Garmin GTX 335 or GTX 345

A

Arrow115

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Chris
I have a Piper Arrow that currently has a Garmin GTN 650 and a typical king transponder. I am going to replace the aging king transponder with a Garmin next month when pitot/staic and transponder inspections are due. I received two estimates from my avionics shop, one for the GTX 335 and another for the GTX 345. There is about a $2,000 difference between the two installed.

My question to any one who has experience with the GTX 345 basically, is it worth the $2,000 difference to have traffic and weather on the 650? I am concerned the screen size my be to small to really utilize the 345's additional features. I have no issues spending the extra money, but I have a stratus so I get traffic and weather on my ipad already. I do like the idea of not having to worry about charging up the stratus and placing it so it doesn't move around or over heat.

Just looking for some opinions from someone who has already crossed this bridge (or anyone for that matter).

Thanks in advance for your help in spending my money.
 
I'm going with mine on the iPad....and I have the 530W. The panel screen size is just too small.
 
I went with the 345 just because I wanted less clutter in the cockpit and hate keeping up with batteries and having cords all over the place. I don't regret it a bit and it's such a small price increase in the grand scheme of things.
 
I use the 345 and display the output on the iPad on ForeFlight. That is my recommendation. The display on the 530 is too small
 
No brainer. Ditch the stratus and get the 345. It can bluetooth weather/traffic/AHRS to the iPad. Less clutter. No dealing with an xtra piece of gear to charge/fail. I did the same 1.5 years ago. No regrets.
 
Flying club went with the 345.

My opinion is that it solves the mandated upgrade, and will be a good long term solution like the 327 and the 330 were.

That the device communicates with the EFB's and Tablets is also a big selling point.
 
Another 345 here. I researched the options and am very happy with my choice. I like having traffic and wx on my 530W and also having it sync'ed up with my Foreflight to display both as well. Depending on what I'm doing, I use it on both. You can never have too many good options. Especially when my old iPad was starting to act up. If my iPad fails or my 530W (have a 430 backup) I can still complete the flight with the same level of information/safety.
 
I have the 345 and like it because it also provides audio traffic alerts and I never get a false target on top of me from mt own transponder. I display on foreflight and a Garmin 796.
 
Well, I am now committed to the 345. They are supposed to install on the 21st. Still deciding on the Flightstream. I currently use a 430W and I also have a Stratux, FF and IPad..
 
345 and Bluetooth to the ipad
 
another for the 345 a must
 
If you don't get ADS-B in with a GTN-650, you'll shoot yourself in the foot on resale. Panel mounted ADS-B in is worth the extra cost. I have a GNS-430W with a GTX-345.

I really like getting traffic alerts on my 430W. I'll go to the iPad for more detail, but like the ability to have alerts on a certified device and ability to fly without an iPad should it fail.
 
MBDiagMan said:
Well, I am now committed to the 345. They are supposed to install on the 21st. Still deciding on the Flightstream. I currently use a 430W and I also have a Stratux, FF and IPad..
Click to expand...

Get the FlightStream 210. You will really like not having to spin knobs any more. One of the better ROIs in avionics if you already have the 430, IMO.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Get the FlightStream 210. You will really like not having to spin knobs any more. One of the better ROIs in avionics if you already have the 430, IMO.
Click to expand...

Couldn't said it better myself. If you cannot afford a FS210, have the Av shop prewire for it. Cost is an hour plus for labor, and the install takes another hour down the road when you acquire a FS210. Cheaper to pre-wire for it now.
 
I installed 345 to pair with my GTN650 and Aspen PFD. I have an iPad with Garmin Pilot to display the weather and traffic via bluetooth. I also had a Aspen PDF software upgraded to display the traffic feed from the 345. Another benefit, when you install the 345, they will upgrade your GTN650 software to the latest so it can input the transponder code via GTN650 (I rarely use it), plus the new visual approach guidance...etc.

iPad with Garmin pilot also utilizes the 345 AHARS to display the synthetic vision and backup AI on the iPad. By default, I turn off the weather on my 650 unless I didn't bring the iPad with me. Until 3 weeks ago, I spend $1500 to get the Garmin FlightStream 510 SD card (plus in to the GTN650 SD card slot), which provides the bluetooth and wifi (for auto database update) connection to my iPad. At which, the avionic shop had to turn off the GTX345's bluetooth because all the information now stream through the FlightStream510's bluetooth instead. I feel a bit of waste as it's totally doable for GTX345 to add most of the FlightStream 510 features (flight plan synchronization, monthly auto database sync).
 
JOhnH said:
I use the 345 and display the output on the iPad on ForeFlight. That is my recommendation. The display on the 530 is too small
Click to expand...

Display on 530 small ? I zoom in for traffic and never had any difficulty. Also now there is a dedicated page for traffic only with adjustable range and it shows the only traffic which you need to be aware of.
 
I thought difference was much smaller less than 1k . I guess if you already have WAAS capability then price difference is not that much or so I remember when I was shopping for GTX 345 a year ago
 
We installed a GTX-345 along with a panel mounted Aera 660. Perfect combination to complement the screens on the GNS530 and 430 in our Tiger. As stated by others the audio call outs are worth the difference alone.
 
blueskyMD said:
Display on 530 small ? I zoom in for traffic and never had any difficulty. Also now there is a dedicated page for traffic only with adjustable range and it shows the only traffic which you need to be aware of.
Click to expand...
I guess "small" is a relative thing. For me, the display on a 530 is too small to display everything I want displayed. And I don't want to have to switch pages unless necessary. I much prefer the display on a full size ipad, and stretch it out as much as I want to.
 
