Is the 530 worth having?

[JKSmith]

My father in law is doing a panel upgrade in the fall and he's offered me his 530 to install in my bird. It is a 24v non WASS 530, and I will have to let the shop install the WASS kit which will also allow it to work with a 12v system $3,000 I think. 

every shop I talk to doesn't seem to enthusiastic with my decision to install the 530. They claim that Garmin is running out of parts and that I could be looking at problems in the next 5-10 years. 

My question is, am I wasting time with the install of the 530, and can I look forward to it being a reliable system that will last me a while? 

Also if you have any pics of your panel with a 530-300xl-and a 345 transponder that would be nice too. That's what I'm planning on having in my bird 

[carusoam]

It's basically a financial decision unique to the owner...

There isn't anything better than having a WAAS navigator.

Can you afford a newer version of a WAAS navigator?

Are you instrumented rated?

You know?

Installing old used equipment is kind of expensive.

My parents love it when I keep something of theirs running...  see any value here?

As for Garmin running out of 530 parts,  that doesn't sound right.  They do have a way of sunsetting some of their less popular units.  That unit could be 10+ years old... but so is the stuff in your IP. But your existing panel doesn't have a WAAS navigator now does it?  

We have a Garmin contact here named Trek if you want to go direct to the horse's mouth.

Best regards,

-a-

Edited January 27, 2017 by carusoam

[MB65E]

A 530 is more user friendly and valuable than any other piece of Equiptment I can think of. Garmin will be working on 530's for a long time, they sold many. I feel all the scare tactics are due to shops wanting you to upgrade to the GTN's. Unless you fly coupled approaches to 300ft in IMC, I don't think the WASS is needed. 

However, I have done several approaches down to mins with WAAS. Very cool stuff!! 

If he's offered it to you for free or something minimal, aka install cost, I would gladly take him up on it, upgrade it to WAAS if needed. (I think they still do the upgrade, also heard they stopped)

Here is our 530w in our 65E.

Its mounted as low as we could due to the upper V-weldment near the firewall. The 201 panel was done in '91. The 530 won't fit up top. However, Mounting it low makes for an easy pointer finger changes while you hand is on the engine controls. 

I'd grab the 530!!

-Matt

[donkaye]

39 minutes ago, MB65E said:

 

If he's offered it to you for free -------

My recommendation:  If he offered it to you for free, I'd take it and resell it on eBay then take that money and buy either the GTN 750 or GTN 650.  If you have to pay FMV for it and pay for the upgrade to WAAS, I would save up for either the GTN 750 or GTN 650.  The 750 is in another class with the 650 coming in behind it.  Both the newer versions with their full MAP terrain presentation (the 530 doesn't have that, just a black screen) are light years ahead of the 530.

[yvesg]

3 hours ago, donkaye said:

My recommendation:  If he offered it to you for free, I'd take it and resell it on eBay then take that money and buy either the GTN 750 or GTN 650.  If you have to pay FMV for it and pay for the upgrade to WAAS, I would save up for either the GTN 750 or GTN 650.  The 750 is in another class with the 650 coming in behind it.  Both the newer versions with their full MAP terrain presentation (the 530 doesn't have that, just a black screen) are light years ahead of the 530.

If he sells the unit on ebay, the father in law will probably want the money! I would...

Yves

[tony]

If its free, you could always install it and when you have the money, slide out the 530 and slide in a 540.  

[Drumstick]

16 minutes ago, tony said:

If its free, you could always install it and when you have the money, slide out the 530 and slide in a 540.  

Just make sure you install it with a WAAS capable antenna and cable and this is probably the best plan!  

[jclemens]

You mention that it is a 28 volt unit.  The WAAS upgrade is $3800.00.  The unit gets sent to Garmin and modified and refurbished.  It will not be a 12 volt capable unit after that.  If it's a 28 volt only unit now, it will remain a 28 volt unit after the WAAS upgrade.  If you intend to install it in a 14 volt aircraft, you will need to run it off of a 14 to 28 volt step up transformer.  Donkaye's wisdom is sound, anyone that tells you a 530 is just as good as a GTN750 has never flown behind a 750.  Install labor is the same, both are going to cost you 40-60 hours of labor.

[PTK]

7 hours ago, JKSmith said:

My father in law is doing a panel upgrade in the fall and he's offered me his 530 to install in my bird. It is a 24v non WASS 530, and I will have to let the shop install the WASS kit which will also allow it to work with a 12v system $3,000 I think. 

every shop I talk to doesn't seem to enthusiastic with my decision to install the 530. They claim that Garmin is running out of parts and that I could be looking at problems in the next 5-10 years. 

My question is, am I wasting time with the install of the 530, and can I look forward to it being a reliable system that will last me a while? 

