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The satellite status displayhas been split out from the “group” pages and automatically appears whenever theAirMap 100 is first powered up until the unit acquires a nav solution…a welcome feature.Ī few features have “moved” to different locations. The menus are displayed in a double-sized font that actuallymakes them easier to read than those on the larger AirMaps. The AirMap 100 has fewer items on the main menuand more second-level menus. The function menus, page selection, and otherfeatures are very similar to those used on other Lowrance handhelds. #Can garmin handhelds use lowrance maps how toMy theory is that if the unit has a well-designed user interface, then Ishould be able to figure out how to use it without the manual…and if it doesn’t, I wantto include that fact in my product review.įor anyone familiar with the user interface of the original AirMap or the AirMap 300,using the AirMap 100 is a piece of cake. #Can garmin handhelds use lowrance maps manualActually, I makeit a point to avoid reading the manual in the initial stages of evaluating any new pieceof avionics. My pre-production AirMap didn’t come with a manual, but that was okay. ![]() I found the 100’s keypad to be very easy to use in-flight, even inturbulence, and vastly better than those awful buttons on the Garmin GPS III Pilot. Although the 100’s keypad is somewhat narrower, the keys themselves aren’tsignificantly smaller. The keypad of the AirMap 100 uses the same user-friendly 12-key layout as the AirMap300. The AirMap 100 comes with aprotective slip case (unfortunately, the pre-production unit I evaluated didn’t), and it’sa good idea to use it to guard against scratches when toting the unit around. Unlike the screen on the AirMap 300 (which is recessed), the AirMap 100 screen is flushwith the rest of the case, making it rather vulnerable to scratching if you casually tossthe unit in your flight bag (as I found out the hard way). I found the display razor-sharp and for the most part easy to readin-flight (with some exceptions I’ll discuss later), and the backlighting very pleasantduring night use. Pixel-wise, it’s the same height and two-thirds the width ofthe AirMap 300. The display of the AirMap 100 is almost exactly the same size as the oneon the Garmin GPS III Pilot. #Can garmin handhelds use lowrance maps serialDatabase updates for the AirMap 100 are accomplishedvia upload from your PC via a serial data cable, just like Brand G. And (a big surprise)no provision for plug-in cartridges. The physical layout of the AirMap 100 is much more “conventional” than thatof the AirMap 300. The AirMap 100 is a bit larger than the Garmin GPS III Pilot- same width and depth, but an inch and a half longer – although the comparison is a bitmisleading since the AirMap 100 has a built-in antenna while the GPS III Pilot doesn’t). It’s a compact package: roughly half the size andweight of the AirMap 300, and a very attractive one, too – it fits in the hand verycomfortably (unlike its chunkier sibling) and is the nicest-looking aviation handheldsince the II Morrow Precedus. New packaging, new display, new powersupply…pretty much new everything. The hardware platform ofthe AirMap 100 is a completely new hardware design. Presumably the AirMap 100 isintended to compete with the Garmin GPS III Pilot, while the AirMap 300 competes with theGarmin GPSMAP-195. The company says that itplans to offer both models for the foreseeable future. The rumors turned out to be wrong in one very important respect, though: Lowrance hasno intention for the AirMap 100 to supersede the AirMap 300. You simply couldn’t ask for a better test scenario. Each of us had the opportunity to use all three units and comparenotes. The 4,000 NM trip turned out to be aparticularly interesting one, involving lots of unanticipated weather deviations andin-flight replanning…the kind where a moving-map GPS can be worth its weight in gold.Just to make things more interesting, there were three experienced instrument pilotsaboard my Cessna T310R and three different GPS handhelds: the AirMap 100, an AirMap 300,and a Garmin GPSMAP-195. ![]() I was lucky enough to get my hands on anearly pre-production prototype in time to take it on an IFR X-C from California to Iowa,Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and back to California. It’s half the size of the larger model 300, andcosts $200 less ($599 vs $799, “street price”). ![]() Lowrance just introduced its long-rumoredsmaller-sized handheld: the AirMap 100. Well, it turns out thatthe rumors weren’t completely wrong after all. ![]()
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