Garmin GNS to GTN upgrade deal

Probably. Don’t really know but it’s a nice offer if you don’t feel like messing around with it. Not a perfect offer, but decent.
 
Sorta leaves out me, F’Ron and other 480 folk
 
Lol, what a rip, that's like 1/3 of what they sell for anywhere.

Besides it hard selling a new model of a box that doesn't do anything the old model can't do, minus a whizbang touch screen.
 
The Avidyne trade is a vastly better deal - you get genuine market credit for the 430, and that's before you get to the fact that the Avidyne swap is trivially simple - same tray.

Figure at least two grand labor to install the 650.

Love my Avidyne 440!
 
Clearly a sign they are ready to pull the plug on GNS :D
 
Yes, this is just an End of Life signal from Garmin. They would like to start pulling 430s and 530s out of the field. They've had a LONG run, suspect they'll go awhile longer yet even without support from Garmin, but the cost to maintain them is going to start really climbing.
 
NordicDave said:
Absolute rip-off by Garmin. Avidyne is offer 3x that amount to upgrade to their gear. Latest rev level 430W sells for $7K, and 430 non-WAAS about $4200.
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I wouldn’t pay $7000 for a 430W at this point. That number is being artificially held high by the ADS-B mandate and people thinking it’s stupid to get a transponder with a GPS inside it to make that work, and not able to use the GPS themselves, I think.

AggieMike88 said:
Sorta leaves out me, F’Ron and other 480 folk
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It had an asterisk next to the model numbers and a note that said it was the entire model family. You might ask.
 
denverpilot said:
It had an asterisk next to the model numbers and a note that said it was the entire model family. You might ask.
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hmmmm.... likely not.... as said in this thread, we could get more on the open market.

Plus the club isn't terribly thrilled with our results on the GTN750 we have in the Bonanza. While we love the functionality, we are on our second or third unit in three years. Different bits of the hardware have gone sour enough to warranty removal by local shop and sent to Garmin repair depot.
 
Think most of the non FMS sims at FSI are rocking GNS boxes, and really I don't see many of them have mx issues aside from replacing the memory battery on rare occasion.
 
bnt83 said:
Clearly a sign they are ready to pull the plug on GNS :D
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Then again, maybe they are using this to boost the in-house supply of spare parts so they can keep them going "forever". ;) :D
 
They are not pulling the plug.

They just want them off the market to sell GTN's.

1998 technology still serving the purpose 18 years later.
 
Ryan F. said:
Yes, this is just an End of Life signal from Garmin. They would like to start pulling 430s and 530s out of the field. They've had a LONG run, suspect they'll go awhile longer yet even without support from Garmin, but the cost to maintain them is going to start really climbing.
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There's a huge installed base of GNS navigators out there. A lot of those airplanes, including mine, are now 10 or 15+ years older than they were when the GNS GPS was installed. And a lot of those airframe values today couldn't justify the cost of pulling the panel apart to install a GTN.

If Garmin makes it impossibly expensive to maintain them, Avidyne might be the winner with their slide in.
 
GRG55 said:
Then again, maybe they are using this to boost the in-house supply of spare parts so they can keep them going "forever". ;) :D
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I think that’s EXACTLY what they’re doing. The supply depot needs new carcasses for remanufacture and refurbish.
 
As someone said earlier, the need for an ADSB WAAS source is driving 430W installs. This demand is further driven by that fact non-Garmin authorized shops can install the GNS-430W and cannot install GTN products.
 
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I predict the bottom is going drop out of the 430/430W market pretty soon... if you have one to sell, now is the time. And if you're in the market for one, wait.

I was in the market for a 430W last year until I compared the prices to the 650... I got into a barely-used 650 for only a little bit more than a 430W. Really happy with that decision. The 430 has been a good box but at this point it is very old. I would no longer recommend getting into one at this point, although if you have one, I'd keep it...
 
To expand on one of the reasons I chose the Avidyne IFD-440, besides the trivial install (literally minutes to slide in and configure), the IFD-100 iPad app is like having another navigator, with a larger screen. It does everything the 440 does except transmit and receive COM. It's not just a mirror.

So I can have a large map with flight plan showing on the iPad, and have the textual route on the 440.

In my case, I am going to mount an iPad Mini 4 in the center panel, and will take care of most of my functional use there.

Also, loading a full route clearance with the knob is so quick, it's silly - once you get used to it! Great user interface design.

---

All that said, I am still not done "unlearning" the 430W's "buttonology," and if the 650 had mirrored the 430's logic, I might've been tempted to go that way. But it didn't, and I wasn't.
 
denverpilot said:
That number is being artificially held high by the ADS-B mandate and people thinking it’s stupid to get a transponder with a GPS inside it to make that work, and not able to use the GPS themselves, I think.
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Our club decided to upgrade both 430's to WAAS for mostly the reason you stated. Being able to fly the precision GPS approaches turned out to be only one advantage.

The GTX345 cost less, we didn't have to add another antenna, and best of all, the upgrade is a complete refurb and the screen and buttons are all "good as new." Those are benefits over the all-in-one route. Probably cost us $3k extra to go the route we did.

PA32 got it in May, C177RG should be done in 2 weeks. RV-6 is 430W but I'm not doing anything for 2020 until after OSH 2019. Should have the best option/price by then and I don't need a shop appointment.
 
I was going to go the ifd440 route; even put a deposit on one. I had read reports that indicated avidyne would support non-proprietary ads-b technology then they came out with the mlb100 in only ads-b receiver and priced it around $2500 when the garmin gdl39 was available on the used market at below $500. It took a long time to get certified and I had questions about their service cost and database costs too. Then a 430w fell into my lap and I was able to sell my 430 for what I paid for the 430w. At that point I didn't see a big reason to change.
 
Yeah, I'd say that's not a great "offer". I just did the 430W for Avidyne 440 upgrade. I got about $6k for my 430W. Now the 440 does cost a little bit more than a 650, but install cost are going to more than cover the cost difference, plus with the IFD100 it's like getting a huge glass display for free. Just ordered it last week, can't wait to get it installed....hope it works as advertised!

p.s. also installing a JPI 900 that'll talk to the IFD440.
 
Sounds like GNS upgrades to WAAS and 330 to ES upgrade are going up in price January.
 
ANY order for GNS upgrade to WAAS placed before the end the deadline will beat the price increase.

Garmin is simultaneously running out of old GNS electronic components for the upgrade and want to chase people onto the GTN platform. I upgraded my 430 to 430W last year. The unit comes back with a 1 year warranty and the unit looks and operates as like new. A true overhaul.

One other item... the upgraded 430W comes with the latest hardware and software rev level, and all new data (nav, terrain, obstacle) My 430 was 2 HW levels & 3 SW levels old for the straight 430. My unit came back not just WAAS enable, but with a host of new features.
 
Just trivia:

The 430W and 530W are now 11 years and one month old. WAAS and LPV were approved November 9, 2006.

The 430 itself was introduced in 1998 and the model line overall will be 20 years old this year.

GTN 650/750 were released March 23, 2011 and are already 6 years old going on 7.

And I finally bought one. LOL. Call me an “early adopter”.

Haha. 20 years. I guess it’s about time I had a GPS in the panel, eh?
 
denverpilot said:
...Haha. 20 years. I guess it’s about time I had a GPS in the panel, eh?
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Meh. You and I have it easy. Mountains to the right, we're heading south, to the left, heading north. Now those poor souls over the flat white expanses of the Dakotas in winter...;)
 
They are offering $3K on a 530W. I sold my 530W a few months ago for $8K.
 
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