Garmin 530 "101"

I'm sure folks here have run through the various permutations, thought I'd
avoid re-inventing the wheel by asking. My new baby (TB-20, if you missed
my other thread--we're very happy together!) has a Garmin GNS-530 w/ a
GTX-330 transponder providing TIS traffic, and I have a few questions about
it that don't seem to be obvious on Garmin's web site or the
instructions.... Questions I marked w/ "***" are those involving upgrades I
want, vice just currency & operating questions.

- Garmin implies that all work/upgrades/etc. to the unit must be done by a
Garmin dealer--true/false?
-- Either way, is there any real difference between shops for this sort
of thing, or does Garmin control service pricing the same way they
apparently do for sales pricing?
-- Any opinions on Colorado shops? The two closest to me are Colorado
Springs Avionics (COS) and Denver Avionics Inc. (Centennial/APA)--same
flight distance, but COS is more convenient based on me needing a ride if I
have to leave the plane overnight, or go to work, or whatever. Several
others are reasonably close by but will require a bit more planning on my
part.

- For whatever reason, the unit is showing "basemap not available," and the
land db software version is "not available"--bottom line, I get no roads,
rivers, towns, etc., just lat/long and aviation points (airports,
intersections, etc). Book says "take to dealer" to fix--is it true that a
database card update will NOT fix this? What will it take to get this
fixed?

- The Jepp db is both out of date & for the wrong area*. I plan to update
this, but see below for additional considerations. I'm not sure how this
works, though--do I need to buy some sort of hardware to connect to a
computer to write to the card? Also, I don't see anything on the Garmin
site about "areas"--I thought the db was world-wide, but I was proven wrong
on my flight home.... Any pointers on this?

- ***What does it take to upgrade to the terrain display? Should I hold
off on the aviation db update (or at least not get a year-long subscription)
until I get this done? (I.E., does adding the terrain necessitate a
different db?)

- ***What does it take to get the WAAS upgrade? I understand that doing so
before 31 August (or at least ordering it?) will be substantially cheaper
than after that date? Same question on "holding off" on db updates?

- ***I'm considering adding Wx to the package. What does that take? Same
question on "holding off" on db updates?
-- Alternatively, I'm considering one of the handhelds (496?) that can
present weather--I get more or less the same thing, but I also have a
handheld backup at my disposal. Thoughts?

- Finally, a pure newbie operating question: the green bearing pointer in
the default nav view--is that always a GPS bearing pointer toward the next
waypoint, or will it act as a VOR bearing pointer? Easy enough to figure
out in flight, I suppose, but I didn't check & since I'm asking.... If you
look at my tale below*, I have reason to believe that what the box
displays--including radial/DME to a tuned VOR--is based solely on GPS.

Thanks, as always, for any help/advice/wisdom!

Doug

*Funny story: So, I'm flying my new purchase home from Connecticut to
Colorado, and spent the night w/ some friends in Oklahoma City. Departing
the next day, I couldn't get the box to accept CO15 (Kelly Airpark, my
eventual parking place). OK, it's a small, private field, not terribly
surprised. Then it wouldn't take 00V (Meadowlake Airport, my temp location
while the Kelly runway resurfacing finished)--hmm, small airport, but
definitely should be showing up. Let's try COS (Colorado Springs)--nope;
DEN (Denver)--nope. OK, something's up. A little sleuthing showed me that
the aviation db is "EAST US" (which I never even checked, since, as I say, I
had thought the db was worldwide). Apparently, the western reaches of the
eastern United States is in western Oklahoma/eastern Colorado.... Anyway, I
plugged in the lat/long off the sectional, then refined that when I
remembered I had the AOPA airport guide with me, so I still had a GPS
working for me--and, besides, I had steam gauges and was flying VFR anyway,
so it was not a big deal from a "how do I get there" perspective.

