External antennas

I too use an external antenna....9' accuracy....works great!-

I have been considering buying one. I have pretty fast acquisition but have been wondering if it would improve accuracy.

Hi guys,

I've been wondering about the external antenna as I use one for my wireless network card at home and they do work.

Any links to any good external antennas?

Thanks for sharing.

I would be interested to hear if an external antenna would allow our GPS to work in the deep canyons of downtown Chicago. In one area, the steets are really narrow, the buildings are really high, and there are elevated (the "L") train tracks. GPS reception is zero there. If anyone has tested an external antenna there, I'd be interested.

When I saw that my nuvi 760 has an external antenna port, I gave the possibility a quick thought, but dismissed it...having *one* more cable on my dash would drive me crazy!

Here's where I bought mine from ($CDN): http://www.gpscentral.ca/accessories/accessoriesantennas.htm...

I've been through the mountains and through major cities and have had no problems, but you may want to try a hi-gain antenna from here: http://www.gilsson.com/gps_antennas.htm

My Magellen has a MMCX connector (micro MCX) but you can get various types to fit all units.

I have had one for a couple of weeks. I see no big improvement with one. Perhaps 1 foot but that is not a big deal. I bought one off of eBay for 9 dollars. It gets me to 9' accuracy. Now I do have the option to mount my gps anywhere in my car.

I've been wanting an external antenna but I don't think it fits on my Garmin Nuvi 200...Am I wrong? is there a way?

No, you don't have a port to plug in an external antenna on the Nuvi 200.

Is there an External Antenna for a nuvi 750 ?

ohwogo nuvi 750

Yes, there is. It seems to be an MCX type connector.

Ok, here's my two-cents worth... I work for a major US airline and use my external antenna when I fly. If I'm on the flight deck it takes awhile to acquire a signal (because the glass in the windows up-front are made of several layers of glass and laminates and are about 2-inches thick), but when it does it matches EXACTLY to the aircraft GPS system (location / speed / altitude). When I’m stuck in the back of the bus, if I have a window seat, I stick my antenna in the window, close the shade on it, and I know exactly where we are, our speed, our altitude, and whether or not we’re on-time. I have seen the flight attendants tell other passengers to turn off their GPS units but they cut me some slack because they know I’m an employee. My advice if you decide to give it a try – don’t get caught!

Thank you so much for the link. But it looks like an external antenna will be one more think that you have to dissasemble before you leave the car or risk definite break-in.

Anyone knows of anything smaller?

Thanks

Different External GP Sr Antenna's for different types of GPSr's

For those interested:

Garmin
http://tinyurl.com/3gm5yd

Magellan
http://tinyurl.com/46oddw

Navigon
http://tinyurl.com/4hcu3q

Tomtom
http://tinyurl.com/49zslc

External antenna's are just that...external. You mount them to the roof of your vehicle as they have a strong magnet on the base. Or, if you're like me and have a Pontiac Trans Sport, you can use double-sided tape. It even works after car washes!

I used Delorme GPS system that ran off of laptops for several years before buying a stand alone unit. The GPS plugged into the UBS port and while it worked great on the dash of multiple cars and trucks, it just would not lock onto a signal well in my 2002 vette. The solution was to put the GPS under the hood on the cowl and route the cable through the door jam, and the signal was then outstanding.

Plan to do the same for the new unit.

I was losing satellite reception on my Street Pilot 2720 and added a external antenna. Much better reception now, almost never loose the signal now. Bought it on Ebay for $1.00 but it cost $7.00 to ship it from HongKong. Still a good deal.

The only time I needed an external antenna was many years ago (~1995) when I could not get any signal through the windsield of a GM car I rented (not sure if metallic window tint or electrically heated windsield). I imagine a radar detector would have had trouble too (similar high frequencies). But my GPS 45 had a removable antenna with BNC connector, so all I needed was a BNC window clip mount from Radio Shack.

Units in recent years are so sensitive that I can get a fix inside my home, or often 9-11 ft accuracy in vehicle or outdoors (even without WAAS).

More useful would be a Bluetooth wireless receiver connected to PDA or smartphone. I picked up a new Garmin Mobile 10 package at Ebay for $44 that turned my Palm TX into a 2nd nuvi (included 10x, Mobile XT for Smartphones, and City Nav NT with free 2009 updates).

Yeah, I have done this with my laptop and my GPS software and antenna.

It is pretty cool to see how high we are flying and at what speed.

Also, this will let you know where you are so you won't have to wonder while you are looking out the windows trying to figure out things.

that sounds interesting. thanks. I will try that

Do you remember the name of the eBay outfit you bought your antenna from?

I found out on two recent trips to Philly and NY, that you get no signal in NYC underneath the elevated train tracks and a very faint signal in the narrow streets of downtown Philly.

Thanks

does doing this affect the planes electronics at all? isn't that what the claim and why they don't let you uses such devises.

I've used one for many years with my StreetPilot ColorMap. I wanted to place the GPSr with the beanbag mount down low on the console, but signal strength was a problem until I attached an external antenna and placed it under the plastic dash, up close to the glass. Actually got a bit better signal than with the SP sitting on the dash with it's own antenna attached. With this arrangement the antenna was invisible and the GPSr could be secured when leaving the car with no visible clue that there was something in the car.

To answer an earlier question about use in deep canyons, man made or natural... The GPSr needs a clear view of the sky, as open as possible to see as many satellites as it can. An external antenna mounted on the roof of the car may help but probably only slightly as it will have a better "view" up and behind where the dash mounted GPSr is in the shadow of the roof. But you will still be peering up through a relatively narrow slot, so the number of birds will be minimal.

