dbahn
Pattern Altitude
I currently have a G500, GNS 750 and GNS 650 in my panel along with some other Garmin products. I recently tried to download the current database to SD cards and navigated through the options all the way to the final step (which shows the expired databases on those three devices) but couldn't download them. After trying flygarmin on a different computer and getting the same result, I contacted Garmin, talked to a live person and learned the following:
1. Garmin doesn't have a system to notify subscribers that their subscription has expired. (They're "working on it"). I had that problem a few years ago and accidently paid in advance for two or three years of downloads, which finally ran out (but I hadn't needed to add funds to the site for years). They led me through the website to find the subscription renewal option, which isn't all that obvious without help.
2. The original flygarmin website which I've used for years doesn't really work well now. It routinely downloads the .ldrsys file to the bottom card, which always gives me an error message when I load them into the panel. They recommended downloading the Aviation Download Manager on my computer, which I did. That loads a page that shows all the devices and they walked me through the process.
a. Deselect two of the three devices to update the third one
b. Deselect the "sync" option, since that's not enabled on my devices. I asked if I could user-configure that as the default options. They're "working on it."
c. Hit "refresh"
d. Repeat those steps for the other two devices.
(It seems clunky to have to deselect options then remember to refresh the page for something that should be user configured to do automatically for each new update.)
3. It turns out that the process I've used for years (downloading MOST of the database to the bottom card then separately d downloading the Flightcharts to the top card) now isn't needed - as long as the software v7.0 or higher. So I need to get the plane back to the avionics shop to get that feature to work.
4. In order to avoid the original problem of the dead-end database update I asked if I could auto-renew the database subscription. They're "working on that" as well.
I will say on a positive note that contacting a live agent in a reasonable amount of time was a plus, and she was very patient over the next half hour helping me get the database updates loaded onto the SD cards, but yikes. I would think that for $800 + per year for downloading data they'd be able to spend a little on making the web process a little easier. One of the techs at the local Garmin dealer on field told me that they're having a lot of glitches due the rollout of the newer panel mount options that can do this wirelessly.
End of rant. With all of that equipment installed in the panel, it's not like I can go to another vendor . . .
1. Garmin doesn't have a system to notify subscribers that their subscription has expired. (They're "working on it"). I had that problem a few years ago and accidently paid in advance for two or three years of downloads, which finally ran out (but I hadn't needed to add funds to the site for years). They led me through the website to find the subscription renewal option, which isn't all that obvious without help.
2. The original flygarmin website which I've used for years doesn't really work well now. It routinely downloads the .ldrsys file to the bottom card, which always gives me an error message when I load them into the panel. They recommended downloading the Aviation Download Manager on my computer, which I did. That loads a page that shows all the devices and they walked me through the process.
a. Deselect two of the three devices to update the third one
b. Deselect the "sync" option, since that's not enabled on my devices. I asked if I could user-configure that as the default options. They're "working on it."
c. Hit "refresh"
d. Repeat those steps for the other two devices.
(It seems clunky to have to deselect options then remember to refresh the page for something that should be user configured to do automatically for each new update.)
3. It turns out that the process I've used for years (downloading MOST of the database to the bottom card then separately d downloading the Flightcharts to the top card) now isn't needed - as long as the software v7.0 or higher. So I need to get the plane back to the avionics shop to get that feature to work.
4. In order to avoid the original problem of the dead-end database update I asked if I could auto-renew the database subscription. They're "working on that" as well.
I will say on a positive note that contacting a live agent in a reasonable amount of time was a plus, and she was very patient over the next half hour helping me get the database updates loaded onto the SD cards, but yikes. I would think that for $800 + per year for downloading data they'd be able to spend a little on making the web process a little easier. One of the techs at the local Garmin dealer on field told me that they're having a lot of glitches due the rollout of the newer panel mount options that can do this wirelessly.
End of rant. With all of that equipment installed in the panel, it's not like I can go to another vendor . . .