Also if you have any pics of your panel with a 530-300xl-and a 345 transponder that would be nice too. That's what I'm planning on having in my bird 

I think it's a kind gesture that your father in law is giving you the 530 as a gift. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to install it however. Think of it this way: if he was giving you its value in cash, say 5K$, would you go and buy a used 530, pay 4K for WAAS and install it? 

So I think you need to separate the gift emotions and feelings from the picture and make a sound decision. Sell the unit and add to the proceeds the WAAS cost and you're within easy reach of a 650 or maybe even a 750. The installation cost or whether or not you plan to utilize WAAS and if Garmin supports it and for how long are irrelevant to the decision. What's important is that you want your panel to be forward looking and not stuck in the past and you're getting it at half the cost.

I personally consider the GPS/NAV/COM as the main workhorse driving the entire panel. It plays the main and central role around which everything else in the panel revolves. 

 

[KSMooniac]

I still love my 530W after 10 years and feel no compelling reason to upgrade. The newer units won't make the plane any safer or more capable. If you don't like the interface, the FS 210 + Garmin Pilot give you a touchscreen interface for easier flight plan interface. W + GPSS is an amazing safety enhancement for single pilot IFR.

You might download simulators for all 3 GPS/com products and see which one you like best before deciding.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

[1964-M20E]

Ultimately a personal decision along with your father in law.

 

I'd install it as is but install the WASS GPS antenna and tell the installer that you intend to upgrade to the IFD540 in the future.  Look a what options are offered on the 540 have the shop wire these options out while you are in the panel and then when you pull the rigger on the 540 you are read to go.  That is then a slide in replacement for the 530.

 

You also will need WASS for ADSB out if you fly in an area that will requires that in 2020.

 

 

[ArtVandelay]

I still love my 530W after 10 years and feel no compelling reason to upgrade. The newer units won't make the plane any safer or more capable. If you don't like the interface, the FS 210 + Garmin Pilot give you a touchscreen interface for easier flight plan interface. W + GPSS is an amazing safety enhancement for single pilot IFR.

I agree that an upgrade may not be worth it, but if installing new, it's pointless to spend that much money on installation and still have 15 year old technology.

[philiplane]

The main feature of the new units, the touchscreen, is also their main drawback. I expect the screens to begin failing much sooner than the 530/430 series due to their complex nature. All screens have a life limit due to wear, and touch screens will wear faster since they are interactive and more fragile. Heat is also a big enemy of display screens, and I would expect touch screens to fail faster in warm environments. In South Florida, we see heat related 430/530 screen failures in less than 10 years since new. It's an expensive out of warranty repair, and i expect the touch screens to cost significantly more to repair. Time will tell but I think the 530/430 will be more durable than its successor.

[Zwaustin]

Depends on what you currently have installed!?

[ArtVandelay]

The main feature of the new units, the touchscreen, is also their main drawback. I expect the screens to begin failing much sooner than the 530/430 series due to their complex nature. All screens have a life limit due to wear, and touch screens will wear faster since they are interactive and more fragile. Heat is also a big enemy of display screens, and I would expect touch screens to fail faster in warm environments. In South Florida, we see heat related 430/530 screen failures in less than 10 years since new. It's an expensive out of warranty repair, and i expect the touch screens to cost significantly more to repair. Time will tell but I think the 530/430 will be more durable than its successor.

Touch screen life expectancy is measured in millions of touches, and should outlast buttons, assuming you don't apply excessive pressure or scratch the screen, or apply caustic cleaner, it should give a long life, early IPhones have had good reliability and phones take far more abuse. Replacing the screen is a matter of unplug the old and plug in a new one, the cost of the screen might be an issue, but not labor.

The heat and vibration the avionics put up with is more of a factor than what technology is involved.

[PTK]

3 hours ago, KSMooniac said:

I still love my 530W after 10 years and feel no compelling reason to upgrade. The newer units won't make the plane any safer or more capable. If you don't like the interface, the FS 210 + Garmin Pilot give you a touchscreen interface for easier flight plan interface. W + GPSS is an amazing safety enhancement for single pilot IFR.

You might download simulators for all 3 GPS/com products and see which one you like best before deciding.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk
 

Your comparison is somewhat invalid. Its like comparing mangoes and avocados! 

You're comparing an older installation when the 530 was state of the art vs. a new installation of that same technology today when its not...plus 4K$!

[donkaye]

20 minutes ago, teejayevans said:

Touch screen life expectancy is measured in millions of touches, and should outlast buttons, assuming you don't apply excessive pressure or scratch the screen, or apply caustic cleaner, it should give a long life, early IPhones have had good reliability and phones take far more abuse. Replacing the screen is a matter of unplug the old and plug in a new one, the cost of the screen might be an issue, but not labor.

The heat and vibration the avionics put up with is more of a factor than what technology is involved.

