aviation unit based on the Nuvi 600/700, they will have to significantly drop the price. The top of the line Nuvi 700/800 auto only units list for about $900. Competition is great thing.

On the surface here are some feature similarities/differences:
-Both units will play MP3/WMA audio
-Both units will allow display of still images (JPG, GIF, etc)
-Garmin Nuvi cannot display videos (with current software)
-Software and database internal on Garmin units, on SD card on AV8OR
-No FM transmitter on AV8OR, Headphone jack must be used for audio out.
 
At this point, the brightness of the display may still be an issue. I am still scrolling through the 274 pages of info on the CD looking for brightness controls. Boy, I wish there was a paper manual....

Also, the standard internal battery seems to last about an hour with me scrolling through a bunch of set-up screens and the like.

Hi Kyle,

Tap the "Settings" button on the Main Menu page, then tap the "Backlight"
button to get to the Backlight page. There is a brightness slide bar there you can adjust.
 
ATC

I visited the Anywhere Map and the Bendix folk a few times at OSH. The ATC people were very knowledgeable about their products but the Bendix guys didn't know jack about the AV8OR except that it played movies and music. Flight plans? Nearest what?
I played with both units and determined:
The display on the ATC is 800x600 while the AV8OR is approx half that at 400x300.
Both unit will play movies and music. ATC choses not to advertise the fact.
Both units require a 12v Bluetooth box and separate antenna for XM/WX.

I went with the ATC from Spruce.

Still getting the hang of the thing,
Steve
 
Ditto for me on the ATC from A&S. I have yet to fly with it, but used the ground navigator in my car on the way home to Viginia and it worked as advertized.
 
The ATC people were very knowledgeable about their products but the Bendix guys didn't know jack about the AV8OR except that it played movies and music. Flight plans? Nearest what?

I don't know why Bendix can't get this right. I ran into the same issue @ Osh in 2005. I went to the Bendix booth to talk about the Skymap derived units and get a demo. I played with the unit for about 5 minutes while I waited for someone to talk to. When someone finally showed up, I quickly found that I had already learned way more about it than they knew. :eek: No one at the booth knew squat about it. A twenty foot walk over to the Garmin booth showed the contrast. Their rep doing demos knew the units inside and out, and could instantly go to every corner of every menu to illustrate every feature.
 
ATC - AV8OR

Steve's comparison is very accurate between the ATC (Anywhere Travel Companion) and AV8OR. I also spent time with both vendors and since I was aware that the AV8OR was just released to the Bendix sales force at OSH, I dind't let that sway me. I agree that the rollout timing for the AV8OR was not good, but I took the time to really get a good feel for the unit. They let me just take the thing and drive it. Yes, the ATC may currently have more functionality but I wasn't impressed that the ATC kept locking up on the dude (Said he was the owner). Mybe it was bad timing for ATC but it had a feeling of Microsoft OS. I think that all depends on who is operating the devise. I tend to be a little impatient when it comes to screen changes. Both units are upgradable from the Web for both software and maps. The AV8OR does have some catching up on a few funtions I want (Winds Aloft being one of them).

If this would have been my primary GPS, I might have gone the ATC way, but since I aleady fly with the KMD 150 it met my needs. I tend to stick with a vendor when I am happy with there other products. The $400 off the WXWORX box B/K gave me was also a main reason.

These are great times! We finally have compitition for the GARMIN 49X products and from what I see, people are responding. I don't think you can go wrong with either unit. They are trying very hard to keep us happy.

My suggestion would be to download both documents from the there Web sites, read them over and decide what your needs are. Then test drive it at a dealer near you.
https://commerce.honeywell.com/weba...=-1&categoryId=22752&cursel=item1&sysId=item1

http://www.anywheremap.com/atc/

Rick
 
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I don't know why Bendix can't get this right. I ran into the same issue @ Osh in 2005. I went to the Bendix booth to talk about the Skymap derived units and get a demo. I played with the unit for about 5 minutes while I waited for someone to talk to. When someone finally showed up, I quickly found that I had already learned way more about it than they knew. :eek: No one at the booth knew squat about it. A twenty foot walk over to the Garmin booth showed the contrast. Their rep doing demos knew the units inside and out, and could instantly go to every corner of every menu to illustrate every feature.

