Garmin G-1000 ADS-B solution?

[Eric N]

Regarding Curt's adventures with Diamond and Garmin, this gives me little hope of a resolution any time soon. What a joke! If and when a software update is released, does anyone know if there is a notification process in place to let appropriate owners/operators know they may now proceed with their ADS-B installation? The federal rebate process is already underway, and it would be a shame to miss out (only 20,000 rebates available) because of the Alphonse and Gaston show now going on. And, of course, 2020 is not that far off.

[Harry]

Garmin ADS-B now installed as follows:
Replaced GTX33 transponder with new Garmin GTX345 (ADS-B transponder system with internal WAAS GPS). Replaced GA55 XM antenna with new Garmin GA37 XM/WAAS antenna. Rewired and interfaced TAS600 system to GTX345R and interfaced GTX345R to G1000.

Everything is working very well. There is a significant increase in the volume and detail of traffic displayed. With this Garmin upgrade, XM weather is still available on the G1000 display, but there's no FIS-B weather on the G1000 yet. Both XM (subscription) and FIS-B (free) weather will be available on the G1000 when Diamond releases upgraded G1000 software. Traffic, FIS-B weather and AHRS are all impressively displayed with Foreflight on a Bluetooth-connected iPad. I am looking forward to making a long trip with this upgrade installed.

DA40XLS SN 40.1037

[Kyle]

Harry,
Does your Bluetooth connection on your iPad consistently work or are you experiencing signal issues from the front of the cockpit in flight?

[Chris B]

Everything is working very well. There is a significant increase in the volume and detail of traffic displayed. With this Garmin upgrade, XM weather is still available on the G1000 display, but there's no FIS-B weather on the G1000 yet.

Hi Harry -

Thank you for the update!

A few follow-up questions:

• Can you please confirm that traffic is displayed on both the PFD (main display & inset) and MFD?
• Is there any visual distinction between traffic ID'd by the TAS600 vs. GTX345R?
• What was your total cost & approximate labor hours?

Chris

[rwtucker]

Congratulations Harry and thanks for the briefing. I have a couple of questions to add to Chris' list.

- I know you added the internal WAAS. Were you non-WAAS before or WAAS and did this for convenience?

- Given that ADS-B and TAS will pick up much of the same traffic in many circumstances, can you infer the algorithm operating? That is, do you see mostly ADS or TAS type traffic in situations where you suspect that both are registering and the system is suppressing one or the other? When I used to see the TIS-A on my system it looked -- and sounded -- very different from TAS, more like the ADS-B I see on my iPad. What kinds of information are you seeing that is different from the TAS and is it different from the iPad?

[kelson73]

Having WAAS does not automatically mean an approved position source or one that will work, the software of the WAAS engine is a factor too. If you have GIA63Ws and they have older software this may not be what the GTX345 requires and therefore a WAAS GTX is the only answer or wait for Diamond to release a new version (don't hold your breath). The GPS hardware is not the restriction it's the software.

I'm not sure if this was addressed earlier or not. The GTX345 is the "hub" or "combiner" for active traffic and ADS-B traffic. Aircraft that are equipped with the Avidyne TAS, or Garmin GTS or L3 Skywatch etc, have a wiring change required so that the active traffic outputs go to the GTX345 instead of to the GIA directly. The GTX combines the active traffic tagerts with the ADS-B targets and also generates the callouts too so you will not hear this coming from two different sources.

Cheers,
Kris

[lathamwj]

I'm late to the ADS-B party and to this forum. I registered for this website a long time ago, but had not accessed it. I came upon it just now when I was searching for information about Garmin's GA37 dual band XM/WAAS GPS antenna.

I purchased my 2004 DA40 in August 2004 (40.387), one of the first 40 aircraft to be equipped with the Garmin G1000, and for 3-4 years I was very active in the original Diamond owners website. I've used ForeFlight for many years, which was my incentive to purchase an iPhone 3S just after it was released. (I now use a 6S+ phone, and an iPad mini and Stratus 2 for flying. I also upgraded my A20 headset to Bluetooth in order to receive the aural notifications from ForeFlight.) As an aside, I received my pilot's license in December 1961 as a college senior headed for Air Force pilot training after graduation. I flew F-4's for 6 1/2 years in the Air Force and F-100's for 4 1/2 years in the Iowa ANG.

I delivered my (non-WAAS) DA40 to McCandless Avionics in Waterloo, IA yesterday, for the ADS-B In and Out upgrade. They will install a Garmin GTX 345R (WAAS and ADS-B compliant) transponder and swap out the existing GDL69 XM antenna in the aft fuselage with a GA37 dual band XM/WAAS GPS antenna. Since I've had an Avidyne TAS 600 in the aircraft since January 2007, they will incorporate it with the ADS-B on the G1000.

I originally contacted Premier Aircraft Service in Fort Lauderdale about the ADS-B upgrade, who gave me a quote of almost $11,000, and told me that the weather (FIS-B) would be displayed on the G1000. However, other avionics technicians have since assured me that the present G1000 software will not display the FIS-B weather. That's OK, I have the ADS-B weather on my iPad.

As McCandless Avionics had not worked on Diamonds before, I helped the technician unfasten the rear seat/shoulder belt retractors, and remove the "tube unit" from the fuselage, after removing the black rectangular plate and hinged top to the storage box that's directly behind the rear seats. I had assumed that the rear seats would also have to be removed, as well as the storage box, but the technician thought that the modifications could be completed without removing anything else. So it should be a relatively easy task to install the new units. (Although the present XM antenna is installed quite a ways back in the aft fuselage.

I'd be interested to hear from others who have already had this modification completed. My phone number is 641-752-7531.

Joe Latham
Marshalltown, IA

PS. I appears that Diamond is in no hurry to update their G1000 software; my version 321.22 was installed in October 2010!

[kelson73]

Hello Joe,

The FIS-B weather will display on GDU software above 12.0 but I'm not sure off hand what the GDU's software is in release 321.22. Release 321.23 came out a long time ago as well FYI so it could be a benefit. I agree that the aft seats do not have to be removed it's all in the tail BUT lucky you have the TAS 600 installed and the audio wires can be hijacked as the GTX345R is now the source for traffic audio and if that wiring is not there new wires would have to be run up to the audio panel (there is probably spare ADF or DME audio that could be used). The other potential BUT here is the "GPS keep alive" that is recommended to be connected to a hot battery buss when a 345Rs with internal GPS is installed. The GPS will take a long time to lock on without having this and there is probably nothing in the tail hot off the battery, no GPS no ADS-B. The XM antenna is inside the tail and I've heard mixed opinions about putting the GPS antenna for the transponder internally, Garmin used a GPS splitter on their DA40.

Cheers,
Kris

[mdieter]

I just talked with my avionics guy. He recommended that I wait to upgrade until Diamond/Garmin provided updated software for the DA40. I wish Diamond would make a statement of what their intent on this!

[Rich]

Thanks for the post, Joe, I thought I was the oldest guy here, but it's not even close

It seems ironic that the more stuff you have the more the ADS-B stuff seems to cost:

G1000 - $11,000
GNSxxxW - $5,000
Ancient 172/150, etc. - $4K-4.5K
No Mode-C transponder at all - effectively exempt, unless you will be changing your flying habits.