TAC

[JOhnH]

I am getting a GNS 530w installed in my Cessna 172.

I currently have a Garmin 496 and a ZAON TACS (anti-collsion) device that provides "some" traffic information to the 496.

At first I was told that I could keep the TACS and that the GNS530w could still feed the 496 through some sort of power/data cable. But now they say that in order to have the 530 talk to the 496 I will lose the TACS interface with the 496.

Which would you rather have?
What is/are the real advantage(s) of having the 530 talk to the 496?

 

[poadeleted20]

AFAIK, about the only thing you get from interfacing the 530 with the 496 is flight plan and active waypoint crossfill. Seems to me that traffic information would be more valuable.

 

[GMascelli]

I finally broke down and gave into the crossfill capabilities on the Garmin 530. 08Romeo is back in the shop with her panel opened up. I also decided to have the cables hidden that I had previously left accessible in case I wanted to take the XM antenna out of the plane. I haven't removed the 496 since it was panel mounted and we have a second GPS for the vehicles if we need one.

I currently have the Garmin 496 panel mounted and love the wx and traffic (when coupled to my Zaon XRX). It is impossible to have both the 530 and Zaon coupled to the 496 at the same time so I will need a switch to be installed. For now I will strictly use the direct cable connect from the 530 since my Collins transponder is in conflict with the Zaon, it shows a ghost target around me at +/- 200 feet.

Pros:
*One time flight planning and no longer will I have to chug and plug on two units for every initial and amended route. A great feature when single pilot IFR.
*Continuous updated flight plan on 496 in case of ships electrical failure, with hours of battery back up on the 496.

Cons:
*I'll lose traffic on the 496 screen, unless I get the switch added. (confirmed can be done)
*Lose capability to flight plan ahead or change on the go for direct to information.
*From what I've read I will lose private fields being displayed on the 496 (have to research this more).
*When activating an approach on the 530 I will lose the final destination airport on the 496 and now have a final destination as the missed approach holding point.

I am interested in any info on the last two items on the list. Will I lose the private fields and will the new fianl destination be the hold after the missed once I activate the approach? If so can the use of the "crossfill" selection on the 530 menu disable the feed?

I also read a comment posted on my blog that an avionics shops stated that if you connect an IFR GPS (530) to a handheld (even in a Gizmo dock), then the IFR certification is obviated for the 530, and it can no longer be used as you primary navigation source under IFR. At least my Avionics shop tells me this is not true.

 

[poadeleted20]

I also read a comment posted on my blog that an avionics shops stated that if you connect an IFR GPS (530) to a handheld (even in a Gizmo dock), then the IFR certification is obviated for the 530, and it can no longer be used as you primary navigation source under IFR. At least my Avionics shop tells me this is not true.

As long as the hookup is strictly one-way (e.g., 530 feeding flight plan information to the 496, but no data back to the 530), your shop is correct. If, however, you try to feed data the other way (e.g., send the 496 XM weather data to the 530 for display), you lose your IFR certification on the 530 because it's now getting information from an uncertified source. So, the answer depends on how it's hooked up and which way the data goes.