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Garmin 695/696

It looks like the cable is not a 'standard' x96 connector. And I have not seen a data cable advertised anywhere. Hopefully that will follow.

Jim S
 
Garmin 696 - Can it drive an autopilot?

Hi Paul

Thanks very much for your reply. I am encouraged by your thoughts on the 496. I thought I had heard that it could drive an autopilot, (496 that is), so hopefully the 696 can as well.

I just watched the video on Sporty's page, and it reviewed the ports on the side of the unit. There was no mention of a data cable of any sort, at least that was what I understood.

Any update you may have later would be very much appreciated.

Thanks again for your time.


Brian - RV-8
 
flickroll said:
It looks like the cable is not a 'standard' x96 connector. And I have not seen a data cable advertised anywhere. Hopefully that will follow.

Jim S
Click to expand...

The connector IS different than for the 396/496 - it is simpler. Four conductors: +12v, GND, Data In, and Data Out. They do exist, as I have one wired in to the airplane right now (for power). The connector appears to me to be more rugged than that of the other x96's.

Paul
 
change of database?

Hi,

here a question to the specialists from me in Germany, who also flies a lot in the US:

On the past units (495 etc) you bought either an americas or atlantic version and had the base map incl. terrain etc. fixed. You could later change the Jeppessen airport info, but if you wanted to use your atlantic (European) gps for flights in the US you were basically screwed as the basemap did not show any details apart from very rough worldwide data (so I understood, and that was the main reason I never bought a 396 or 495/496, I basically would have had to buy two units).

Has this changed with the 695/696?

The manual states the worldwide data base is the same on all, and the terrain and obstacle database can be "updated". So I guess I could just buy the Europe or US version and then get the latest versions of terrain and obstacle etc. for the other continent when needed, and the Jepp data has to be updated anyway so I would get the latest for the other continent when needed as well?

Paul, any idea?

Thanks

Joe
 
Garmins new christmas gift

They just announced this yesterday. I think Avmaps big screen got em busy.


bill w

rv-4
 
Approach Plates

Paul,

For the last couple of years I have been waiting for a good unit to enable electronic approach plates in the cockpit to get rid of all the paper/clutter. My understanding is that you will not see yourself (gps position) flying over the approach plate in the 696 the way you do for instance on the MX20. If having IAPs electronically were the primary reason for purchasing an electronic unit as opposed to the rest of the gps functions, is the Sony e-book reader with plates loaded a viable alternative or is the functionality so superior for this function in the 696 that makes it worth selling off the old 196 (only used as an emergency back up right now) and purchasing this?

Is there any way to load in your own approach plates as opposed to the $400 update subscription?

Last, any idea how long a fully charged unit will run on batteries only before needing to be recharged?
 
Still not complete...

I think without wifi, bluetooth and some form of web browser they missed the mark.

You are going to be locked into the garmin/jepp upgrade (read expensive fee for data that your taxes already pay for) for plates, charts and other.

Oh, and I might have bought this 3 weeks back INSTEAD of my new 496 if those turds would have said wait a week and then decide.

(Ya, you can say I'm frustrated!)

Jim
 
Will this mama fit in an 8 panel?

Like everyone else, I have been gobbling up the information on this unit. It looks like the perfect GPS for my 8A. However, I just cut up some cardboard to the proper dimensions to fit it on my (still) naked panel. This mama is huge! I am wondering if it can be configured to operate horizontally, which gives me some chance of making it fit.
 
I'll be waiting on the 496's to be unloaded! Street GPS capability is a big thing for my GPS buying decision.
 
Garmin 696 vs what I have...

:(

I guess it is going to be time to upgrade my old 195 to at least the 396! By the time I get to the panel on my ever so slow slow build...everything will be voice activated and fed thru my glasses to a little heads-up screen!
 
Capflyer said:
Paul,

For the last couple of years I have been waiting for a good unit to enable electronic approach plates in the cockpit to get rid of all the paper/clutter. My understanding is that you will not see yourself (gps position) flying over the approach plate in the 696 the way you do for instance on the MX20. If having IAPs electronically were the primary reason for purchasing an electronic unit as opposed to the rest of the gps functions, is the Sony e-book reader with plates loaded a viable alternative or is the functionality so superior for this function in the 696 that makes it worth selling off the old 196 (only used as an emergency back up right now) and purchasing this?

Is there any way to load in your own approach plates as opposed to the $400 update subscription?

