Lancaster Avionics

400/500 SERIES WAAS UPGRADES

As we all know, Garmin has been selling new 400W/500W series systems and has been upgrading existing 400/500 series systems for a little while now. The focus of this text is to inform you of what to expect and to address a few issues we have encountered thus far.

The "Basic" WAAS Upgrade

The basic WAAS upgrade consists of the following steps:

Pre-upgrade documentation of all current configurations and interfaces for the purpose of:
1. Making the installation of your upgraded 400W/500W series system easier.
2. Allowing us to confirm all interfaces are in compliance with the STC.
  1. NOTE: Any interface not found to be in compliance with the STC will require an FAA 'Field-Approval'. Additional contingencies may be required as part of the 'Field-Approval' compliance. Your local Avionics Shop should be contacted to discuss local FSDO requirements.
Ship 400/500 Series unit to Garmin for upgrade - We generally will ship these units out UPS Red so Garmin has them the next day. Garmin has been maintaining their projected turn-around time of 3 working days in-house.
1. Note: The upgrade price of $1500 includes replacement of the Processor Board, the GPS engine, the Software, and the Data Cards. This price does NOT include any other unit repairs (example: scratched lens, sticky buttons, VLOC issues, etc.). Unit MUST meet all operating specifications prior to return from Garmin. Additional problems can result in a flat-rate repair charge from Garmin (in addition to the $1500 for the WAAS upgrade).
2. Note: On the bright side:
  1. ALL units that do not already have the supplemental non-certified Terrain/Obstacle database installed (normally a $500 upgrade) will have this feature as part of the $1500 WAAS upgrade.
  2. Garmin is also not charging for the 'Return' freight.
3. Measure GPS antenna coax length and determine type of coax - RG400 or RG142B/U coax is the minimum requirement and must be between 13ft and 35ft. If coax type is not in compliance, the coax MUST be changed. If the coax type is in compliance but the length is too short, an additional length can be added to achieve the minimum 13ft requirement.
4. Change the GPS Antenna - Garmin will provide a new GA35 GPS WAAS Antenna as part of the $1500 WAAS upgrade charge. The GA35 antenna 'footprint' is identical to the existing GA56 GPS antenna on your aircraft. Therefore, most antenna changes should be relatively straight forward barring any complications resulting from unforgiving aircraft headliners/panels, etc.
5. Change Antenna Connector - The new GA35 antenna requires a TNC type connector. The old GA56 used a BNC type connector. There is a 90° Adapter commercially available to expedite this process.
6. Confirm 400W/500W series unit is physically within the "ACCEPTABLE VIEWING" area - The "Acceptable Viewing" area is clearly defined in the appropriate installation/upgrade manual. Because aircraft differ in configuration, final determination for compliance is the responsibility of your Garmin Dealer, however, the following should provide basic understanding of this requirement:
  1. NOTE: The following is assuming the 400/500 series unit is located to the right of the pilot and the 400/500 series unit is on the same vertical plain as the pilot's instrument panel. For those aircraft (example: Cirrus SR20/22) with the units located below this vertical plain, see "Non-Basic WAAS upgrade"
  2. Determine the "Centerline" of the Pilot's scan - Draw an imaginary line thru the center of the pilot's seat, thru the center of the pilot's yoke, and up the panel. (This line will typically fall in line with the center of the DG/HSI and Attitude Gyro/Flight Director on most aircraft).
  3. Measure from this point to the left bezel edge of the 400/500 series unit.
  4. If this measurement is 11.8 inches or less, no annunciation should be required and hence should remain a "Basic WAAS Upgrade".
  5. If this measurement is greater than 11.8 inches, your upgrade MAY become a "Non-Basic WAAS Upgrade".
7. Reinstall Garmin upgrade 400W/500W series unit - Reinstallation of the upgraded unit requires the following steps:
  1. Configure upgraded unit using pre-upgrade settings and make any changes necessary as appropriate.
  2. Complete "Post Installation" forms as required by Garmin.
  3. Perform complete 'check-out' of upgraded system and interfaces.
  4. Complete all applicable FAA legal paperwork as related to the upgrade.

