Victor’s Vectors: Updating a 696 while it’s in the plane

Mar

Posted in Aviation Gps, GPS MANUFACTURERS, Mac on March 11, 2009

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I wonder! When you turn off the GPSMAP 696 at night and put it to bed in its carrying case after a hard days work, does it dream of being a Multi-Function Display? Probably not, but the engineers that designed the 696 keep finding ways to make that dream closer to a reality.

Following that vision, you can now add the Aviation NavData, Obstacle and SafeTaxi databases to the 696 simultaneously with the FliteCharts database when using a 1 GB or 2 GB SD card. (A SD card larger than 2 GB is not supported.) We told you about the FliteCharts database update in an earlier blog post, but that was just the beginning. This means that you don’t need to take the 696 out of the aircraft to update any of these four databases! The process is fairly easy but I have included some instructions below to help you through the right steps.

1.    Review this instructional video to help you set up an account and add your GPS to our website at www.fly.garmin.com
2.    After the GPS is added and the databases are purchased the downloading can begin – as mentioned above, you’ll need a 1 GB or 2 GB SD card to download them onto.
3.    Click on the database you wish to update and then click on “Install Database”
4.    Click on “Download and install databases manually” on the right on the page.
5.    On the next page there will be an option to download the database file to you computer. Click on it and save it to your computer. (I recommend saving it to the desktop so that you can easily delete it after the process is complete.) This file is a wizard that will load the database to the SD card.
6.    On the same page you will see an unlock code that the wizard will ask for. I recommend copying it or writing it down.
7.    Run the wizard and follow the on screen prompts to load the data to the card. The wizard will ask for the drive letter you are programming to, the unit ID of the GPS (this is on flyGarmin on the overview screen), and the unlock code from step 6.
8.    Repeat these steps for each database you are updating.
9.    Once the information is loaded to the SD card, simply take the card to the plane with you next time you go flying and plug it in with the 696 while it is turned on. This will bring up an Update Database screen on the 696. Press “enter” to start the update.