If anyone's curious, the db items do not appear to all end at the same
point. For example, the Lamar, CO, airport (LAA) showed up, but not the
associated VORTAC (LAA), 7.6 nm to the north. Also, I had SUA displays all
the way home, to include the Alert areas east of Colorado Springs, and the
COS Class C & Denver Class B, and various other SUAs; however, the "nearest"
of anything on the "nearest" pages is in Nebraska, Oklahoma, or (far
eastern) Colorado.

I also learned something valuable to know about the way the box works. The
identifier, radial, and distance display on the map page apparently *is not*
a reading from the VOR receiver, but rather it matches up the tuned
frequency to the db, verifies it's receiving a signal (I hope??), then
displays that information as a GPS calculation. Bottom line, that info was
blank as soon as I got out of range of the westernmost VOR in the db,
despite the fact that I tuned up various VORs, verified the idents & the
function of the CDI, etc. This may be old news to folks more experienced w/
this box, but it was brand new to me (and I'm glad I discovered it in such a
benign environment). This is why I also question how the bearing pointer
works--I have to assume it's GPS only, unless I can get some evidence to the
contrary. Please, anyone with more smarts on how the 530 handles VOR
information (rad/DME and/or bearing pointer), pipe up with details!!
--
Doug
"Where am I to go/Now that I've gone too far?" -- Golden Earring, "Twilight
Zone"
(my email is spam-proofed; read the address and make the appropriate change
to contact me)

For terrain, I think you need the "W" upgrade. there's quite a bit of
discussion of this below, but the basic info is about 3 AMUs, change
software, change GPS antenna, change antenna cable, new 16mb data
card, new Jepp Jsum software for USB downloads, terrain download from
Garmin, new USB device from Garmin.

I believe that the CDI on the nav page is GPS only. You can use the
GPS/CDI switch to control the mechanical CDI.

You have lots of good questions and it sounds like you would get a lot out
of one of the advanced courses offered by various places on the operation of
the GNS 530.
Some more info below.

"Douglas Paterson" wrote in message news:
I'm sure folks here have run through the various permutations, thought I'd
avoid re-inventing the wheel by asking. My new baby (TB-20, if you missed
my other thread--we're very happy together!) has a Garmin GNS-530 w/ a
GTX-330 transponder providing TIS traffic, and I have a few questions
about it that don't seem to be obvious on Garmin's web site or the
instructions.... Questions I marked w/ "***" are those involving upgrades
I want, vice just currency & operating questions.

- Garmin implies that all work/upgrades/etc. to the unit must be done by
a Garmin dealer--true/false?
True. There are many out there so it shouldn't be a problem. They key there
is access to parts.

-- Either way, is there any real difference between shops for this sort
of thing, or does Garmin control service pricing the same way they
apparently do for sales pricing?
Pricing for Garmin's end is pretty standard. The difference comes in the
labor costs which is shop-driven.

-- Any opinions on Colorado shops? The two closest to me are Colorado
Springs Avionics (COS) and Denver Avionics Inc. (Centennial/APA)--same
flight distance, but COS is more convenient based on me needing a ride if
I have to leave the plane overnight, or go to work, or whatever. Several
others are reasonably close by but will require a bit more planning on my
part.

- For whatever reason, the unit is showing "basemap not available," and
the land db software version is "not available"--bottom line, I get no
roads, rivers, towns, etc., just lat/long and aviation points (airports,
intersections, etc). Book says "take to dealer" to fix--is it true that a
database card update will NOT fix this? What will it take to get this
fixed?

The basemap is part of the unit and is not in the Jepp DB. You will need to
get a software upgrade from the shop.

- The Jepp db is both out of date & for the wrong area*. I plan to
update this, but see below for additional considerations. I'm not sure
how this works, though--do I need to buy some sort of hardware to connect
to a computer to write to the card? Also, I don't see anything on the
Garmin site about "areas"--I thought the db was world-wide, but I was
proven wrong on my flight home.... Any pointers on this?

You will need a card updater. See http://www.jeppesen.com/navdata

- ***What does it take to upgrade to the terrain display? Should I hold
off on the aviation db update (or at least not get a year-long
subscription) until I get this done? (I.E., does adding the terrain
necessitate a different db?)