This should complete the "Basic WAAS Upgrade" process. I have been generally advising customers to anticipate a 6-7 day downtime and approximately $600-$650 in additional costs to the initial $1500 upgrade cost per unit plus any applicable taxes. The $600-$650 covers our labor as described above, miscellaneous parts, any shipping to Garmin. REMINDER: Any item found during the upgrade process that changes the upgrade status to "Non-Basic" most likely will result in additional labor and parts charges.

The "Non-Basic" WAAS Upgrade

The "Non-Basic" WAAS Upgrade is defined very simply whereas any portion of the upgrade that falls outside of the realm as previously written. These areas can include but are not limited to any of the following:

400/500 series unit is outside the "Acceptable Viewing Area".
1. If this measurement exceeds 11.8 inches but is less than 13.41, VLOC/GPS annunciation is required. This can be accomplished via a GI106A indicator, an EHSI (as applicable), a PFD (as applicable), or other form of independent annunciation.
2. If this measurement exceeds 13.4 inches, VLOC/GPS, MSG, WPT, APR, TERM, INTEG annunciation is required. The VLOC/GPS can be accomplished via a GI106A indicator, an EHSI (as applicable), a PFD (as applicable), or other form of independent annunciation. The MSG, WPT, APR, TERM, INTEG annunciation can be accomplished via an EHSI (as applicable), a PFD (as applicable), or other form of independent annunciation.
3. Assuming a worse case scenario, if you need all stated annunciators, expect approximately $1500 in parts and labor to install the required annunciators.
Antenna coax needs to be changed - The installer who performed the original installation used the minimum allowable grade coax for your install (RG58). This type of coax is not in compliance with the STC therefore needs to be changed to RG142 or RG400 with a length between 13ft and 35ft.
If changing the Antenna and/or Antenna coax connector requires more than 1.5 hours to perform the work due to accessibility problems or lack of coax 'service-loop'.
Any system interfaced to the 400W/500W series unit that is NOT an APPROVED interface. Only items/systems listed in the 400W/500W series installation/upgrade manuals ARE APPROVED. These items will most likely require an FAA 'Field-Approval'.
If your aircraft is equipped with a Sandel SN3308 EHSI.
If your aircraft is equipped with an STEC GPSS Roll Steering Adapter.
If your aircraft has a GPS400, GNC420(A), GPS500, or GPS500-TAWS.

The bottom line regarding the "Non-Basic" upgrade is that exact costs must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Your Garmin Dealer can help you with this given enough details regarding your installation.