The big thing about the Skymap is you don't need a manual to use it, very intuitive compared to Garmin products. My Garmin backup is gathering dust. Many glitches and a PITA to use. Glad to see Bendix is giving Garmin some much needed competition. Prices should start a falling soon. The new unit looks like a good way to get weather cheap. I'll wait a bit until it fully matures.
 
AV8OR

A couple of things that are not apparent in the documentation that I would like to know:

How complete is the aviation database... Pvt airports, Etc?
How complete is the airport information, taxi diagrams, etc.?

Also still trying to find out if it will drive an autopilot...
 
A couple of things that are not apparent in the documentation that I would like to know:

How complete is the aviation database... Pvt airports, Etc?
How complete is the airport information, taxi diagrams, etc.?

Also still trying to find out if it will drive an autopilot...
No private airport at all and as far as we can believe the sales guy no plans for adding them in near future. I'm flying out of private (yet not so small) airport and all I could do is add mine as a waypoint.
 
ATC vs AV80R

Mybe it was bad timing for ATC but it had a feeling of Microsoft OS.

Yah the ATC is using a Windows CE device. And I found it to be kinda slow on screen changes.

Can anyone compare the two speed wise? and on screen button size? Are buttons on the AV80R buttons big and laid out in a nice manner?
 
Yah the ATC is using a Windows CE device. And I found it to be kinda slow on screen changes.

Can anyone compare the two speed wise? and on screen button size? Are buttons on the AV80R buttons big and laid out in a nice manner?

The Av8OR refreshes very quickly. The buttons are decent sized and I have not had any problems using them.

An update on my experience at getting the weather function to work on the AV8OR. Apparently there are numerous customers with problems making these units work with WxWorx, and both Bendix King and WxWorx are working with the customers to address the issues. I've had contact with the right people at both Bendix/King and WxWorx and have a new WxWorx box on the way. As it turns out, my problem may stem from the fact that my original WxWorx box was direct shipped from WxWorx instead of going through the WxWorx tent at Osh, where the folks knew exactly how to configure things for the AV8OR.

Both the folks at WxWorx and Bendix King have mentioned software problems, and both have told me to be on the lookout for software updates on the Bendix/King site.
 
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database updates?

Some more questions.

1) How much are database updates for the av8or? The bendix king site didn't seem to make that information easy to find.

2) Do you have to have a windows machine for the database updates? what about mac users?

3) I haven't heard much about the driving/streets mode of this gps. Can someone give their thoughts on how good it is?

Thanx!
 
Some more questions.
1) How much are database updates for the av8or? The bendix king site didn't seem to make that information easy to find.
Again quoting sales person - software updates are free, maps (charts?) updates will cost ~30$ per update. There will be new version every 28 days, but you don't need to sign any contract - "you can go there as often as you like and download current maps for $30".

2) Do you have to have a windows machine for the database updates? what about mac users?
Although I'm a mac user myself I didn't ask :)

3) I haven't heard much about the driving/streets mode of this gps. Can someone give their thoughts on how good it is?
They are using Nav N Go which in my opinion is the best street nav software available today.

Sidenote: Based on the above (ability to run Nav N Go) I suspect it's running Windows CE. Same as ATC. That would also suggest low cost - they probably used one of available PDAs platform, put it in their own enclosure and wrote the avmap part of the software. E.g. this one http://www.mio.com/us/gps-navigation-products-c520-overview.htm is very close in parameters to King's GPS
 
Don't buy from Sporty's - yet

I did not make Oshkosh this year so I ordered my AV8OR from Sporty's. A week later I get a notice it won't ship until 8/26. Good thing I am not planning any trips in the next 3 weeks. One of my pet pieves of mail order companies is not confirming stock before they take your money. So, if you decide to buy one of these call your potential supplier and see if they have stock before placing your order.

I've give a PIREP once I recieve it and play with it. This is my first GPS so I'll give an appraisal of how easy it is to use.