Terrain is a $500 upgrade done at Garmin through a qualified shop. It
requires some internal changes. If you opt for the WAAS upgrade, this is
included in the price. As for the aviation DB update, they're only good for
28 days for use in IFR operation so the decision to hold-off depends on how
you're planning to use it.

- ***What does it take to get the WAAS upgrade? I understand that doing
so before 31 August (or at least ordering it?) will be substantially
cheaper than after that date? Same question on "holding off" on db
updates?

For the 430 it's only $1,500 but I'm not sure when it will go up. Apparently
it will be much higher after that so holding off on this will hurt the
wallet more than holding off on the aviation update.

- ***I'm considering adding Wx to the package. What does that take?
Same
question on "holding off" on db updates?
-- Alternatively, I'm considering one of the handhelds (496?) that can
present weather--I get more or less the same thing, but I also have a
handheld backup at my disposal. Thoughts?

Weather on the 530 will run you 2X-3X the cost of the 496 but will save you
yoke space.Plus, the 530 won't show as much as the 496. You will also have
the battery back-up GPS-driven "panel" which may save your ass one day.

- Finally, a pure newbie operating question: the green bearing pointer
in the default nav view--is that always a GPS bearing pointer toward the
next waypoint, or will it act as a VOR bearing pointer? Easy enough to
figure out in flight, I suppose, but I didn't check & since I'm asking....
If you look at my tale below*, I have reason to believe that what the box
displays--including radial/DME to a tuned VOR--is based solely on GPS.

Not sure about the 530 as I have a 430 but I believe if you set it to OBS
mode with a VOR as the reference waypoint it will act like the bearing
pointer.

Here's some more interesting 530 stuff: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Garmin/


Thanks, as always, for any help/advice/wisdom!

Doug

"Paul kgyy" wrote in message
oups.com...
For terrain, I think you need the "W" upgrade. there's quite a bit of
discussion of this below, but the basic info is about 3 AMUs, change
software, change GPS antenna, change antenna cable, new 16mb data
card, new Jepp Jsum software for USB downloads, terrain download from
Garmin, new USB device from Garmin.

I believe that the CDI on the nav page is GPS only. You can use the
GPS/CDI switch to control the mechanical CDI.


Thanks, Paul. From additional things I've discovered from the avionics
shops I've contacted, you're correct that the WAAS upgrade includes the
terrain, BUT the terrain is available as a separate upgrade, for ~.5 AMU.
Makes sense NOT to do the terrain if you know you're going to get the WAAS,
but if WAAS doesn't interest you (or is further down the road), terrain is
still an option....

Yes, the CDI on the nav page appears to be GPS only, as is the bearing
pointer (the BP is what I'd wondered about). Too bad, it would be nice if
the system would provide radio navigation capability on the main screen as
well....
--
Doug
"Where am I to go/Now that I've gone too far?" -- Golden Earring, "Twilight
Zone"
(my email is spam-proofed; read the address and make the appropriate change
to contact me)

"Marco Leon" wrote in message
...
You have lots of good questions and it sounds like you would get a lot out
of one of the advanced courses offered by various places on the operation
of the GNS 530.
Some more info below.

No doubt! That's the sort of thing I'm looking into. Overall, though, the
530 seems pretty intuitive to me. I'm not a fan of having to scroll for
each letter/number (is there any option for a keypad, btw?), but otherwise
the interface seems almost familiar to me.

For the 430 it's only $1,500 but I'm not sure when it will go up.
Apparently it will be much higher after that so holding off on this will
hurt the wallet more than holding off on the aviation update.

From discussions w/ avionics shops, that $1,500 is good for the 530 as well.
The *order* has to be placed by 31 Aug; the *installation* has to be
completed by 31 May. My understanding is that the price will essentially
double after August, to $2,995 (I have not confirmed this, since I intend to
get the WAAS upgrade done before the deadline).

Great info on the db's and fact that the terrain is included in the
WAAS--since I'm doing the WAAS, it'd be a waste of money to do the terrain
upgrade.