Update Notes as of 2/12/2008

All Cirrus Aircraft with the Avidyne PFD are now eligible for WAAS upgrade certification. Avidyne is providing a "RELEASE 7" PFD & MFD upgrade that will not require any wiring changes to the aircraft. Completion of our first PFD equipped G3 Cirrus is imminent. As expected, coordination of this effort was less than satisfactory (some of which could be attributed to the holiday but not all). The required Cirrus Kits arrived on separate days and on their own schedule, the PFD arrived a day or two later than expected, the MFD software is not expected until mid-February, and the GNS430W's arrived later than expected. For those G3 owners that get this upgrade gratis from Cirrus, the process for getting the GNS's upgraded or exchanged is even more complicated. Until this all gets worked out, I will be ordering kits for each of you and waiting until they arrive before scheduling your aircraft. This will help the flow of work to assure extra time need not be added for completion. If you are eager to get this completed, please call me so we can determine which kits need to be ordered for your aircraft, otherwise, I will be contacting you in the near future. Pricing for this upgrade is as follows:
1. Single - Under New Warranty, Flex Warranty, or currently have "Release 6.0" or better: $2395 + labor + shipping + any applicable tax.
2. Dual - Under New Warranty, Flex Warranty, or currently have "Release 6.0" or better: $3895 + labor + shipping + any applicable tax.
3. Single - Not under original warranty, not under flex warranty, and without at least version 6.0: $3895 + labor + shipping + any applicable tax.
NOTE: Orders can ONLY be placed by:
     1st - Registering your PFD and MFD on MyAvidyne.com
     2nd - Providing dealer performing upgrade with serial numbers of PFD and MFD.
     3rd - Providing dealer performing upgrade with aircraft data (N#, model, & serial number).
NOTE: Release 7 upgrades require a 10 Working Day down time (not including shipping time) for the PFD upgrade. The MFD is upgraded in the field.
All Cirrus Aircraft performing WAAS upgrades will have to comply with Cirrus Service Bulletin 2X-34-23 R1 (for non-PFD equipped aircraft) or Service Bulletin 2X-34-24 R1 (for PFD equipped aircraft). The following should provide a basic guideline for cost and downtime to comply with these bulletins:
1. Upgrading #1 GPS (GNS430/420):
  1. If XM weather is installed, kit 70190-002 must be purchased and installed. Purchase price is $1,877.41 plus 8.0 to 8.5 man-hours to install.
  2. If XM weather is NOT installed, kit 70190-001 must be purchased and installed. Purchase price is $1,239.02 plus 3.0 man-hours to install.
2. Upgrading #2 GPS (GNS430/420) - kit 70190-003 (if EMM Mod required)($1,225.75)) or kit 70190-004 (if EMM Mod not required) ($1,140.37) must be purchased and installed in addition to above, however, the aft cabin ceiling MUST be inspected to determine if your aircraft has a pre-existing EMM modification. If the foam structure runs straight and parallel with the bondline, your aircraft does NOT have the EMM modification. If the foam structure has an inboard joggle toward the bondline line, a fuselage repair is required to install GPS antenna #2.
  1. If aircraft needs the EMM modification (G1 & G2 Aircraft), the amount of labor to comply with the kit installation is 14.5 hours.
  2. If aircraft has the EMM modification (G3 Aircraft), the amount of labor to comply with the kit installation is 3.0 hours.
3. ELT Shielding - All Cirrus aircraft with a 121.5 MHz ELT will have to have p/n 18389-001 shield installed. Price of this part is $81.38 with little to no installation costs.
  NOTE: Kits may have up to an 8 week lead time from point of ordering.
  NOTE: The "Overlap Pricing" issue has been resolved. Garmin is willing to do the upgrades without sending and charging for the GA35 antenna.
  NOTE: Some G3 Cirrus Aircraft owners will be receiving new GNS430W units rather than having the units upgraded. Garmin/Cirrus has a list of aircraft that will be getting the new units.
  NOTE: I have an Excel Spreadsheet that I can email to you that will aide in estimating your total installed costs. All pricing is based on shop rates as of 2/1/08 and final pricing is determined on a Time & Material basis.
All other aircraft with the Avidyne PFD are also eligible for the WAAS upgrades contingent on aircraft manufacturer's requirements.
All Cirrus aircraft with the "six-pack" configuration will require the annunciators as listed under "Non-Basic WAAS Upgrades". We have now completed our first WAAS upgrade on an SR20 with a Sandel SN3308. Call for details.
