Got Garmin 330 + 496 (and/or GRT) working ... ??? Please help.

Have any of you successfully gotten the GTX 330 (Mode S) transponder working successfully displaying traffic on either a Garmin 496 or a GRT Horizon EFIS? If so, I need your help.

Got all the connections made and the setups done (and validated via phone with Garmin) but have been UNABLE to get ANY indication that it is working on either the 496 or the Horizon.

This setup has been tried in two different areas where TIS is (in theory) operational.

If you have it working, please contact me "off-list" at [email protected] . I can summarize the results later here on the list.

THANKS!!!

James... Pinkston has the fish finder working on his GRT... now.. catching him may be a problem I haven't seen him in a while..

Yes

I know of a couple of people that have it operational. I have a 430 with traffic and a 496 as back up and weather.

When I initially set up my 430, I missed a step in the set up. If you have confirmed everything is working, check on the screen for an "unavailable," signal. I know the TIS in the PHX area is occasionally down.

Another thought is the system is "line of sight," to the approach radar facility. Make sure you have a clear shot when testing.

Good luck. When operational, you'll wonder how you flew without it.

James,

On the "Interface" tab of the Setup page in the 496's main menu, once you change the comm port format to "TIS In", you should see a "Status" field appear. If it says "Waiting for data", that means it isn't talking to the transponder. If it says "Data Unavailable", that means it is talking to the xpdr but you're not in a TIS coverage area (this is normal on the ground).

Of course you'll also need to set the output format on the transponder as well... I think the correct format to choose is called "GARMIN+TIS" or something similar. Garmin used to have a document on their website that walked you through all the steps to set this up, but I can't find it right now.

good luck,
mcb