Last, any idea how long a fully charged unit will run on batteries only before needing to be recharged?
Click to expand...


I think that you really will have to try one of these to make the decision on relative worth between the 696 and the Sony (for you) on whether or not you would want to pull the trigger on the extra money. For me, I'd say the difference is night and day - the Reader has been a great way to legally have all the charts, and works to bring up anything I need - but slowly. The 696 was purpose-designed to be an EFB, and does the job quite well!

On DIY updates - I am not an expert, but my opinion is that you'll be married to Garmin - that's their business model, and they are very good at making it impossible to update without them in the loop..

Battery life? I've gotten a bit more than 2 .5 hours.

Paul
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Steve Ashby said:
Like everyone else, I have been gobbling up the information on this unit. It looks like the perfect GPS for my 8A. However, I just cut up some cardboard to the proper dimensions to fit it on my (still) naked panel. This mama is huge! I am wondering if it can be configured to operate horizontally, which gives me some chance of making it fit.
Click to expand...

Ya' know what would be really cool? You've seen the side panels that people build to move their throttle quadrant back and give them inclined/horizontal panels on the sides of the main panel? Build one and imbed this thing in it.....

Paul
 
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Hey Paul....did you happen to notice the real life scanned Satellite images available at a certain zoom distance? Just curious to see you were suprised by some of the things I was?! Did you notice they have all different kinds of airplanes/helicopter to use as an icon (high wing/low wing/jet/helicopter), but no rocket or space shuttle - did you yell at them about that?!? :)

For those on the fence - the difference between the 496 and this equates to me as the same between the difference between the old black/white 196 and the new color ones. It's again an entire measure of difference better and quite a significant step up in many different regards!

I don't thing a landscape orientation is in the works...

Cheers,
Stein
 
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SteinAir said:
I don't thing a landscape orientation is in the works...

Cheers,
Stein
Click to expand...

Although a landscape orientation would make panel mounting easier, for actual flight use, the portrait mode works better, at least IMHO.

Reason?? You get to see more area ahead of your track . Track up, of course, assuming there is the option of track, heading, or north up.

I went through this exercise with my AvMap, which does offer the choice between both landscape and portrait.

All in all, this unit seems to be everything I wish my AvMap was, with the exception of the price:eek:
 
Well I'm designing my panel now with dual AFS and a garmin stack. The 696 will be easy to fit in but it raises another question in my mind. With everything this new unit does, I'm not feeling great about putting money in to the good old 430W that was going to be at the center of my stack. The 696 seems to kick it's arse but I need the 430 for IFR.

I can only imagine that Garmin will fix that problem in fairly sort order and build out an IFR certified relplacement for the 430W with some of the 696 functionality. I only hope they're nice to us and allow some kind of upgrade path...and make it the same size so we can swith them out!

Anyone heard anything they can talk about?

- Peter
 
SteinAir said:
Hey Paul....did you happen to notice the real life scanned Satellite images available at a certain zoom distance? Just curious to see you were surprised by some of the things I was?! Did you notice they have all different kinds of airplanes/helicopter to use as an icon (high wing/low wing/jet/helicopter), but no rocket or space shuttle - did you yell at them about that?!? :)
Click to expand...


Yeah, I completely forgot about the Satellite view Stein! I have brought it up, but not for awhile - too much clutter and not a lot of use for me while I'm flying - I'll just look out the window (or at the Synthetic Vision on my GRT...:D). But yup, it's pretty neat.

I tried to get them to add an RV for an ICON - the low wing single looks suspiciously like a Cirrus to me. Oh, and you can build your own opening "Splash" screen - I used a picture of the Valkyrie so if the thing "walks away" at a fly-in, it's easy to identify....

Paul
 
Paul,

How the heck did you get selected to be part of the beta program? Did they contact you or did you apply somewhere?

Did they give you that unit as a token of appreciation for the hard work testing it or did you have to pay for it?
 
Question

If you plug your 496 weather antenna into the 696 will it get the weather on the 696?

Thanks,

Jason
 
SteinAir said:
Did you notice they have all different kinds of airplanes/helicopter to use as an icon (high wing/low wing/jet/helicopter), but no rocket or space shuttle - did you yell at them about that?!? :)
Click to expand...

