Rowlett, Texas-based ADS-B manufacturer NavWorx announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Garmin, enabling an approved 2020 ADS-B equipage mandate interface between the budget-priced NavWorx receiver and Garmin panel navigators.
The new interface is centered around the NavWorx ADS600-B ADS-B receiver, a $1999 remote 978 UAT solution that requires an external GPS position source to output an ADS-B signal. The ADS600-B is compatible with Garmin’s discontinued GNS500W/400W-series WAAS panel-mounted navigators, in addition to the company’s current GTN700/600-series touchscreen navigators. For new installations (or for existing WAAS GNS and GTN navigator installations) shops will need to connect the Garmin navigator to the NavWorx receiver via a serial data bus—a relatively simple task.
The announcement is a breakthrough on a couple of fronts. First, it seemingly represents Garmin’s answer to a market demanding that it open its interface to third-party manufacturers—a trend the company started last year when it announced compatibility of its navigators with the popular ForeFlight Mobile tablet app, via the Flight Stream wireless interface. Second, the NavWorx/Garmin interface potentially lowers the price of a complete mandate-approved solution to around $4000 or perhaps even less, even after installation.
There are reportedly over 100,000 Garmin WAAS navigators currently in service. It’s worth mentioning that legacy Garmin GNS430/530 navigators that haven’t been upgraded to WAAS will not work in the NavWorx or any other mandate-approved ADS-B interface. NavWorx offers several other ADS-B solutions for a variety of applications, while Garmin recently announced its next-generation of all-in-one ADS-B transponders, the GTX335/345-series.
For more information, visit NavWorx.com.
