Garmin Data Cards

Does anyone know the format of the data cards for the GNS 530? Our club is
putting them in our small fleet, and we are considering buying extra data
cards to make the updates easier. The Garmin price seems high. If these are
standard cards, we may be able to do better elsewhere. Anyone have any
experience to share?

Brad

Brad Salai wrote:
Does anyone know the format of the data cards for the GNS 530? Our club is
putting them in our small fleet, and we are considering buying extra data
cards to make the updates easier. The Garmin price seems high. If these are
standard cards, we may be able to do better elsewhere. Anyone have any
experience to share?

Are all your data sources certified for navigation?

On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 10:46:14 -0400, Stubby
wrote:



Brad Salai wrote:
Does anyone know the format of the data cards for the GNS 530? Our club is
putting them in our small fleet, and we are considering buying extra data
cards to make the updates easier. The Garmin price seems high. If these are
standard cards, we may be able to do better elsewhere. Anyone have any
experience to share?

Are all your data sources certified for navigation?

I don't read their message as attempting to outsource the Jepp data,
just the SD card it's stored on.

FWIW, after one of my SD cards fried on my G1000 I picked up one at
CompUSA, used Jepp Skybound to format it, and haven't had a problem
installing updates.

Your mileage may vary depending on the source. The KLN94 cards are
specially formatted at King and can't be sourced elsewhere that I know
of.

Brad Salai wrote:

Does anyone know the format of the data cards for the GNS 530? Our club is
putting them in our small fleet, and we are considering buying extra data
cards to make the updates easier. The Garmin price seems high. If these are
standard cards, we may be able to do better elsewhere. Anyone have any
experience to share?

Brad

The license for the navdata is for one unit. If you figure out how to
distribute the data for use in more than one unit at the same time, you will
not only have a contractual issue, I suspect the FAA would be inclined to
withdraw the IFR certification of the installation (s).

That's not what we are trying to do. We don't have a computer with a fast
internet connection at the airport, so we have to write the new data every
month at a remote location (our maintenance officers house). We are going to
buy duplicate cards so that we can prepare three of them, and go to the
airport once and install them in the three airplanes. We will have three
subscriptions.

I was just trying to find cards for less than the $130 each that Garmin
charges for them. If they are 256 meg SD cards, that is way higher than they
can be gotten for elsewhere. We just don't know what they are yet because we
haven't gotten our first 530 installed.

Brad
wrote in message ...


Brad Salai wrote:

Does anyone know the format of the data cards for the GNS 530? Our club
is
putting them in our small fleet, and we are considering buying extra
data
cards to make the updates easier. The Garmin price seems high. If these
are
standard cards, we may be able to do better elsewhere. Anyone have any
experience to share?

Brad

The license for the navdata is for one unit. If you figure out how to
distribute the data for use in more than one unit at the same time, you
will
not only have a contractual issue, I suspect the FAA would be inclined to
withdraw the IFR certification of the installation (s).

It's called a monopoly for a reason. Garmin is charging & getting all they
can for them. Garmin does not warranty them, "if you fry 'em you buy 'em."
If you wear it out, buy another one. "From us, of course."

If someone could find a source, I w/b all too willing to get a another
spare.

Thx, {|;-)

Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.

"Brad Salai" wrote in message
...

I was just trying to find cards for less than the $130 each that Garmin
charges for them. If they are 256 meg SD cards, that is way higher than
they
can be gotten for elsewhere. We just don't know what they are yet because
we
haven't gotten our first 530 installed.

Brad

"Brad Salai" writes:

[...] I was just trying to find cards for less than the $130 each
that Garmin charges for them. If they are 256 meg SD cards, that is
way higher than they can be gotten for elsewhere. [...]

According to the Jeppesen Skybound USB card writer thingie,
modern 430/530 data cards have a mere 4- or 8-MB capacity.

- FChE

Does is say for certain what format the cards are? If they are SD cards,
they are smaller than anything available nowadays, but since they came out 7
or 8 years ago, that might well be true. A 16 meg SD card only costs $20 or
so, that would be a big savings for us.

Brad

"Frank Ch. Eigler" wrote in message
...

"Brad Salai" writes:

[...] I was just trying to find cards for less than the $130 each
that Garmin charges for them. If they are 256 meg SD cards, that is
way higher than they can be gotten for elsewhere. [...]

According to the Jeppesen Skybound USB card writer thingie,
modern 430/530 data cards have a mere 4- or 8-MB capacity.

- FChE

"Frank Ch. Eigler" wrote in message =
...
=20
"Brad Salai" writes:
=20
[...] I was just trying to find cards for less than the $130 each
that Garmin charges for them. If they are 256 meg SD cards, that is
way higher than they can be gotten for elsewhere. [...]
=20
According to the Jeppesen Skybound USB card writer thingie,
modern 430/530 data cards have a mere 4- or 8-MB capacity.
=20
- FChE

Interesting.
My CNX80(GNS480) cards are 32MB, with only about 2.5MB unused.
But some big changes are pending for the 430 and 530 units.

FWIW, my basic MX20 used 32MB cards also, but with ChartView,
that expanded to 128MB cards.
Charts for the continental US fit in 128, with only a few MB to spare.

John,

I just bought a plane with a GNS480 in it. I would like an extra card.
Where do you purchase them?

Thanks,

BJ

John R. Copeland wrote:

"Frank Ch. Eigler" wrote in message ...


"Brad Salai" writes:



[...] I was just trying to find cards for less than the $130 each
that Garmin charges for them. If they are 256 meg SD cards, that is
way higher than they can be gotten for elsewhere. [...]


According to the Jeppesen Skybound USB card writer thingie,
modern 430/530 data cards have a mere 4- or 8-MB capacity.

- FChE



Interesting.
My CNX80(GNS480) cards are 32MB, with only about 2.5MB unused.
But some big changes are pending for the 430 and 530 units.

FWIW, my basic MX20 used 32MB cards also, but with ChartView,
that expanded to 128MB cards.
Charts for the continental US fit in 128, with only a few MB to spare.