Anyone else see this?? I mounted my GPS right in the middle of the dashboard in front of the instrument pods... and my whole trip from NJ to Washington DC the GPS was in and out of signal... sometimes going minutes before getting signal... it was very frustrating and sometimes dangerous.... then I found if I took the GPS off the mount and put it on my lap.... IT WORKED PERFECTLY!!! Full signal all the time... so I put it to the left of the steering wheel... worked perfect (but not optimum for viewing)... then tried over by the passenger door in front of the glove box... worked perfectly.... no signal loss at all.... then I put it back in the center... lost signal right away! I can only think that black mask on the windshield or the rain sensor or SOMETHING was interferring with the signal.... but it still doesn't make sense because the satellites are located throughout the sky... not just directly above me... so I don't see how anything was blocking the signal there... anyone else see this?
I have not seen this with mine. I have my GPS hard wired now - so it is a bit different than the pic below (the wiring goes under the cover near where the tachometer is). It gets clear signal every time.
Doogstr. RF is strange. The guys at JPL used to say it was all black magic.
Try this: Cover one side of a piece of card board with a small sheet of aluminum foil; say 4"x4" to start. Play around with the size of the square and it's location. (It might even work with the unit just setting on it.)
With Rf, the higher we go in frequency, the more it acts like light, So reflect a little signal into that dark spot in your Smart. A2Jack
The foil backed cardboard is a nice experiment (or even a small piece of sheet metal). It may not be the windshield glass frit getting in the way but what's underneath that's causing the problem. With a large metal plane at *just* the right distance behind the antenna, "destructive interference" could be a problem where a reflection off the metal is out of phase with the incident signal, canceling it out. Adding the metal plane behind would significantly alter that destructive interference.
Having a permanent external antenna would eliminate the problem, allowing you to choose a spot that has no interference.
see my gps there on the dash, works 100% perfect 100% of the time
but i dont use it because i know where im going so it's pointless
i dont get why people drive with them on 24/7 when they know where they are heading... tells you the speed, so does the speedo just add 3km/h to the indicated speed on the smart and it's 100% accurate up to where it stops reading @ 160km/h
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
A2Jack
2008 Smart Passion
My Two Blue Beauties
The Cabrio That Will Not Tell Me Its Name
Today
Linear Mode