If you also get the GMA 35, a great audio panel, then you rarely have to touch the screen.  There are 300  verbal commands.

[KSMooniac]

Knowing what I know today about my contentment with the 530W, if I started over with a new plane that had no GPS, I would be hard pressed to spend an extra 4-6 AMU to get a GTN 750 or IFD 540. Perhaps if I hit rebate season and got lucky, then the delta might not be so bad, but for those on a budget ~5 AMU still moves the needle. The newer stuff doesn't buy you anything in terms of nav performance, just subjectively better interface and more color on the screen.

Caveat...if there are plans to add in-panel weather, charts, etc then by all means the 540 or 750 would be a superior choice since the screens are much better. I'm still showing weather on a 496 and iPad (along with charts/plates) due to far lower cost, so I only need waypoints and data on my 530/430 stack.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

[thinwing]

Ok I'll jump in here..I recently traded in a 530w/430 w for slide in IFD 540/440 s...the touch screen function and full color is the smallest part of the upgrade.The Garmins functioned very well for what the were but their available logic and memory never allowed the ability to tell the navigator which runway you were using on a SID to show all waypoints and procedure correctly.Published and more importantly non published hold selection logic is light years away from the old Garmins.The built in wifi and Bluetooth function very well and the wireless keyboard is very nice.Don Kaye's choice for the new Garmin 750/650 made sense because he never had Garmins to start with and would be doing total panel install with new trays.By trading in my Garmins,I was able to upgrade to the newer tech for a fraction of Dons cost (I am guessing 1/5)because I had the trays and antennas and an g600 main display with gad 43 driving the Bendix/king 225 a/p.I am impressed by the flight management system on the Avadynes...very intuitive ..I spent weeks and months learning the old 530w programming.A/p coupling using the old Garmins on  lpv approach used to take three sepearate button turns or pushes if I screwed up didn't do it right ,the next step ,pressing apr mode from nav mode on the a/p would result in the a/p kicking off....hence I would handfly all rnav appr after faf...with the avadynes...you see the message " a/p guidance available and push 1 lsk button on the left and if you have nav mode in use on the a/p and apr mode in queue...you get very smooth full coupled approach.The screen size on the IFD 540 is smaller than the garmin 750...it is too big to fit my Bravo panel unless I remote mounted the audio panel...but since my primary scan is on the PDF/mfd of the Garmin g-600 It wasn't an issue for me.Avadyne being a smaller company doesn't have an in house FAA certification office so there stuff is slower to certify.They have been certifying a super software update for the IFD 540/440 that is truely impressive...it was announced last April and still in testing so Garmin probably has the edge in getting their stuff released.well that's my pirep and at the risk of being called "avadyne thinwing"arround here I am impressed with the units and next time I fly with Don Kaye think he would be too.

 

 

[seaero]

If the GNS-530 you are referring to is PN 011-00550-00, then it is an original production unit and not supported by Garmin. Here is the bulletin from Garmin from 2010 addressing Discontinued Repair.

Mid-Continent Inst makes a new step-up converter called the TC230 which will give you enough to install a 28V box into a 14V aircraft.

Garmin Discontinued Repair of GNS 430 GNS 530.pdf

Edited January 27, 2017 by seaero
Updated text and uploaded bulletin

[carusoam]

Some nice info shared by people with all the varieties of experience!

Go MS!

Best regards,

-a-

Edited January 27, 2017 by carusoam

[JKSmith]

Thank you for the responses. Sorry I'm late getting back with y'all. 

You guys are making me rethink the 530. It sounds like a good idea to install it, but thinking about the costs I could incur with possible maintenance and the cost of converting it to WASS and making it work with my aircraft. I could sell it for 5k and put the 3k conversion towards the cost. That's 8k towards maybe the gtn650. It's really a lot of money to drop into a hobby thing. Better than doing drugs I guess! 

 

Disclaimer- I love my hobby, my airplane, and myself. I just want something that I won't be fussing about in the future. 

[Andy95W]

Just now, JKSmith said:

Better than doing drugs I guess! 

 

Not sure it isn't a drug.  It sure seems like an addiction to me!

[KLRDMD]

36 minutes ago, JKSmith said:

You guys are making me rethink the 530. It sounds like a good idea to install it, but thinking about the costs I could incur with possible maintenance and the cost of converting it to WASS and making it work with my aircraft. I could sell it for 5k and put the 3k conversion towards the cost. That's 8k towards maybe the gtn650. It's really a lot of money to drop into a hobby thing. Better than doing drugs I guess! 

Wait just a bit and get the Avidyne 550. AWESOME piece of equipment.

[thinwing]

1 minute ago, KLRDMD said:

Wait just a bit and get the Avidyne 550. AWESOME piece of equipment.

Sure sounds like it....prob released same time as 10.2