I've noticed that the nüvi 750 is much better at seeing satellites than it's grandpa StreetPilot. I will look for an adapter to convert the connector of my existing Garmin external antenna to fit the nüvi's connector, but so far, it seems that the 750 works nearly as well down low as the SP did with the external antenna.

I use one in the Jeep, but not in the Mini. In the Mini, the 680 has a pretty good view of the sky. In the Jeep, a lot of the sky is occluded by the metal roof.

That's when an external antenna is a good idea -- when it can give you a better view of the sky.

There are some differences in external antennas -- older amplified antennas wanted 4 to 5 volts supplied to them along the cable (the GPS receiver takes care of it, so you don't have to do anything). Newer receivers and external antennas tend to run on 3.3 volts or so. Some of the newer GPS receivers don't supply enough voltage to run the older active antennas -- my 680 won't run the old external Trimble hockey puck I have.

I have used a Gilsson external antenna on my 60cs, C340 and Nuvi 750. They all take the same antenna. When I first got the antenna's, I emailed Gilsson to check compatibility between units. They told me that they were able to be used by all three gpsr because the antenna's are passive, and don't require anything from the gpsr.

Anyway, I have used both roof mount and window mount and see little difference between them. I usually get 8'-9' accuracy. Since I take the 750 with me when I get out of the truck, it requires detaching the antenna each time, and I found that a MCX connector that is straight disconnects easiest. I also have a radar detector and satellite radio on windshield mounts. I just ran the cords and cables neatly down the dash to a 3 outlet lighter plug. Everything neat and orderly.

To get to the original question, I use an external antenna when ever I travel. I like that little bit of extra accuracy even if the only benefit is mental.

Does your aircraft GPS utilize WAAS? I'm curious as to just how close the accuracy is between the two. Not that I would use my 760 for aircraft navigation. Also, I hope when you are flying, you cut your GPS carrying passengers some slack since you know the realities of the effects.

An external antenna works great. I got satellite lock much quicker than the built in antenna. Better accuracy as well. The only thing that I have negative about an external antenna is that it's hard to remove the little connector from the GPS when you have to remove your GPS from your car.

i have one on my nuvi 5000 external antenna give me 6 accuracy

nuvi 5000 and nuvi 200w

If you use an external antenna in the city with all of the obstructions listed, It pobably won't work. I used mine in Crystal City VA and it would not pick up signals most of the time driving around.

Virgo53

Picked up the Garmin external antennae today @ Circuit City for only $17 being they are going out of business. Couldn't resist at that price as they were $30 before. Not much of an effect however as far as an increase in accuracy. You would however be able to position the Nuvi wherever you wanted in the vehicle though!

I have an external antenna but have never used it (it came with the unit). I also have a satellite radio that has an external antenna, which I mount on my roof. The satellite radio works great, but I have lost reception for very short periods of time in the mountains and in downtown areas with high buildings.

As the two antennas are both receiving a digital signal from a satellite, would the possibility of loss of reception be any different with the GPS antenna in such settings?

Sat radio uses a combination of both sat signals and FM to broadcast content. In most urban areas the sat signal is augmented by FM transmitters around the area providing coverage in buildings and "down the high rise canyons." The sats are also on different frequency bands, so the antenna may not work too well - it would receive, but not as well as an antenna designed for GPS signals.

On my way to the local circuit city

Just do a simple search on Amazon or e-bay and even with shipping you will be under this price. I use an external antennae when using my unit in my corvette as I can place it right under the fiberglass hood for outstanding responce times.

I am also considering buying one but the big question is how to run wires in your car and bring it out. I will appreciate your feedback on how to run wire neatly in your car.

I did buy one with this new unit, but so far haven't had a reason to use it yet.

See the following

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/20082

My Nuvi 350 acquires quick enough unless I'm in a city cavern of buildings. I've never considered an external antenna as it's just another thing to unplug since the GPS never stays in the car.

I don't live in an area of any tall buildings etc. so I don't use an external antenna and have no problems around home.

When I am travelling on our yearly extended travels I put the external antenna on the car as I find it really helps when travelling through mountain passes and heavily wooded areas. (Like the Redwood Forests)

Have never had to use one in Washington state yet. Have done several trips in Western and Eastern Washington and have never had a problem. Just another thing to fiddle with I think.

Originally bought a Garmin Quest about 4 years ago, and I mounted it down low on the center console (windshield is too far to reach, and I wanted it out of the way). I needed an external antenna to get a good signal. I bought one of those E-bay specials, left the antenna on the dashboard, and got great results. Just upgraded to a Nuvi 760 last week, and although it gets decent reception in the same spot as the Quest, I ended up plugging the antenna in for good measure.

BTW, even with the antenna, the Quest had a hard time in the "canyons" of NYC. Haven't been into the city with the Nuvi yet.

There's enough cable to locate the antenna pretty well anywhere!

I run the cable along the centre console and into the trunk through the fold-down seat. Then out the driver's side to the top of the trunk. Most of the excess cable is in the trunk.

Thanks all for your feedback. I just one yesterday on ebay. I will not use it everyday but only when going to Toronto downtown or some other big city with tall buildings.

Just curious.. how long does it usually take your GPS to get a signal. Do your different units vary a lot. My c330 is way faster than my Mobile xt on a blackjack phone. The c330 usually takes about a minute the phone can often take several minutes.

thanks Flip

Does the antenna jack work on transmit? My Windstar van has the antenna embedded in the right rear window and if I FM transmit MP3s to the radio, it picks up a fair amount of noise no matter which open frequency I try. I bought an external antenna from MountGuys and mounted the pickup next to the vehicle antenna (inside the vehicle) and ran the cable forward to my 780. It seems to me that most of the noise has disappeared. Am I imagining this or does it transmit through the jack?