Frank
 
I think ALL the vendors have this on back order. Spruce has mine on back order to 8/18. Don't think Bendix/King had demand anticipated correctly.
 
Just got an email from Spruce today. My AV8OR unit shipped today! They must have received an early shipment since my original expected ship date was 10 days from today.

Also, FYI the $10K GNS-430W also does NOT include private airports. This is more a function/limitation of the Jeppesen database that most vendors use, rather than the vendors themselves.
 
Also, FYI the $10K GNS-430W also does NOT include private airports. This is more a function/limitation of the Jeppesen database that most vendors use, rather than the vendors themselves.
Whether to include private airports is a choice the manufacturer makes. I don't know what all goes into that choice, more memory is more expense and maybe the database costs more. In the case of the Garmin 430 it probably has a lot to do with the fact that this is an approved panel mounted unit that has been around a long time. With this type of equipment it is considerably more difficult to make these sorts of changes.

The Garmin 396 did not have small private airports in the database, the Garmin 496 does. It is a feature I appreciate a lot, mainly for the emergency nearest function. I don't think I need to concern myself much with how or why Garmin made the improvement, I just like that it is there.
 
I'll repost my quasi-review from another forum...

-------

Well, definitely no 596 at Osh but I've started using my "backup" GPS regularly as a way to get two different sets of information at the same time. That backup GPS is an old Lowrance AirMap 500 (greyscale). Nice to have the additional info, but I really don't like it compared to my 496.

With that I saw the AV8OR at Osh. Wow, nice little unit. I honestly don't think it will replace my 496 but it does some things better than Garmin so it will work nicely with my 496 in tandem.

The best thing I like is the touchscreen. When receiving a new waypoint IFR entering the waypoint in the 496 is downright clumsy. On the AV8OR...

1) Press D->
2) Enter waypoint in the QWERTY touchscreen keyboard
3) Press Enter
4) Press OK to verify

Done! It takes about 4 seconds. The AV8OR now points me to the new waypoint so I can make the changes in the 496.

Weather on the AV8OR certainly adds to the attractive $650 price ($100 below MSRP). It does come with a $250 discount voucher for the WxWorx hardware, but if that's the discount, what's the price??? Well, I didn't find that, but I can tell you that the XM puck in the Garmin is way sleeker than the battery powered boxy thing that WxWorx has. For me, weather will be staying on the 496.

XRX traffic is in the cards for the AV8OR but it's only a thought as a coming feature for now. With that, traffic for me will also remain on the Garmin.

The appearance on the screen is far superior on the Garmin but that's more a pat on the back to them and not a knock on Bendix. The size of the unit is small, similar to a Garmin Nuvi. The position of the power button on the top of the unit is a pain since you tend to press it when repositioning the unit.

On board memory is in the form of a 4 GB SDHC card. Nice capacity but if you want to add MP3 as well as videos (it also plays AVIs and WMVs) you will need either a larger card or more of them. The databases are on the existing SDHC card so to add more cards and maintain GPS functionality you'd need to copy the databases to each SD card that you plan to use (at least I'm pretty sure of this).

I'm going to use the 496 for (as I said) traffic and weather as well as a close up look at my routing (8-12 mile scale). I'm going to use the AV8OR for quick routing changes and a wider look at routing (30-50 miles). It provides the added benefit of having my right seat flyer have a GPS essentially for their own use since I mount the AV8OR on the right yoke (I have a notepad on the left yoke).

I'd been considering adding a second GPS that is more useful than my AirMap 500 and I think I found a good one. Great little unit, good for the car too, great price (much less expensive than the AvMap EKP-IV I was considering), and a big winner with that touchscreen.

I've got to think that Garmins next portable offering will have a touchscreen. Until they put that together, the AV8OR and the 496 will be an awesome tag team. I'd recommend either, budget depending.

Anthony
 
Still trying

to find out if the AV8OR will drive a AP....

FAQ say no on certified AC... but is that a CYA statment?

If I understand the manual the RS232 port is only active if you are getting data from a external GPS...
 
