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XM Radar Stops Refreshing - 396

Phil

Phil

Well Known Member
Hi Everyone,

Last weekend I ran into an issue with my 396 where the XM Radar images stopped downloading. They worked fine for most of the flight, but then it stopped all at once... I didn't notice it, until I started to get into some pop-up showers. Then I realized my XM Radar lag time was nearly 60 minutes old.

An inflight reboot fixed the issue.

Today I loaned it out to a friend and he was using it on a trip from Houston to Northern Kansas. The same thing happened to him. The radar images were fine and then they stopped downloading. A reboot fixed the problem.

Has anyone else experienced issues where the XM Radar images stop unannounced?

The XM signal is still great and all of the software/firmware is current.

Thanks,
Phil
 
Same thing here

Weather seems to come and go as it pleases - I have not had luck with inflight reboots. I plan to have them refresh my subscription tomorrow - but I dont think that will help.
 
Happened again

Flew to South Bend and back to retreive Kate yesterday. Both down and back, XM WX worked for a while after takeoff and just when I needed it, it stopped, lost radar and metars, only to have it come back on later in the trip.

Rebooting did not help - XM signal was strong and steady the entire time.

Latest firmware up loaded. Angry call to Garmin in a bit here. Has a refresh solved the problem for anyone? Garmin told me last time it either works or it doesn't. if it is working, a refresh is not needed.
 
Hmmm....just another data point for yesterday - I flew close to 8 hours from SOCAL to Houston, and the XM (on my 696) seemed to behave normally all day. I wonder if this might be a regional data problem?

Paul
 
OKAV8r said:
is the "puck" antenna getting hot??
Click to expand...

That's a really good question, I can suggest that my puck may have been getting hot. When I've had the issue it has been on hot days.

Is that a known problem, or is that just a suggestion/hypothesis?

Phil
 
Did you put your XM antenna inside the engine compartment? For what it's worth, that's never been my first choice for a mounting location. The manual says that the max operating temperature for the antenna is 185 F, and also says "Do not store the GXM 30A where exposure to temperature extremes may occur, as permanent damage may result."

mcb
 
Sorry Matt

My last post was tounge-in-cheek. Mine is mounted on the glare shield. We were under clouds most of the day - I doubt the puck got anywhere near 185degF.

Maybe I could build a shade tent for it?
 
XMWX MIA again today!

I returned from Colo today and my XM issues continued. I always have WX for the first hour or so and then it stops refreshing. A reboot will sometimes get it back for short while, and finally, even the reboot does not work.

I have solid XM audio lock the whole time. I have latest firmware, and have refreshed via the phone line.

Any thoughts out there? More fun with Garmin on Monday.
 
I went from Dekalb, IL to OSH to Fort Worth to san Angelo, TX back to Ft Worth in the last week and XM weather on my 496 was working great all the way. Glad it was - had to dodge localized storms and low ceilings several times. Puck on the glare shield. Keep meaning to put it back on the mount under the cowl but never seem to get to it but when it was there it worked fine too.
 
396 Hard Reset

Same old story returning from Iowa today. I always have WX for the first hour or so and then it just stops refreshing. A reboot will sometimes get it back for short while, then finally, even the reboot does not work. Strong XM signal the whole time....

Called GRMN late today and talked to Cust Serv. They were a bit perplexed. Told me to perform a hard reset on the unit and See if that helps. A few questions.

I know the reset will wipe out user data, flights and routes - will it wipe Jepp data, too? Will the waypoint manager backup preserve Jepp data?

Thanks!
 
petehowell said:
I know the reset will wipe out user data, flights and routes - will it wipe Jepp data, too? Will the waypoint manager backup preserve Jepp data?
Click to expand...

There's no way for a user to erase the Jeppesen database in one of these things, so you have nothing to worry about there. However, if you're having problems with weather data reception it's more likely to be something to do with the antenna/receiver, not the GPS. I'd call them back.

good luck,
mcb
 
Pete,

I have used my 396 for several years and I have never had a WX issue when the signal strength on the music page was good....

I think something is wrong with your unit....

There are times when i have to move the antenna to get signal, in airplanes with heated W/S XM won't go thru all of them, but if i get good tunes, i always get the WX.....

Tailwinds,
Doug
 
Thanks Doug

I am having regular discussions with the reps at garmin. Their
2 most popular answers are:

1) Hard Reset of the unit

2) Refresh with XM

Have tried #2 once - with no luck. Will try #1 soon.

I did borrow a GXM40 puck and had good metars on my back porch for 3 hours. It might be a bad puck - thermal limited component in the puck? More testing to come.......
 
Posted on another thread, posting here for archival purposes. I've flown enough now with the GXM 40 antenna with my 396 that I believe my refresh problem is fixed. I tried everything incluidng relocating the antenna and having the latest updates/downloads, but nothing worked and the problem remained intermittent. Bought the -40 after speaking with Garmin at Osh.
 
GXM40 or GXM30A

Hi Tobin,

GXM40 or GXM30A - Either one works now with my 396, but the orig GXM30 went wonky and never came back to be reliable - Garmin never had a good explanation.

Frustrating, since it worked fine for years, and mine was not an isolated case.
 
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