All aircraft with the Sandel SN3308 will require some rework/rewire to allow the GNS unit to drive the SN3308 via analog data (most likely wired for serial now). This will allow the SN3308 to depict the required GPS vertical deviation. Note: The Sandel SN3308 can be wired to display all required annunciation with the exception of 'INTEG'. Rumor has it that Sandel may be having a 'change of heart' regarding a future software upgrade that will make the SN3308 more compatible with WAAS upgrades. Assuming this is true, a timetable has not been set.
All aircraft equipped with the King KI825 EHSI or the King EFIS 40/50 are not eligible for the WAAS certification. These units also do not display the required GPS vertical navigation.
All aircraft equipped with the STC ST-901 Steering Adapter will most likely require the installation of a relay or at least an additional wire run between the GNS and the ST901 converter. Note to all installers: If the 'GPS Annunciate' wire is already being used for a GPS 'active' annunciator, it is recommended that you do not parallel onto the 'GPS Annunciate' wire as is inferred by the Garmin 400W/500W installation/upgrade manuals. This can cause other problems. I have contacted Garmin and asked them to revise their documents. I am waiting their response.
Final software for complete WAAS approvals is here and will be complied with as part of your upgrade. Reference Note #11 below for software details.
If you have other installation work to do, I may be able to comply with your upgrade wishes in conjunction with the installation work hence getting the WAAS upgrade sooner.
The new WAAS upgrade will NOT permit operation of the Garmin GDL49 Weather Datalink System.
A published Garmin Bulletin states that all 400/500 Series owners have until 8/31/2007 to schedule WAAS upgrades to lock into the $1500 price. Those scheduled customers will then have until 5/31/2008 to comply with the upgrade. For those customers that, due to extenuating circumstances (aka incompatible equipment), cannot have the upgrade completed, MUST also have a scheduled date by 8/31/07 to lock into the $1500 price. For all of these orders, I am scheduling a date of 5/5/2008. If compatibility changes occur prior to 5/31/2008, proposed "scheduled date" will be altered to accommodate. If compatibility changes have NOT occurred by 5/31/2008, Garmin is agreeing to consider extensions on a case-by-case basis.
Fixes/Enhancements with WAAS software upgrade 3.00/3.0:
1. Garmin has just released 400W/500W series software (3.00 Main/3.0 GPS). There is no charge for this upgrade but will require a trip back to us if you had the WAAS upgrade prior to release. Expect a wait time of approximately 1 hour. Software upgrade includes a new Flight Manual Supplement (FMS). The following is a list of fixes and enhancements with this upgrade:
  1. Added ability to load an arrival or departure without first removing existing arrival or departure.
  2. Reduced TAWS nuisance alerts for circling approaches.
  3. Corrected compatibility issue with WX500 Stormscope.
  4. Added ability to store and remotely tune up to 15 radio channels.
  5. Added XM Weather products: Lightning, Cell Movement, and Winds Aloft.
  6. Added compatibility with Avidyne products: EXP5000 PFD, EX5000 MFD, and EX500 MFD.
  7. Added capability with Honeywell EFIS 40/50.
  8. Added capability to display traffic from Honeywell KMH980/920 and KTA970/910.
  9. Improved prompting for course reversals at IAF transitions on approach.
  10. Improved Auto-Zoom functionality.
  11. Improved VNAV functionality during holds.
  12. Corrected the operation of the E6B winds aloft calculation on Winds page.
  13. Unit now retains user settings on NAV1 page over a power cycle (400 series units).
  14. Unit now starts up in last mode used (GPS/VLOC) instead of reverting to GPS Mode at startup.
  15. Corrected issue of intermittent screen flashing.
  * Allows for removal of the IFR GPS operational limitation with TSO-C146a when using a compatible antenna.
  ** I will be contacting all customers who have had the WAAS upgrade done with us to schedule these software upgrades.
2. Known problems with WAAS upgrade with software prior to version 3.00 (Main) & 3.0 (GPS):
  1. Mapping "Autozoom".
  2. "Nav" "page 1" - changing of data fields will revert to factory defaults upon power down.
  3. No calculation of "Winds Aloft" in the "Aux" "Density Alt" page.
  4. Loss of GDL69(A) weather data overlay on GNS530W Map Page 1.

I hope this helps explain where we are and what is involved with the Garmin 400W/500W WAAS Upgrades. I am sure that for some individuals, this has raised a few more questions. Please feel free to contact me with those questions.

Todd Adams
Manager
Lancaster Avionics Inc.
(717)569-1953
sales@lancasteravionics.com