Category: Flying

GPS decisions

Because I’ve been working a bunch of overtime recently, I’ve got a bit of “free” money, and a pressing need to make myself feel better about all the free time I’ve given up. So I decided it was time to get an upgrade of my GPS – I’ve had my Garmin GPSMAP 195 since soon after I got my private pilot license in 1996. At the time, it was top of the line – I think I spent about $1400 for it.

At first, I was looking at the Garmin GPSMAP 196 – it’s similar to the 195 in that it has a monochrome screen, but it has a faster processor and a couple of high nifty value features, like being able to put the map and the HSI on the screen at the same time instead of switching between them like I do with the 195. Also, it will show an extended runway centerline, which is good for situational awareness if you’ve being vectored to an ILS – on the 195 if you select an ILS approach, it draws a line from your current position to the intermediate fix, and then from there to the runway, which is not optimal. Used 196s are going on eBay for anywhere between $510 and $760, and new ones are $800.

But then I counted up how much overtime I’ve earned, and figured that maybe I deserve a Garmin GPSMAP 296. The 296 is a colour version of the 196. When Garmin brought out the 295, the colour follow on to the 195, it sucked with a capital S. The 295 had a lousy screen and an almost non-existant battery life. The 296 is a different story entirely. The colour is so good that they provide a topographic view background map, and also a terrain warning function very much like the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System that the airliners have. (Not that I fly in the mountains, but it’s still a cool feature.) 296s cost about $1100-$1250 used on eBay or $1500 new.

And once you start looking at the 296, the obvious question is “Why not a Garmin GPSMAP 396?” The 396 is the upgrade to the 296 that came out last year – it has all the features of the 296, plus it hooks up to XM Satellite Radio to overlay all sorts of weather information on your moving map, from NEXRAD radar to satellite imagery and lightning strikes. Plus you can use it for listening to XM Radio. The problem is that this extra capability costs an extra $1000 – and don’t expect to get it on eBay at all. I couldn’t find a single legitimate eBay auction for these guys except for stores that had the Buy It Now price set to the MSRP. And don’t forget that the XM weather subscription is an extra $50 a month, plus another $13 if you want the radio as well.

Both the 296 and the 396 have an optional “auto kit” that allows you to use it for turn-by-turn directions while driving. I can see that being very useful, especially in courtesy cars in strange cities.

I agonized over the decision, 296 versus 396 for a couple of days. I lost a lot of sleep over it last night. Finally I came to a decision: I’m not the sort of guy who goes testing the fringes of thunderstorms or going on many long cross countries. In fact, other than going to Oshkosh and the rec.aviation fly-in in Pinckneyville, I just don’t do that many long trips.

So I reluctantly decided to get the 296. Then I found that Aircraft Spruce and Specialty is selling used 296s for $1095! I can use the savings to buy an auto kit! And maybe a new ANR headset. So that’s what I’ve done – I’ve ordered the used 296 and the auto kit. I still haven’t decided which new ANR headset to get.

By the way, anybody want to buy my 195? I can hardly call it “gently used”, but it’s in pretty good shape considering how I just toss it in the flight bag. Comes with yoke mount, at least one and possibly two external antennas (I recently re-found the one I thought I’d lost). Every now and then the zip-up carrying bag for the GPS shows up, so if you’re local I can pass that along to you next time it turns up. Same with the manual – I think it’s in the boxes in the library we haven’t unpacked from the move yet (but we’re getting the library painted in a few weeks, so those boxes will get unpacked very soon afterwards). They seem to be going for around $250-$300 on eBay (with a couple of outliers above and below). First local person offering $200 gets it.

How big an aviation geek are you?

I was rushing to the bathroom, when I got buttonholed by another aviation geek who works here. He wanted to ask me if I could do something for his group next week some time. I said “PAN PAN PAN” (aviation speak for an urgent but not life-threatening condition) but he just looked at me uncomprehendingly.

From this I learned two things:

  • in spite of his years in the Navy working on A-4s, and his current work as a volunteer at local airshows, he’s not up on the pilot/controller glossary
  • the Imodium isn’t working

The problem with being a cautious pilot…

…is that I end up cancelling too many flights. Today’s flight to KAGC – Allegheny County Airport is a case in point.

12 March 2006 RadarThe current radar picture shows that with a bit of flexibility of plans I could avoid the thunderstorms, although I’d probably be in a lot of rain and some turbulence. But in consideration of Vicki and Laura’s stomachs, and Vicki’s lack of flexibility, I have to cancel. If some more of that red stuff built up while we were en-route and we had to land to wait it out, Vicki can’t miss tomorrow’s work and we’d end up leaving the plane and renting a car to drive back, and that is too expensive and un-fun.

“Fun” with eBay

A couple of weeks ago, somebody posted to one of the rec.aviation newsgroups that he’d seen a Garmin GNS 530 on eBay going for $1000. Since we’re paying about $8,000 for the one we’re putting in our Dakota, it seemed too good to be true.

Examining the auction, it was too good to be true. It turns out it was so obviously a fraud that there was no way it could possibly be legit.

  • The seller requested that you email him before you bid (a sure sign that they want to sell it off eBay to avoid eBay’s minimal fraud protections.
  • The seller claimed to have 5 of them, and was willing to sell them for $1000 each (which is strange, because only one was up for auction, and had a minimum bid of $100 with no reserve, so how could he be sure of the price?)
  • All the seller’s other auctions were for high end electronic items, always with the same flags – always 5 of them, always stating a firm price, and always an admonition to contact him before bidding.

    I jumped through eBay’s stupid hoops to report the guy, and a few hours later, his auctions were all gone. And a few hours after that, they were back under another seller id. So I reported that one as well. Because I was also currently scanning eBay to see if I can get a deal on a new handheld GPS, I’ve been going back daily searching with a few of the fraud flags, and find the same auctions back again and again and again. I must have reported 15 of these things in the last week. Strangely enough, the sellers always seemed to have good feedback. And then I discovered why – every now and then the auctions will have, in the seller’s part of the html (as opposed to the bits that eBay controls) a “click here to see my other auctions” which takes you to a non-eBay address, but which requires you to log in with your eBay account and password!

    Now I’m really annoyed. Ebay is very fast at removing these auctions once you report them (although since it takes you about 5 screens to get to the part where you can report it, I can see getting tired of reporting these things pretty shortly). But why can’t they take some basic precautions before accepting a listing? For instance, the email address for these fraudulent listings hasn’t changed in a while. Why don’t they just block any account that tries to put in a listing with a mailto:XXXXXX@aol.com (I’ve redacted the actual address because I don’t want to appear in google searches for that address)? Or if the listing has an href tag, have the eBay software go to that link and see if it has eBay graphics either linked or embedded in it? Or if it has a form with a password type field, hold it up to some manual scrutiny? Some of these things would be easy for the scammers to bypass, but they’re not bypassing it now.