Weather on the 530 will run you 2X-3X the cost of the 496 but will save
you yoke space.Plus, the 530 won't show as much as the 496. You will also
have the battery back-up GPS-driven "panel" which may save your ass one
day.

Understood on the cost & the yoke space--but, am I reading you correctly,
the display on the 496 is *larger* and/or *more detailed* than the 530?? I
didn't know that.... The handheld backup aspect of the 496 already has me
leaning that way--but this would cinch the deal, particularly given the cost
differences you point out and that I'm not too concerned about yoke
space....


- Finally, a pure newbie operating question: the green bearing pointer
in the default nav view--is that always a GPS bearing pointer toward the
next waypoint, or will it act as a VOR bearing pointer?

Not sure about the 530 as I have a 430 but I believe if you set it to OBS
mode with a VOR as the reference waypoint it will act like the bearing
pointer.

I experimented, the bearing pointer always points to the next GPS
waypoint--doesn't matter in OBS mode or not.


Here's some more interesting 530 stuff:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Garmin/


Interesting stuff, thanks--and, thanks for all the pointers!!

--
Doug
"Where am I to go/Now that I've gone too far?" -- Golden Earring, "Twilight
Zone"
(my email is spam-proofed; read the address and make the appropriate change
to contact me)

each letter/number (is there any option for a keypad, btw?), NO
For the 430 it's only $1,500 but I'm not sure when it will go up. Don't
forget that you may need a different antenna cable, and certainly will
need a different antenna, in addition to the cost of the WAAS upgrade.
This is not included in the $1,500. You may also need separate
annunciators for an additional 800-1,000 if the distance between your
primary flight instruments and the Garmin unit exceeds a certain
distance.

You will lose some functionality, such as display of nexrad data on the main
map page, and in the current software version the ability to calculate winds
aloft. These are supposed to be addressed with future upgrades.
..

From discussions w/ avionics shops, that $1,500 is good for the 530 as
well. -see above.

If you have a 430/530 combo, you will need to update both units to WAAS in
order for them to cross talk flight plans, etc. The upgrade is much more
useful in the 530. The weather download requires a GDL-69, which I recall
was around $4,000, while Stormscope was around $8,000.

Understood on the cost & the yoke space--but, am I reading you correctly,
the display on the 496 is *larger* and/or *more detailed* than the 530??

The 496 does show more stuff like winds aloft, etc compared to the 530, but
the screen is smaller/
didn't know that.... The handheld backup aspect of the 496 already has me
leaning that way--but this would cinch the deal, particularly given the
cost

I fly a plane with dual electrical systems and separate busses, so do not
carry a backup GPS, even though I have one that sits in a drawer. A yoke
mount can be great, but tends to block the view of the panel.

- Finally, a pure newbie operating question: the green bearing pointer
in the default nav view--is that always a GPS bearing pointer toward the
next waypoint, or will it act as a VOR bearing pointer? Waypoint, which
of course can be a VOR

Not sure about the 530 as I have a 430 but I believe if you set it to OBS
mode with a VOR as the reference waypoint it will act like the bearing
pointer. If you have an HSI you can dial in the bearing to the VOR in OBS
mode, to intercept an airway, for example.

I experimented, the bearing pointer always points to the next GPS
waypoint--doesn't matter in OBS mode or not.
Again, you can dial in a bearing if you have some sort of heading/nav
function. Try turning the OBS on your VOR head to the right radial, and
see if the magenta line changes on the map page

With a 530, the WAAS/nexrad?stormscope is really worth the improved
situational awareness. With a single 430, the smaller screen with lower
resolution may not justify the added cost.

The combination of 530/430 is great. Depending on the situation you can get
a lot of info- Taking off I might use the 530 in NAV, with the 430 in
Traffic mode, enroute it would be NAV/NEXRAD, terminal area NAV/TRAFFIC, and
landing it would be NAV/TERRAIN. Both units are independent, with separate
nav heads on the panel. It has been a great asset to flying those long cross
countries, in addition to listening to XM satellite radio along the way.