I've never used an external antenna for a gps receiver, and have never seen any need for one. Right now, sitting in the house not even close to a window, I'm picking up 7 satellites on my phone (an HTC Touch). Checking my location on google earth it's a little off (looks like I'm in the kitchen instead of the dining room), but the original fix took less than 10 seconds. That's with a warm start, but even with a cold start it never takes more than a minute or two. Using a bt receiver outside (in the car) I generally can pick up 8 sats, but there isn't much difference in lat/long accuracy with one additional sat. There is a slight difference with altitude accuracy but all of the noncommercial receivers get lousy altitude readings (my phone is off by almost 100 feet, and my bt receiver is off by 60 feet). Probably more than anyone wanted to know.
But yes, satellite radio antenna placement is critical. After many dropouts I'm back to having my xm antenna on the corner of the frame of the windshield. My radio is on a vent mount on the passengers side, so the antenna wire just runs up the doorframe and goes right at the top. Works much better for me than any of the other places I tried and if I need to it's easy enough to bring inside.
How do you feed the wire from there to the inside where the radio is? I looked all over and couldn't find a harness bundle that went through.
The rest of the story. Feed the wire in the little slot on the side of the car in front of the mirror, then behind the mirror and inside past the weather stripping (on the passenger side in this case.) Disclaimer: this was not done by a factory trained technician and will not be covered under warranty in the event of failure miles from home.
There are (at least) 24 GPS satellites, and based on my experience using a portable receiver in a plane, I'm not worried much about GPS antenna placement.
However, Sirius has only three satellites, with up to two satellites over North America at any given moment, so I'd expect antenna placement to be more critical there.
- dan
I get dropped signals here in the Northwest all the time and my Sirius antenna is on the roof of my truck. I've tried placing the antenna on the dash (Ford F250) and also on the dash of my Taurus SHO. Both have very large windshields. Being this high north the antenna has to be outside of the car/truck.
Not sure how it will work through the plastic panels, I'll find out in a few months.
GPS can't have ANYTHING that blocks it from the sky. If you part under an underpass, most likely it won't work either. If you inside your house, it won't work. It works with LOS, (Line of Sight) So, they work in the window due to the glass does not block the signal. As for Sirus Radio, not sure about that. It is satellight, so maybe it works the same way. Good luck.
GPS can't have ANYTHING that blocks it from the sky. If you part under an underpass, most likely it won't work either. If you inside your house, it won't work. It works with LOS, (Line of Sight) So, they work in the window due to the glass does not block the signal. As for Sirus Radio, not sure about that. It is satellight, so maybe it works the same way. Good luck.
it sure does. there are many ways to put the ant. for sat or gps. sirius i put under hood. easy run into the car. gps go inside car.
I removed the four screws from the sun visors and the header and put the XM antenna on the metal frame under the darkened roof panel. I get great reception and no visible antenna. Sorry, can't figure out how to attach a picture, but put them in my gallery. Also show a Garmin GPS install on the header just low enough to let the sun shade close. The antenna for the GPS works fine through the plastic roof.
I removed the four screws from the sun visors and the header and put the XM antenna on the metal frame under the darkened roof panel. I get great reception and no visible antenna. Sorry, can't figure out how to attach a picture, but put them in my gallery. Also show a Garmin GPS install on the header just low enough to let the sun shade close. The antenna for the GPS works fine through the plastic roof.
Thanks BrentO, I just relocated my Sirius antenna from the dash top to your suggested location, and it works great! Only took about half an hour and now everything is completely hidden, with the same reception as on the dash.
I've never used an external antenna for a gps receiver, and have never seen any need for one.
If you're running a rig like mine (Garmin 2610) you would; quite a few of the larger-screened monster GPS rigs don't have an internal antenna, or even an antenna that attaches to the unit's case like the older-generation StreetPilots. I *have* to have an external antenna to get a signal, but it's the price I'm glad to pay for the 2610's level of accuracy and performance.
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.
1976 Rover Mini
2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
2007 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (SOLD)
2009 smart Passion (Gone)
2011 smart Passion
My Two Blue Beauties
The Cabrio That Will Not Tell Me Its Name
Today
Linear Mode