Somebody told me you can actually download new vehicle symbols from here: http://www.garmin.com/vehicles/ If you unzip the files and put them on an SD card under "/Garmin/vehicle" they will show up as a choice on the setup page. I'm thinking the pizza slice would be fun...

mcb
 
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N200PF said:
...I can only imagine that Garmin will fix that problem in fairly sort order and build out an IFR certified relplacement for the 430W with some of the 696 functionality. I only hope they're nice to us and allow some kind of upgrade path...and make it the same size so we can swith them out!

Anyone heard anything they can talk about?

- Peter
Click to expand...
They already do, it's a GNS-430W and an GMX-200.

A combined product would be a detriment to those who only want one or the other and it would be MUCH more expensive--so why do the R&D. You want the functionality of the 696 in a panel mount, the 430W/GMX-200 is it.

The GNS-4/530W and 696 serve two completely different functions and I would not consider one to be a replacement of the other but complements to each other.
 
sneedrv-6 said:
If you plug your 496 weather antenna into the 696 will it get the weather on the 696?

Thanks,

Jason
Click to expand...

Hi Jason,

That I don't know, but I'll try it here in the shop one of these days and report back. What I do know is that the 696 XM antenna is MUCH nicer. It's smaller by a fair measure, and also is completely black now so it won't look like quite as much of a carbunkle....

Cheers,
Stein
 
Decisions Decisions Decisions....

Well this creates quite a conundrum for me (big college word.) :p I am in the final stages of designing my panel/electrical.

The full plan is 2 GRTs (stacked like in Paul's -8) on the pilot side and eventually a 3rd GRT on the copilot side. Flying solo, PFD on top, Nav on MFD#2, engine info on MFD#3. A 496 is planned embedded in the radio stack (SL30+Icom200+G327+PS7000) to provide GPS (GRT GPS is b/u) to the GRTs +provide XM WX.

Question for Paul and Stein: Do you think there is enough information on the new 696 to replace MFD#2 from the GRT plan? From what I can see, the 696 really eats up a lot of panel space and I am not sure I can fit it and still maintain cockpit flow.

Thanks
 
TTU_RV7 said:
The full plan is 2 GRTs (stacked like in Paul's -8) on the pilot side and eventually a 3rd GRT on the copilot side. Flying solo, PFD on top, Nav on MFD#2, engine info on MFD#3. A 496 is planned embedded in the radio stack (SL30+Icom200+G327+PS7000) to provide GPS (GRT GPS is b/u) to the GRTs +provide XM WX.

Question for Paul and Stein: Do you think there is enough information on the new 696 to replace MFD#2 from the GRT plan? From what I can see, the 696 really eats up a lot of panel space and I am not sure I can fit it and still maintain cockpit flow.
Click to expand...

I won't tell you how to spend your money Mike, but don't forget that the newer GRT displays (HS and HX) display a strip of engine/systems data along the bottom. That pretty much allows you to not have to run a full-time systems page on another DU. I usually have PFD on top (with the engine strip), and a split screen Systems/Performance/Map page on the bottom, with the map running on my 696 (previously 396) and 430. As much as I love GRT, the 696 map is just awesome - for Nav features, it will be very hard to beat. I'm very happy with two GRT DU's and the 696.

Paul
 
Paul,

Do you have a pic of the 696 in your plane. Is the 696 in place of the 396/430 combo? I'd love to see how that fits. I just cut the mock up panel for (2) HX and 495 plus a std radio stack. (RV7)

Thanks,
Gerry Hatch
 
ghatch said:
Do you have a pic of the 696 in your plane. Is the 696 in place of the 396/430 combo? I'd love to see how that fits. I just cut the mock up panel for (2) HX and 495 plus a std radio stack. (RV7)
Click to expand...

Check post #31 of this thread...
 
Price for unit include XM antenna.

Does the $3250 for the 696 include the XM antenna and cable. thanks Lyle
 
N200PF said:
Well I'm designing my panel now with dual AFS and a garmin stack. The 696 will be easy to fit in but it raises another question in my mind. With everything this new unit does, I'm not feeling great about putting money in to the good old 430W that was going to be at the center of my stack. The 696 seems to kick it's arse but I need the 430 for IFR.

I can only imagine that Garmin will fix that problem in fairly sort order and build out an IFR certified relplacement for the 430W with some of the 696 functionality. I only hope they're nice to us and allow some kind of upgrade path...and make it the same size so we can swith them out!

Anyone heard anything they can talk about?