AV8OR for sale

Does anyone here want to buy a NIB AV8OR? Price is $550 plus shipping, unopened and with a $250 coupon for Weather Worx XM data-link. If so, I will be glad to ship this FEDEX COD. That means I send you the total plus shipping amount. You get certified funds (bankers check, not personal) and send it to your local FEDEX. You get to inspect it upon arrival, hand the $$$ to them and they overnight it back to me. I am just not set up for PayPal, sorry.

Rick
 
Does anyone here want to buy a NIB AV8OR? Price is $550 plus shipping, unopened and with a $250 coupon for Weather Worx XM data-link. If so, I will be glad to ship this FEDEX COD. That means I send you the total plus shipping amount. You get certified funds (bankers check, not personal) and send it to your local FEDEX. You get to inspect it upon arrival, hand the $$$ to them and they overnight it back to me. I am just not set up for PayPal, sorry.

Rick
Rick,

I would be interested in your unit. Where did you pick it up and let me know what the shipping to Carson City Nevada would run.

Thanks,

Tom
 
Did anyone else get a unit yet? Any reviews?

I've been calling around to all the competition too and am really disappointed with the response. The ATC people told me I could fly to a dealer if I wanted to see the unit. I thought that was a pretty weak marketing strategy:(

I was wondering what the wxworks box looked like and how it had to interface with the GPS. I tracked down a picture of teh box though finally. But I couldn't for the life of me track down a company called WXworks (or anythign similar) on the internet. Is anyone else concerned about that?

Seems like bluetooth is the way you want to go for connectivity. But I can't even get the rep to tell me if I need to buy extra hardware to make that work. I am also curious how you power all the hardware. It seems like the GPS battery is only meant for a back-up in case you have an electrical system failure. Even the extended capacity battery he told me I could buy is rated to about 3 hours (so figure half of that!). Not exactly enough to do any meaningful X-C (even in an RV:)). So if you use the cigarette lighter socket (if you have one), does that mean you can only power the GPS, but not the XM box?

The ATC and AV8OR people were about as helpful as eachother. That is to say, not very. These are just some thoughts and observations and questions. I am wondering what you guys all think. Even if you don't have an AV8OR, maybe you have some insight into the other questions.

Thanks. Andy
 
The WX-Worx box size is "6.125" w X "4.375" d X "1.75 h" and 11.25 oz. I mounted mine above the right gear weldment on the outside skin with Velcro. My 12v power plug is right there on the panel so it made it easy to power the unit. The Bluetooth works very well but I have an issue with having to Pair the unit (Add the code) every time I power on the unit. B/K knows about this and said they will give me an answer or fix. Sales didn't know if this was a normal function.

Tom, I purchased my unit at the show (Oshkosh) so didn't pay any shipping.

Rick
 
I can see how that might work nicely for you. I am going to be a renter for a while to come, so I was wondering if I could leave the box in my flight bag or did it need to be mounted someplace. Seems like it at least will need o be on the seat somewhere, maybe for airflow or whatever. I forgot to mention that above. Seems like a pretty gear intensive set-up unless you can mount the box permanently like you did.

How do you power the GPS itself if you are running the XM box off your power outlet? Oh, and did all the bluetooth connectivity come in the box or did you need to buy some other hardware to make it work?

Thanks.
 
I can see how that might work nicely for you. I am going to be a renter for a while to come, so I was wondering if I could leave the box in my flight bag or did it need to be mounted someplace. Seems like it at least will need o be on the seat somewhere, maybe for airflow or whatever. I forgot to mention that above. Seems like a pretty gear intensive set-up unless you can mount the box permanently like you did.

How do you power the GPS itself if you are running the XM box off your power outlet? Oh, and did all the bluetooth connectivity come in the box or did you need to buy some other hardware to make it work?

Thanks.

The GPS is powered off the same 12v outlet. I run a Splitter out of the receptacle. There are no extra attachments for the Bluetooth.

Rick
 
Velcro! No, seriously I used the supplied yoke mount and chopped it up and attached it to the side support off to the left. Works perfect.

Rick
RV7A
 
Any more thoughts on comparing the GNS496 + ATC + AV8OR??

