New Garmin 396

Arsey

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I see Garmin have introduced a 396 which has a WiFi link to update without need to connect by cable and also can do live traffic updates .
Shame the cradle is different yet again for the power pick up.

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https://youtu.be/xNnw2fMD_JQ
 
I bought one last week,good discount from bikerswear on ebay £280.
Only minor niggle is the power lead,It has the voltage adaptor built into it ,so you have a 2 inch square block to feed under the tank.
Not really a problem if your lifting the tank,but i was trying to avoid that.
So far so good :D
 
I bought one last week,good discount from bikerswear on ebay £280.
Only minor niggle is the power lead,It has the voltage adaptor built into it ,so you have a 2 inch square block to feed under the tank.
Not really a problem if your lifting the tank,but i was trying to avoid that.
So far so good :D

What do you think of the screen?, when viewed in sunlight, looks a bit washout and dull from what I can see in the reviews. I might get one if they can be had for a reasonable price, if the screen can be seen ok in direct sunlight.
 
What do you think of the screen?, when viewed in sunlight, looks a bit washout and dull from what I can see in the reviews. I might get one if they can be had for a reasonable price, if the screen can be seen ok in direct sunlight.

Screen looks ok to me, no different from my previous nav 5 .
 
I bought one last week,good discount from bikerswear on ebay £280.
Only minor niggle is the power lead,It has the voltage adaptor built into it ,so you have a 2 inch square block to feed under the tank.
Not really a problem if your lifting the tank,but i was trying to avoid that.
So far so good :D

£280 seems a very good price, cheapest I can find is £349.


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Reviewed in the current Ride.
Issues with the "You have crashed" alert coming up all the time
 
What do you think of the screen?, when viewed in sunlight, looks a bit washout and dull from what I can see in the reviews. I might get one if they can be had for a reasonable price, if the screen can be seen ok in direct sunlight.

I've had mine for 6 weeks now, to replace the Nav 4 I had and it's a good piece of kit. I haven't noticed any problems with sunlight on the screen but then I am in Wales! It came with all the cables and mounts you need to use it in the car as well as on the bike, so no extra bits of kit to buy, and lifetime maps and traffic is another plus. The warning of upcoming (lower) speed limits is a useful feature too. The link with my iphone works perfectly and the spoken alerts work well. Good bit of kit and good value, methinks.
 
I didn't have the same problem SW from Ride had, but then I did take the precaution of having a look-see at the instructions on how to use it and having a fiddle with the various settings. It also prompts you to change to car mode when you mount it in the car and use the in-car power unit, so I'm not sure why SW had a settings problem in a bike mount? Did he just plug it into a power socket on the bike rather than use the supplied power cable?

As always, if in doubt - RTFM (online if you have to).
 
our SimonW’s clearly a bikermate of the very highest order.

Can't be easy when you've got to test Boots, Helmets, Gloves, 3 layers of spring, summer, autumn and winter clothing as well as every Bike and accessory on the planet. Then sit down and write tour guides for the entire Universe. Who'd want a job like that?! He deserves our sympathy. Lucky bugger.
 
I’ve also just purchased the 396 and must say another great product from Garmin. Simple to use and connect to your phone, you can even play your music or radio through its speakers but the best thing is being able to update your maps via WiFi instead of having to rig it up to a computer so even if your on a big tour for weeks or even months just find some free WiFi and update your maps.
 
Looking at the 396 to replace my much hated piece-of-shit Zumo 660.

Few questions to be sure I'm moving away from that poor excuse for a sat nav that the 660 is:

1) Is the screen more readable in daylight than the 660? Has anyone actually had both models?
2) The 660 is painfully slow (if not useless while riding in major cities) in rendering the map, calculating, etc. Is the 396 fast enough (read: not underpowered like the 660)?
 
I’ve switched to a 396 on my new bike, and so far so good. The ability to update maps over WiFi is a bonus!:doris:D:D
 
Additional stupid questions about the 396.

The waste of a RAM mount space I'm using at the moment (the 660) is powered via the socket under the handlebars on the bike (white small socket).
Is there a ready-made cable to reuse that socket on the 396, or can I just cut the provided power cable (with that little black box...)?

Does the mount have a removable cover?
The 550 mount was very good, but a bit of a pain with corrosion/etc on the pins when keeping the bike outside.
The only good thing about that pile of crap of the 660 was the removable cover on the, otherwise, flimsy as hell mount.
 


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