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Garmin 396 question

T

Tony Spicer

Well Known Member
I fly from an airport that's not in the 396 database. The flight log feature picks the closest airport that's in the database. Is there any way to force it to pick an airport that I've entered? I've tried entering it as a point and as a waypoint, and neither seems to work.

thanks,

Tony
 
Tony Spicer said:
I fly from an airport that's not in the 396 database. The flight log feature picks the closest airport that's in the database. Is there any way to force it to pick an airport that I've entered? I've tried entering it as a point and as a waypoint, and neither seems to work.
Click to expand...

It should do what you want if you mark your private airport as a user waypoint, but only if you change the waypoint symbol to something airport-like: "Private Airport", "Soft Field", "Seaplane Base", etc.

good luck,
mcb
 
Yes....

I have 140 or so user waypoints in my 496. You have two ways to access them:

1) Press 'Direct to' and then select "User" and enter your desired waypoint, or

2) Press 'nearest' then scroll across to "user" and it'll list the user waypoints in order from nearest to furthest.

Regards,
 
The issue is the 396 (which is different than the 496) doesn't recognize a user entered waypoint as being an airport no matter what symbol is used to identify it. The symbols in the 396 are just geometric shapes and don't really identify what the object is.

And just to reiterate, the problem is with the flight log function picking the airport in the Garmin database nearest to where I departed from because it fails to recognize my home airport, which isn't in the Garmin database, and is just entered as a user waypoint.

The 496 works just fine, either because it has private airports in the database, or because a software change allows it to recognize user entered points as airports.

Tony
 
Tony Spicer said:
The issue is the 396 (which is different than the 496) doesn't recognize a user entered waypoint as being an airport no matter what symbol is used to identify it. The symbols in the 396 are just geometric shapes and don't really identify what the object is.
Click to expand...

You probably already checked this, but do you have the latest software version for your 396?

mcb
 
mburch said:
You probably already checked this, but do you have the latest software version for your 396?

mcb
Click to expand...

Downloaded 4.90 today but not yet tested. Looked at the change history and didn't see the problem addressed. I'll know tomorrow.

Tony
 
First question, what came of this, did you get it to work as desired?

Second question, does the 396 have private airports and if so how do I turn them on?
 
Private airports

My 396 has GE99 in the data base which is a private airport in North Ga. I was there Saturday, pulled it up under " airports" with no problem . I also have not been able to get the flight log to recognize the " waypoint where my plane is hangered, but It's not even on a map! It does however show those flights from the closes "real airport" .
 
Kinda along those lines....

...is a feature that I recently discovered on my 496.

If you press "Nearest", it defaults to public airports. While on that page, press 'menu' and a page will appear that you can select 'hard/soft' runways and specify a length that you can live with (I selected 2500').

These private, grass airports will now automatically appear when you press 'nearest' in the future.....could be really handy in an emergency.

Best,
 
pierre smith said:
...is a feature that I recently discovered on my 496.

If you press "Nearest", it defaults to public airports. While on that page, press 'menu' and a page will appear that you can select 'hard/soft' runways and specify a length that you can live with (I selected 2500').

These private, grass airports will now automatically appear when you press 'nearest' in the future.....could be really handy in an emergency.

Best,
Click to expand...

Thanks Pierre! That could be the key to the issue in the 396 as well, and I'll try it when I head out of OSH. I was about to post that I couldn't get private airports either...even though I've selected them "on" in another menu in the past. Great heads-up!

Cheers,
Bob
 
If anyone finds out how to get private airports on the 396, please post. I have looked into this many different times. Several people have told me the 396 does not have private airports and I have seen comparisons to other GPS's and the box was not checked for "private airports". I am all ears.
 
This is from Anywhere Map webpage:


Map features - Anywhere Map includes thousands of private airports in its database; has patented Cones of Safety?; wind-compensated emergency landing glide-prediction mode. The 396 includes none of these features.
 
From the Garmin 396 update page..

Changes made from version 2.80 to 3.00:

-Added separate options on map setup page for private airports and heliports
-Improved display of private airports

According to this, it should display private airports, has been able to for a while! However, I have not been able to get them to show up on mine either. How bout someone at OSH asking the Garmin folks about this!

Watching this thread for further developments!
 
Try this

1. From the MAP page press MENU
2. Highlight Setup Map, press ENTER
3. Highlight the GENERAL tab, arrow down to DETAIL and press ENTER
4. Select MOST and hit ENTER
5. Press QUIT to exit

This puts the MAXIMUM information on the Map page.

ZOOM IN and OUT and check out all the info. The private airports may show up now. I know all waypoints and everything else in the database show up.
 
DennisRhodes said:
My 396 has GE99 in the data base which is a private airport in North Ga. I was there Saturday, pulled it up under " airports" with no problem . I also have not been able to get the flight log to recognize the " waypoint where my plane is hangered, but It's not even on a map! It does however show those flights from the closes "real airport" .
Click to expand...

Dennis,

As others have said, there are no private airports in the 396 database. A catagory in the airport section is "user". Are you sure that's not where you found GE99 listed?

My home base is also a private strip. Finally figured out how to get it to show up in the flight log, but can't remember the step-by-step. Enter your airport as a user waypoint, then find the symbol menu (colored squares, circles, flags, etc.). From that find a sub-menu that has airport symbols. Pick the one that looks like the top view of an airplane. Let me know if you aren't successful and I'll try to come up with details.

Tony
 
Thanks

I'm reasonably sure the GE99 came up as an "airport" and not under the user tab, my 396 was purchased used and not sure what the last owner my have set us as default. I'll check again but that GE99 is a concrete 5000 ft runway although privately owned. Chances are that airport owner was able somehow to get it in the Jeppnsen data base.
 
Privately owned vs. private use

Based on my observations, there are lots of privately owned/operated airports in my 396 database. Our airpark is not listed. As our airpark is not open to the public. I've observed that other airports that require an "invitation" or a call ahead are not listed. I've assumed that the database just list airports open to the public without prior arrangement. But, that's an assumption.
 
I was flying over the Austin Tx area this weekend and went to the map page and changed it to show "most". I also have the IFLY700 so I can see a VFR chart. I crossed checked some of the private airports shown on the chart vs the 396. It did show a few private airports, but not all of them. The private airport I fly from is not in my 396 and I have the latest software. So maybe Louise is right, but I am not sure. If I get time today I am going to call Garmin and see if I can get an answer about this.
 
Hi folks,

The navigation database in the 296 and 396 contains only those private airports that are charted by Jeppesen, which usually means only private airports with instrument approaches (yes, there are a few!). The 495/496, 695/696, G3X, and aera products supplement the Jeppesen navigation data with information from other sources, including the FAA charting office's database of private airports. What this means, at least in the US, is that the 396 knows about a handful of private airports, but the later products should contain pretty much all the charted private airports in the US.

Hope that helps,
mcb
 
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