Garmin G-1000 ADS-B solution?

[rwtucker]

You stated the problem and the ideal solution succinctly Jeremy. It is disappointing to see Diamond tell you to buzz off by recommending that you and all other affected Diamond owners engage in expensive physical modifications rather than inconvenience Diamond to upgrade a single module of the software that would benefit us all. The ". . . There may be at some point in the future . . ." phrase is especially disingenuous. Assuming they are competent planners, Diamond knows exactly where this upgrade falls in their schedule. I'm waiting too. Still plenty of time.

[jeremycole]

In terms of time, though... I am thinking of potentially hedging my bets and buying the GTX345R (non-GPS) unit to put on a shelf and wait. That would at least avoid a potentially lengthy backorder wait in the future, and I could proceed with the upgrade once new software is available. I was told the lead time on buying a GTX345 right now is about a month... and as Garmin goes these units are unlikely to *drop* in price.

Or maybe I should buy one of each of the GTX345R units (GPS and non-GPS) and sell whichever one I don't need, based on whether Diamond has this sorted out the closer we get to the mandate date.

[smoss]

Funny, I thought the non-WAAS G-1000 would be the problematic one, not the other way around. Question: I assumed the internal WAAS GTX345R would require a new hole drilled in the plane with a new externally mounted antenna. The above response though ("The antenna for this system is installed internally on a bracket in the aft fuselage. The GDL69 antenna bracket would have to be modified slightly to accept a dual purpose GA37 antenna. This allows WAAS as well As GDL69 XM") implies the a combined XM/WAAS can be used and mounted internally. Anyone with further info on this?

[greg]

The antenna for this system is installed internally on a bracket in the aft fuselage. The GDL69 antenna bracket would have to be modified slightly to accept a dual purpose GA37 antenna. This allows WAAS as well As GDL69 XM

Does anyone have an electronic copy of the Installation Manual? It bothers me somewhat that I find out from a group of pilots (absolutely no slur intended!) that the new antenna could be mounted internally, when two Garmin-certified avionics shops are quoting serious dollars to create Engineering Orders to cut holes in the fuselage. Surely they should have known this?

I'd like to look at the installation manual myself to see if there's anything else they're missing. (Not to mention whether it becomes even simpler if I get rid of the useless (in the Southern Hemishpere) GDL69 at the same time.

Thanks,
Greg

[jeremycole]

I don't know if there is in fact a DA40-specific "installation manual" as such (maybe Garmin's STC for DA40?), but I guess you could remove the panels in the rear so you have access to the avionics rack, confirm there's a GDL69 antenna in there, and decide what you want to do with that. You could remove the GDL69 any time you want, I think, and save ~5 lbs. That would probably mean you could replace its antenna with the GPS-only antenna instead of the dual GPS/XM antenna.

[kjmeyers1]

Finally got my G1000 Garmin GTX345 setup installed and working. It took my shop many phone calls to Garmin and Diamond, but we got it working... Curious if anyone else has taken the plunge and got it going??

[Eric N]

Ken, since I think you have a GDL69 and probably XM weather, I'll be curious to know if, after you've used the new system for a while, you decide to cancel XM and use the "free" weather radar display. I've decided to wait for the software upgrade, since I already paid to upgrade to WAAS.

[smoss]

Ken, what was done for the antenna? Was an "internal" one able to be used, or did a new hole need to be drilled in the plane?

[kjmeyers1]

New antenna. My guys filled the old holes and installed the new antenna. It's clean and is working like a champ.

[kjmeyers1]

As far as I can tell right now, I plan on continuing on with the XM weather products. The little bit of of the free weather that I have seen, seems to be very coarse.