✈️ Enhance Your Aviation Experience with the Garmin GDL 52 Portable SiriusXM/ADS-B Receiver Review

Product works great when charging. However, I'm not sure if the device charges while it's in use. Turns out you have to turn it off to charge it. I'm not sure if connecting to the charging block and turning it on at the same time will work. I will check again.

I was pleased to receive it and after charging tried to pair the device with my iPad. Would NOT connect. Tried to connect to iPhone. Would NOT connect. I then called Garmin Support and they walked me through troubleshooting, restarted my iPad and still couldn't pair! Needless to say I was very disappointed. I returned the device for a full refund.

I've only had it a few weeks but so far the GDL 52 is a lot more reliable than the GDL 39D I had before. GDL 39D kept losing connection to satellites and iPad, so position information is patchy at best. GDL 52 has not yet disconnected. However, I have noticed that the ratio information 52 takes time to catch up with the actual ratio. For example, if you are about to exit, it will take some time for the 52 to return the attitude indicator to level flight.

Excellent GPS, excellent navigation, excellent weather functions (when they work) and good battery life (4.5 hours). The XM weather signal is blurry in a cramped cockpit. You usually have to move it around the booth to find a good signal. Doesn't always work well when using ForeFlight. I had problems with Bluetooth not connecting automatically when turned on. AHARS information about ForeFlight is not very fluid. No traffic information. It's a fun flying toy, but I don't rely on it. Really…

A feature (power saver) called Garmin didn't work on my device, but they didn't help. As usual! Garmin makes a great product, but this device doesn't seem to work with the power save feature; I was about to return it but have used it on a plane a couple of times and all other features seemed to work fine. I can live with a small feature not working, I just wish Garmin were more receptive to my issue. Also, today I tried to connect a Bluetooth headset (Lightspeed AV 200) and couldn't get it to…

The device has some very specific characteristics. You can't take it out of the box and expect it to work the way you want it to; Again, this is not a toaster. Garmin recommends fully charging the device before use. You have to do it. Also, the battery charge indicator lights are out of order. A solid red light means it's charging. And if you permanently connect it to a USB charger on the ground, then it must be within the correct voltage settings, and you also need to understand that after a…