Garmin 430/530 WAAS upgrade reminder Nov 15

It's the 'later this year' that I've been hearing for 3 yrs. I also don't
want the box to go in for terrain (which I have on an EFB) and then go back
for WAAS. I'll do it once. (and for all)

--

Thx, {|;-)

Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.
"Andrew Gideon" wrote in message
online.com...
Victor J. Osborne, Jr. wrote:

At AOPA in Tampa, the Garmin rep said "No airways on 430/530 series GPS"

I've been told this as well. When I ask "why", I get silly answers like
"it's too complex a way to enter flight plans".

That always sounded silly to me...until I spoke to a VFR-only pilot about
it. So perhaps either (1) Garmin sells mostly to VFR pilots or (2) Garmin
tests their software mostly with VFR pilots.

Or perhaps (3) it was just a silly excuse. I've heard other silly things
that speak to some disconnect with the company. For example, technical
support once told me that there'd be no CPU speedup in the WAAS upgrade,
and that it would be done later. That same day, someone in engineering
told me "of course the CPU will be faster; that's required for
certification!"

They're all very nice and helpful. Amazing as I find it (I deal mostly
with
tech firms {8^), Garmin has some friendly and communicative people working
for them. I just wish they'd get the story straight laugh.

Then again they said WAAS in late 2003, early '04

I'm also waiting on terrain.

Hey, isn't that out already (as of late last year, if I recall correctly)?
Or was that only for the 530?

- Andrew

I'm also waiting on terrain.

Hey, isn't that out already (as of late last year, if I recall correctly)?
Or was that only for the 530?

Certified terrain (TAWS) is only available on the 530 and it's
expensive. Terrain "advisories" are available now for the 430 and 530.
It's coming standard on all new units (as of beginning of September). If
you bought a unit after June 1 the upgrade is free otherwise it's $500.
In either case you'll also need to pay for about an hour of shop time to
get it installed (You could send it back to Garmin but it won't be
cheaper and it'll take longer). You may need a bit more shop time if
your flight manual supplement needs to be updated.

--Rick

Terrain is out now, on a limited basis. I'll believe WAAS when Garmin gets
their act together, if ever.