NavWorx Inc., the Texas avionics firm that produces the NavWorx ADS600-B, a $1,900 Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast transceiver, announced March 31 a licensing deal with Garmin that will allow the ADS600-B to communicate with Garmin navigation units that are equipped with wide area augmentation system (WAAS) GPS capability. NavWorx said this would reduce the cost for many owners to comply with the Jan. 1, 2020, mandate to have ADS-B Out position reporting capability to fly in much of the National Airspace System where a Mode C transponder is currently required.
“The company recognizes that utilizing existing equipment provides an affordable path to a certified ADS-B Out solution,” NavWorx stated in a press release. “For many aircraft owners this includes existing installations of Garmin GNS and GTN navigators. Through the licensing agreement, NavWorx is able to offer ADS-B compliance solutions for these existing installations at an attractive price.”
More than 100,000 Garmin GNS and GTN series navigation units have been produced, NavWorx noted, and many (such as the GNS 430W and GNS 530W, as well as the more recent GTN series models) provide the required high-precision WAAS GPS location capability to facilitate ADS-B mandate compliance.
The path to upgrading has proved confusing to many pilots and aircraft owners. AOPA Pilot Technical Editor Mike Collins will sort through the complex and diverse paths to compliance during daily seminars April 5 through 9 at 11 a.m. during the Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In and Expo in Lakeland, Florida.
