Hi everyone,
I am trying to compare the Avidyne TAS 610 vs the Garmin GTS 825 traffic advisory systems.
Can anybody tell me if the GTS 825 is really superior to the TAS 610 ?
Thanks
iz-trips wrote:
Can anybody tell me if the GTS 825 is really superior to the TAS 610 ?
I had to do the same choice 3 years ago when I had to replace my old TAS-600 (as it turned out that my plane was not on the AML of this device and therefore the Installation had not been legal in the first place).
Firstly, as far as I know TAS610 is an outdated product. The current line is TAS-605A, 615A and 620A. From technica data, TAS620A is most comparable to the GTS825.
I finally decided for the GTS for mainly three reasons:
- I trust Garmin support (at least in Europe) much more than Avidyne support
- Price difference of these two devices were comparatively low (esp. if you look at % difference in installed price)
- I Display the traffic on a GTN650 and a G500txi – so going all Garmin has an integratio Benefit (at least it does not harm Integration).
Thanks Malibuflyer !
It also seems that only the Garmin GTS displays Traffic on the PFD part of G500Txi, not “just” the MFD side.
I would favor best integration / compatibility, for sure.
Why do you consider GTS825 more than GTS800 ?
I plan to upgrade my TAS605 to TAS605A which does ADS-B IN (but sees only SIL=1+ targets, not the multitude of SIL=0 portable gadgets).
Various discussions around that.
Apart from ADS-B IN (and merging targets which are both Mode S and ADS-B OUT; note that in Europe you can’t emit certified ADS-B OUT without Mode S) it won’t do anything which the TAS605 does not do.
So the judgement comes down to whether where you fly there are enough GA aircraft emitting certified ADS-B OUT but not flying with a Mode C/S transponder turned on. I suspect very few.
The Garmin or the Lynx products would have been better choices in the past because they do ADS-B IN straight out of the box, which Avidyne took a long time to offer (and they still can’t do an exchange box AFAIK).
iz-trips wrote:
It also seems that only the Garmin GTS displays Traffic on the PFD part of G500Txi, not “just” the MFD side.
I can’t comment on the Avidyne-Box – and therefore do not positively know if this is a TXI feature or only works in combination of TXI and GTS.
But yes: With this combination you actually see the traffic in front of you also on the PFD with a yellow dot in synthetic vision where the traffic should be. This is imho by far the best and faster way to identify the traffic outside as you know exactly where to look to out of the window (and it is precise enough that it actually works)
There seems to be a huge (x10) power difference between GTS 800 vs 825.
Thanks for all your input.
Yes, but is it significant in practice ?
My KTA870 is an heavy 400w unit, but not sure it performs better than a GTS800.
I think brand new cirrus or diamond are gts800 equipped, and I don’t see why they would go cheap considering price tag.
10x more TX power gives you about 3x more range.
Avidyne do the same:
Whether they actually vary the power, or just implement a software limit on displaying targets 
I don’t know.
I would not pay for more range than the TAS605/605A. In reality, I see bizjets and other “probably properly done” transponder installations right up to the datasheet limit of the range, and GA often at smaller ranges only, but well enough to avoid stuff easily.
What is more important is getting the antennae located effectively.
Peter wrote:
Whether they actually vary the power, or just implement a software limit on displaying targets I don’t know.
Years ago I spoke to a sales rep and he told me they are all the same with an artificial limit put on the cheaper versions. That is also how I would do it as that only requires one design and certification effort…