A big thanks to everyone for contributing their experiences with the gtx345 to this thread! It is clear to me the 345 is the way to go for me. I was finally able to find some screen shots of it putting traffic and weather on the 650 and it seems like it could be pretty nice to have. So, I will go ahead and put my deposit on the 345. Thanks again.
 
Just thinking about swapping the 335 for a 345. Mostly for audio traffic callouts. The avionics guy said prepare to be underwhelmed, because it only calls out planes on a potential collision course, and most people expect it to call out anything in the vicinity. Do you get many alerts on yours?

The other aspect is that an upgrade is about 4k for the 345 unit alone, which h retails for over 6k. So 4k to trade, allowing 2k sale value for the 335 box minus encoder and antenna. Labor is trivial. 4k to upgrade to adsb in and audio traffic alerts is a bit rich when the latest gdl with xm weather is like 700. Over 3k difference. You have to really hate exposed wires.
Baron62 said:
I have the 345 and like it because it also provides audio traffic alerts and I never get a false target on top of me from mt own transponder. I display on foreflight and a Garmin 796.
Click to expand...
 
It’s more than doing away with wires. I have a 420 non WAAS and Stratus Apareo in my little taildragger with Foreflight in my lap. I have a 430 W and 345 in the Mooney. I still keep a pad with Foreflight in my lap in both planes. That is necessary for charts and plates. There are no wires though. The pad is good for hours on a charge. For a long flight I connect a charge cable. No big deal.

I never considered anything besides a 345 for the Mooney. Traffic and weather on the Navigator is the only way to go IMHO even though I also have it in my lap.
 
Some of these are a 650Xi and not the old 650
 

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More 650Xi w/ GTX-345
 

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Yes, with a 650 instead of a 430, there’s even more reason for a 345. The higher screen resolution makes it more appealing and useful.
 
I've got the GTX-345 remote and a GTN750 with the FS-510. Absolutely perfect for watching traffic on the screen. I bring my Ipad but find myself really only using it for briefing approaches and such. My buddy has the 650 in his plane, its smaller but still very usable.
 
Arrow115 said:
I have a Piper Arrow that currently has a Garmin GTN 650 and a typical king transponder. I am going to replace the aging king transponder with a Garmin next month when pitot/staic and transponder inspections are due. I received two estimates from my avionics shop, one for the GTX 335 and another for the GTX 345. There is about a $2,000 difference between the two installed.

My question to any one who has experience with the GTX 345 basically, is it worth the $2,000 difference to have traffic and weather on the 650? I am concerned the screen size my be to small to really utilize the 345's additional features. I have no issues spending the extra money, but I have a stratus so I get traffic and weather on my ipad already. I do like the idea of not having to worry about charging up the stratus and placing it so it doesn't move around or over heat.

Just looking for some opinions from someone who has already crossed this bridge (or anyone for that matter).

Thanks in advance for your help in spending my money.
Click to expand...
I have a pre-XS GTN 650 and a GTX 345. The 650's screen is pretty dense resolution, even though it's small, and details show up fine. I usually don't use it for weather because simply I'm usually too low or too far to pick up FIS-B here in Canada, but when I can get it, it shows up nicely and in good-enough resolution for avoidance. Ditto for traffic (usually air-to-air rather than TIS-B for me). It's nice to have it just everything just working in your panel when you turn on your master, without a tangle of tablets, mounts, and charging cords.

I'm tempted to put in a used GDL 69 some day so that I see Sirius XM weather on my 650 — I still need to use a tablet for that right now. I'd hang onto a tablet for an EFB, still, of course, but could leave it off most of the time.
 
Thanks for all replies.

I basically have no other electronics. It is a vfr 140. So I would likely bluetooth the 345 traffic data to Foreflight, then let the ipad spit out the alerts on bluetooth, or skip the 345 and use a portable gdl unit to connect to ipad.

Traffic alerts is the focus. I have seen no direct comparisons of Foreflight's audio traffic alerts to Garmin's audio alerts from the 345. FF definitely alerts on many other things besides, e.g. altitude, which is nice.

Benefit of 345 is 1) no cords 2) 345 uses the waas gps and external adsb antenna already in the plane, which should give better direct adsb-in reception than a glare shield adsb receiver.

Disadvantage of 345 is that I have only a sigtronics intercom, which does not accept audio input from The 345, so to use the garmin alerts I would need to replace the intercom with a 700 dollar version that accepts audio. Sigtronics is crap, so probably a good idea as I cannot hear the radio calls my CFI is making currently.

Anyway I am talking myself into a 345 but FF alerts seem more configurable and versatile.
 
I have 50hrs on the 345 and only one audio alert. I have my ipad hooked up to the intercom and get audio alerts from FF more often. I don't think you will miss having the 345 hooked up to the intercom.
 
when 345 gives you traffic alert, you better do something about it. most Garmin Pilot alerts (and i am guessing its same with other EFB) are a whole lot of noise that i dont need to know about. the other day i was climbing and my phone was connected to the audio panel, GP kept announcing pull up terrain terrain - i know very well there is a small tower that it was referencing too, but i was at 600 AGL, climbing and the tower tops out at some 200 AGL. at that point it was just noise with no added value.

your onboard gizmo has far better intelligence than the ithing one
 
Thanks for the insightful posts. Seems like one vote for the 345 and one vote for FF. Maybe the more stringent call out threshold (+/- 500ft and within one mile on converging course for the 345) is the better option to avoid alert fatigue.
 
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