It's true. I was at the AOPA convention at Palm Springs and talked
with the Garmin rep. The antenna is replaced to upgrade to WAAS and
included in the $1500 price. I have a homebuilt Glasair so replacing
the antenna won't be any problem or added shop expense since I do it
myself. Of course it will be convenient if it has the same footprint
as the old one.
When the first announced their much delayed WAAS upgrade program, you
had to pre-sign-up with a shop to get the $1500 price. But now it
seems they are just giving it to everyone.
Ron Lee wrote:
Ron Natalie wrote:

John R. Copeland wrote:
Antenna replaced? If it's broken, maybe.
Nothing in the upgrade itself would require that.
And if the cable works OK before the upgrade, it'll work OK afterward.

While the WAAS satellites use the same (L1) frequencies as the
others..rumor has it that the existing antennas Garmin sold with
the 530/430 have a hard time seeing low enough on the horizon to
meet the C146a specs.

I find that hard to believe. Do you know the elevation angle
requirement? I will check how low it picks up soon.

Ron Lee