I have a C-182 that has a very rudimentary GX-55? GPS panel mounted.
I'm looking for a bigger, color screen as a primary GPS and for it's terrain features. I'll maybe use the Wx in the future, but right now I'm flying from the San Francisco area to near Carson, NV every week. The return trip is at night and those Sierra Mountains that stretch up to 10,000 feet are a bit of a worry at night.

All my previous 250hrs were with a GNS430 with Terrain & TIS, so I'm now a bit in the dark.

I was about to order the 496, today, but could be swayed away.

Thanks.

Matt
 
Any more thoughts on comparing the GNS496 + ATC + AV8OR??

I have a C-182 that has a very rudimentary GX-55? GPS panel mounted.
I'm looking for a bigger, color screen as a primary GPS and for it's terrain features. I'll maybe use the Wx in the future, but right now I'm flying from the San Francisco area to near Carson, NV every week. The return trip is at night and those Sierra Mountains that stretch up to 10,000 feet are a bit of a worry at night.

All my previous 250hrs were with a GNS430 with Terrain & TIS, so I'm now a bit in the dark.

I was about to order the 496, today, but could be swayed away.

Thanks.

Matt

Hey Matt, I wish there wasn't all this radio silence. But I guess that's the nature of two new products.

I tried to buy the AV8OR yesterday, but my chosen shop hadn't gotten their fiirst order (from mid August) yet. I guess for the $650 or so, I am willing to be an early adopter. I don't like the gear intensive WX set-up, but imagine by the time I want WX, I will be using some other GPS anyway. I am sure the Garmin is everythign that a Garmin should be but I just can't see spending $1700 bucks on the 495 (unless it looked like the AV8OR!).

I considered the ATC too, but the hard-drive innards just turned me off. I am assuming the AV8OR is solid state. I also read somewhere that the hard-drive is not so reliable above 10,000'. That may have been earlier in this thead???

Let me know what you decide to do. I'm still trying to buy a product myself!

Andy
 
The ATC doesn't have a hard drive

Andy,
Where'd you get that info? I have an ATC, which is really an HP iPAQ 310 running AnyWhereMap software. Mine has 2GB of internal flash memory plus an SD card slot (with a 1GB card in it currently).
 
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I heard that a bunch of new AV8OR units are shipping so the people that have been waiting should get their units real soon.

I do work for Honeywell and have an AV8OR on loan. I havent flown with the AV8OR yet but will probably do so this weekend. We have flying planned for almost every weekend through Oct so will be interesting to do a side by side comparison with our Garmin 496. If anyone is going to LOE or Copperstate and wants to see it, let me know.

I have been using the AV8OR in my car. I really like using the Nav N Go automotive software that is installed in it. The size factor on the AV8OR makes it really easy to take with me and the suction cup bracket is working great so far.

av8or01.jpg
 
Andy,
Where'd you get that info? I have an ATC, which is really an HP iPAQ 310 running AnyWhereMap software. Mine has 2GB of internal flash memory plus an SD card slot (with a 1GB card in it currently).

OK, It must not have been in here then. I swear I read a whole thread about how a hard drive needs a cushion of air too keep the spindle tracking correctly (or something technical like that). Supposedly, higher altitude thinned the air enough to cause problems. I'm no expert though!

I must have searched "ATC" to find some discussion, or maybe it was in some retailer's customer reviews section???

I'd love to see some pics or video of one in action though, so feel free to post away. It looked like a nice product. To be honest, this is the shame of the industry. I called every one of teh manufacturers and all I got was the suggestion to fly to a dealer to see it. Can you believe that!? So the mid$600's must be my price point to buy something like this sight unseen!!

Seriously, post a video if you can!:)
 
Andy,
The problem with hard dirves at altitude is correct. That's why newer EFB tablet computers usually come with a SDD option. Now having said that, The HP iPAQ users guide states that the max operating altitude is 15K which could lead one to infer that the iPAQ has a hard drive, but it doesn't. I have no clue as why HP lists 15K as a max (and 40K as a non-operating max). I never fly above 15K now and doubtful that I will once my -10 is flying, so the 15K limit is a non-issue for me.
 
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