- Peter
Click to expand...
Peter,

This brings up an interesting point for Garmin, I suspect, but don't know, that the hand helds are a bit like experimental airplanes in that they can do whatever they want and don't have to TSO the product. Whereas the 430's need to be TSO'ed, thus their development cycle is more involved, read, expensive and time consuming.

If they TSO'ed the thing, I would redo my panel in a heartbeat and get my instrument ticket but I doubt that will ever happen.

Well maybe not, as I still use the auto database on my 496.
 
same iterface as the x96?

Does it use the same connector/wiring scheme as the x96 line of portables use so that if you have a 296/396 wired into your panel you can re-use it for the 696?
 
Nope...but that's not a bad thing. The connector on this one is designed much better (and while remotely similar in appearance), it's much more robust, the pins are good and heavy. The wiring itself though is very simple (even simpler than the previous units). Putting this one in place of a previous GPS should be very easy. I'll take a close up pic of the connector this weekend if I have a chance.

Cheers,
Stein
 
N395V said:
Stein,

Are you going to be selling them?
Click to expand...

Caught this on the main page:

Talked to Stein yesterday...he would like folks to know they can buy a Garmin 696 through him for the same price as anywhere else <g>. Great guy.
 
IFR

so from what i can tell it allows instrument approaches in the flight plan. any idea about whether it will accept departure procedures, STARs or SIDs?

thnks
 
stu517 said:
so from what i can tell it allows instrument approaches in the flight plan. any idea about whether it will accept departure procedures, STARs or SIDs?

thnks
Click to expand...

From the Garmin website

No Chart? No Problem.
With the addition of Garmin FliteCharts?? and IFR map mode, the GPSMAP 696 has Class 1/Class 2 electronic flight bag (EFB) capability, reducing the use of paper charts in the cockpit. With FliteCharts, you can quickly find and view all U.S. NACO departure procedures (DP), standard terminal arrival routes (STARs), approach charts and airport diagrams. If the current approach is known, GPSMAP 696 automatically selects the correct chart based on the flight plan. When in IFR map mode, the 696 can display victor airways, jet routes, minimum enroute altitude and leg distance, much like found on paper enroute charts.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=156&pID=14859
 
Ironflight said:
With the user interface for Flight Plans as nice as it is on the 696, I would most likely want to go the other way - do the flight planning, waypoints, and course deviations on the 696, and have them upload to the 430. Let's face it, the 430 interface is a dinosaur. Imagine a course line on the 696, and weather springs up along it. Cursor over, grab the line, drag it out to clear the weather, and have the 430 (and your autopilot) follow along. Now THAT would be trick!

Paul
Click to expand...

That would be trick. OTOH, if the 696 is like the 496 you cannot get the 430 to accept crossfill from it. As I understand it Garmin set it up so that the IFR certified box won't accept things from an uncertified box. I think they did it by not letting the 496 give the 430 what its looking for.

But you can have the 496 (and presumably the 696) get crossfill from the 496. I have it set up that way in my plane and it works well. I added the cable to the plane so it gets crossfill from Garmin number one, and audio plays through the audio panel. That way music and terrain warnings are broadcast in your headset.
 
Crosstalk??

Paul

This raises and interesting topic which probably needs its own thread, but can you load a flight plan on the 696 and then dump into your GRT system? I?m not even sure the 496 does this.

Mike
 
TTU_RV7 said:
Paul

This raises and interesting topic which probably needs its own thread, but can you load a flight plan on the 696 and then dump into your GRT system? I?m not even sure the 496 does this.

Mike
Click to expand...

I have not hooked it up to do this, but since the GRT takes a "live" flight plan from the 430, I see no reason why it shouldn't do it from the 696! I might have to make an additional switch that allows me to feed the GRT from the 696 if I want to "rubber band" route changes as I mentioned before. I am pretty sure that the Roger is right in that you can't feed the IFR Certified 430 from a "lowly" portable.....:rolleyes:

Paul
 
Garmin Price Change

Hi Folks

I hope I am wrong in this statement, but I noticed 1 or 2 days ago that Garmin has RAISED the price of the 696 to $3595 & the 695 to $2895 on their website - www.garmin.com. That would be a price rise of $300 for either product.

On the couple of days last week both the 696 & 695 were priced at $3295 & $2595 as I am sure all you know. Hopefully, the price will drop $300 by tomorrow!

It looks like Garmin has reacted to the very very positive feedback from their customers!

Cheers


Brian - Flying RV-8 in the basement!
 
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