I'm an A-320 pilot and thinking about buying the D2 Charlie. Can anybody verify if the GPS signal will be received? I was reading that it may not? Thank you.
I'm not sure where you were reading that, but there are no issues that I know of with any of the D2 series watches receiving GPS signals within an aircraft. If you are a pax sitting in the C or D seats of the A320 then you probably won't get a fix but if you are flying the plane, you will be fine so long as there are enough GPS signals within the visible sky. I have the D2 Bravo and have no issues using the watch when I fly. And I am even able to receive a GPS signal from window seats on commercial service.
It's mentioned at the 2:40 mark. He specifically says that you can't get a signal in an A-320 cockpit. He was reviewing the D2 Bravo, but I was wondering if it applied to the D2 Charlie as well? I'm not sure I believe it though, because I get a GPS signal to my iPad and company aviation software in the cockpit with no issues.
Ah, yes. I can't remember what the source of that comment is. Julien is not an A320 pilot and I can't remember who told him that feedback. I will email him today about it.
However, I have a friend who uses my METAR/TAF widget (which requires the GPS for retrieving position) on his D2 Charlie and he flies the A310/A330 for Air Transat so I know that it is possible to retrieve a signal in some Airbus aircraft. As someone mentions in a comment on that video, however, it may be related to the heated windshield -- so if you are wearing your watch on the hand that is farthest from the side windows and you have the windshield heating ON then perhaps the watch will have a harder time getting a consistent signal. It's hard to compare the iPad to the D2 watches as the antenna on the D2 Bravo/Charlie is considerably smaller than on the iPad. However, if the iPad can get a signal then I'm confident there will be little issue with the watch getting a signal.
Finally, I will say that I highly recommend the D2 Bravo/Charlie watches and Garmin Aviation is pretty good about dealing with issues when they relate to aviation. So my suggestion is to just buy the watch and test it out. If you have issues with the GPS signal not being properly received, call up Aviation support I suspect they will make it right, even if that means you returning the product. Garmin also has a 30 day return policy so as long as you didn't trash the watch while testing it out I'm sure you'd be fine.
Thank you so much. You've been more than helpful. I'm buying it today and excited to use it. I've never owned a Garmin watch but it looks like they're really good about keeping their software/firmware updated. I'll be heavily using the activity functions and features as well. Thanks again, Douglas.
I don't want to brag (too much) but my METAR/TAF widget is superior to the built-in one in almost all respects and most pilots who cross timezones daily enjoy using my Multi Time Zone watch face.
I bought the D2 Charlie this morning. I can't wait to start using it as I fly a lot and this will be so helpful. Your apps look amazing. Nice work! Only thing missing are U.S. flag ones...LOL After all we do have better hockey teams down here...ie. Chicago Blackhawks...:)
We use Flight Deck Pro from Jeppesen for all of our flight planning and I was wondering if you know of any compatibility to get the route transfered in? That would be great because the airline generates our routes and I'd love to sync it to the watch and even have an easy way to merge into the logbook. I'm not good about keeping up on my logbook.
If you DM me your airline, I could probably be convinced to make a watch face with your logo. You may have noticed I'm a Star Alliance guy but even if you're with the other major that has a hub at Chicago I'll make an exception since you appear to be a hockey guy -- "It's our game." (tm). As for the Black Hawks, I hold a special place in my hockey heart for any of the original six and always cheer for them. And besides, the Black Hawks are captained by a great Canadian.
I had wondered about the potential for syncing the D2s to a schedule. I'll look into that and get back to you.
I can confirm that the D2 Charlie will NOT aquire a GPS signal in the cockpit of an A-320. That really sucks and I'm very disappointed. The iPad has no issues aquiring a GPS signal, but the watch won't. This was the main reason I bought the watch and if it can't be fixed, I may have to return it. For nearly $1,000 you'd think the reciever would be capable of this. I know the receiver is small, but this watch is primarily a pilot's watch used for real world navigation. I'm hoping there's a fix besides attaching an external attenae.
I can confirm that the D2 Charlie will NOT aquire a GPS signal in the cockpit of an A-320. That really sucks and I'm very disappointed. The iPad has no issues aquiring a GPS signal, but the watch won't. This was the main reason I bought the watch and if it can't be fixed, I may have to return it. For nearly $1,000 you'd think the reciever would be capable of this. I know the receiver is small, but this watch is primarily a pilot's watch used for real world navigation. I'm hoping there's a fix besides attaching an external attenae.
I'm quite surprised by this. I presume that you tried multiple locations and under a variety of conditions?
I strongly encourage you to call Garmin Aviation support and follow up with them on this as I'm very curious if they are aware and if they know the reason and/or are working on a fix. The Aviation Support number is 1-866-739-5687
Just stumbled across this thread. I recently received this watch as a gift and I've had very little luck receiving a GPS signal in the cockpit of the a320 as well. I've emailed Garmin support about it, but all they suggested was a reset. Just curious if there are any other updates about this issue?
