Ok, question about "waypoints" and the AERA 500 GPS.

[flying dog]

Ok, I had a 96C. As far as I can remember points such as PSP PRT PAA BBG which are points around sydney were/are on the 96C by default.

 

Are they supposed to be on/in the database and would/should they be in/on the AERA's database too?

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

"Waypoints" on the Aera comprise:-

 

* Towns

 

* Airfields (Registered)

 

* Airways Intersections

 

* VOR

 

* NDB

 

* User Waypoints (Can be entered on the GPS user interface or alternatively you can drop XML files that define one or more waypoints into the appropriate folder while the GPS filesystem is mounted on a PC).

 

From the Map View, press Menu-->Declutter and select the unlabelled option in lieu of the "-1", "-2" or "-3" views that remove various items from viewing (see the manual for details).

 

From the Map View, select Menu-->Show/Hide and you can select the display mode as VFR or IFR, turn on or off, display of "data Fields", "Airways - Low/High/Both", "Topo", "Terrain" and "Satellite image".

 

The database does not, as far as I can see, contain either VFR or IFR Waypoints as published in AIP.

 

It is compiled for Garmin by Jeppesen.

 

P.S. Aera V3.0 Firmware is available for update using WebUpdater { does not affect the above topic}.

 

 

[flying dog]

Thanks for that David....

 

It is just when I first got my 96C I think I was impressed when I was making a flight plan and I didn't have to enter the "waypoints" of PSP PRT PAA BBG and the like.

 

They are used for the lane through Sydney.

 

So, what I think happened was when I was entering the flight on the gps it was asking me if I wanted to use the USER waypoint of the pre-defined waypoint.

 

Anyway, I notice the AERA doesn't seem to have them.

 

But the points in these GPS's are from "air services" and so are the CHARTS we use flying around Sydney.

 

The points I am mentioning (only as examples) are on the charts, so I am perplexed why they wouldn't be in the GPS.

 

The GPS has intersections and all that stuff too.... a "few" more points wouldn't kill it.

 

Would it?

 

:)

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

...Anyway, I notice the AERA doesn't seem to have them.

True.

 

But the points in these GPS's are from "air services" and so are the CHARTS we use flying around Sydney.

As that is where the information originates, and changes occur in a timely fashion (eg. the relocation of R363 effective 18th December was in the 18th December PAC NAV Update), then I assume Jeppesen must license the info from Airservices Australia.

 

The points I am mentioning (only as examples) are on the charts, so I am perplexed why they wouldn't be in the GPS.

The GPS has intersections and all that stuff too.... a "few" more points wouldn't kill it.

 

Would it?

 

:)

Quite right FD. I'm also perplexed as to why Certified ADs are not on the GPS as well as Registered ADs, since both are on the Charts. (The charts even contain some Certified ADs that don't exist anymore)I think that might be worth an email query to Garmin Support, although they will try and refer you to the US 1800 number for Jeppesen, who don't seem to have an email support address.

 

{I reported the incorrect info about YYWG when I first bought my 550 and Garmin were'nt that interested until I insisted that I had not bought the maps from Jeppesen, and it wasn't my job to chase the companies that they used for parts of their product offering. I also pointed out that a US 1800 number was not usable from outside the US! The data was fixed in the next update.}

 

I've been going to have a grumble about the price of a "Terrain" update, at US$150, when they don't even have release notes to indicate what has changed. As the data covers the Asia Pacific third of the world, an update may just have a change in Indonesia or other countries.... For recreational pilots in Aus.. who cares, but if it contained corrections in the areas that I fly and the update cost was reasonable, I'd buy it. I do find the terrain display interesting and useful when flying in valleys between hills. It is much more useful than the Charts in that respect.

 

* Readers shouldn't misconstrue that I'm flying by GPS. Just using it as an aid to visual navigation.

 

* There was initially a bug in the Aera 5xx Firmware that prevented you selecting User Waypoints in a Flight Plan. Sorry that I cannot remember the version number, but the bug was fixed not long after the model release. I emailed support and received a helpful response and pointed to the firmware update.