External Anntena

[Atlrodeopup]

I made two post earlier...

1. should i get an auto kit
2. where to put my ique in an isuzu rodeo

If I opt not to get the car kit, should I get an external antenna. I am thinking of putting in between the two seats... I have a sunroof - will the signal come through that..

Just wondering..

Thanks
Paul

[Hairy Potter]

You should get the external antenna from Garmin. It comes with an 8 ft cable and permits you to put the unit anywhere in the car. With the Garmin antenna, stuck to the front windshield, I received 11 satellite signals simulateously and all but one were with differential.

By the way, in case anyone doesn't know, when you connect the extenal antena, it is the same as flipping up the attached antenna. Therefore, be sure that you disconnect the antenna when you turn off you car or your GPS will continue operate and drain the PDA.

[smgord]

Can someone please describe how the external antenna is hooked up, in detail? As in, how do you attach it to the outside of the car, what goes on the inside of the car, how do you activate it, etc.? Imagine someone who's never used a similar device before. I'm trying to decide how difficult to install, unattractive, inconvenient, etc. it might be.

Thanks

[cohenc]

Continueing the line of questioning for those in the know - an 8' cable is pretty short if I want to route it around the perimeter of the glass to keep the wire out of the way and view. Is this what you guys do or do you just have the wire dangling from the top center of the windshield?

I suppose it will fit nicely behind my rearview mirror and not bother me, but like when I used to drive with a radar detector, I would route the cable behind the moulding and keep it all nice and clean.

Why inside or how to cable properly for outside? I actually have a moonroof and I could probably put it with suction on the underside of the moonroof and never see it, but I would need to route the cable neatly. Thoughts? Pictures?

Caleb

[omnibus]

Originally posted by cohenc
Continueing the line of questioning for those in the know - an 8' cable is pretty short if I want to route it around the perimeter of the glass to keep the wire out of the way and view. Is this what you guys do or do you just have the wire dangling from the top center of the windshield?

I suppose it will fit nicely behind my rearview mirror and not bother me, but like when I used to drive with a radar detector, I would route the cable behind the moulding and keep it all nice and clean.

Why inside or how to cable properly for outside? I actually have a moonroof and I could probably put it with suction on the underside of the moonroof and never see it, but I would need to route the cable neatly. Thoughts? Pictures?

Caleb

You're certainly right about 8 feet being stingy. I bought a Terk satellite radio antenna that only comes with a 14' cable and that wasn't enough.

I installed it in a 2003 Toyota corolla at the top right side of the rear window, ran the cables under the moulding and into the trunk. Then alongside the back seat and under the front seat to the center console where I ran out of cable. I was able to find a mounting point for the Delphi sat radio so it worked out OK.

Terk makes some antennas with a thru the glass connection. No cutting holes in the glass, the signal passes through. That can save you some cable. I don't know if something similar could work for GPS signals but it might be worth exploring.

BTW, I already received an e-mail response from Garmin about my installation problems. It looks like their system works like this. If you have an error code the tech support rep looks it up and sends a universal e-mail (think form letter) based on appropriate answers for that error code. Of course they apply to all machines that could possibly have that error code.

Cheers,

Steve

[tecman]

I have used an external for quite some time now with several GPSs and now the IQue.

The Garmin 27C is what I am now using.

Comments are correct about the 8' cable being too short only if you plan to permanently mount it.

The 27C has a magnetic base, so it can be stuck on the roof, with the wire routed through the door seal. The antenna part is waterproof.

Garmin also provides a small angled mounting bracket with suction cups that is stuck on the inside of the windshield, like a radar detector. The windshield mount provides reception that is nearly as good as mounting it outside the vehicle. The other thing I have done is to slip the antenna into map strap on the sun visor and flip the visor against the window. In most cars the antenna get a good sky view like this.

You may want to look at: http://gpsinformation.net/main/gpsantrev1.htm for some info on antennas. One nice thing is that you can move the antenna from car to car when it is not ermanently mounted.

paul

[CaptMyCapt]

Originally posted by Atlrodeopup
. . . should I get an external antenna. I am thinking of putting in between the two seats... I have a sunroof - will the signal come through that..
Paul
I purchased the external antenna for my Garmin GPSMAP76s and it's the same antenna Garmin sells for the iQue. I have a friend who just received the antenna. I use the external antenna both on my sailboat, a Thunderbird SC, and rental cars. It's easy to install and uninstall. In the T-Bird, I stick it to the lowest part of the windshield, keeping the tiny antenna wire right on the dash, down past the radio, along the console and to the GPS right at the gearshift. I keep a small roll of transparent scotch tap to put small pieces ever couple feet or so (doesn't look as bad as it sounds) to keep the antenna wire from dangling or getting in the way. In the rental car, i just close the door on the antenna wire (the rubber molding around the door protects the really skinny antenna wire - I've checked it afterward and there's no damage to the wire) with the antenna on the roof (Garmin provides the flat roof magnet that attaches to the antenna itself). The magenet is very strong and the magnet is rubber coated so it really does not scratch the paint or slide at all.

[ssaibal]

tecman Captain T is right. Thank you, guys.

I picked up the GA27C antennae from Garmin today and it works great. Very quick satellite lock (just like my Honda GPS) and very strong signal. The suction mount is very convenient and the extra length of wire over the dash is acceptable to me. Now I just need the auto kit from Garmin and I am done.

[Bruce]

When you have the External anntena on the iQue 3600, do you need the flip anntena open to use the GPS or does it work when its closed?

[adanzis]

I've read that plugging in the external antenna does the same thing as flipping up the built-in antenna. So you leave it closed.

Alan

[ssaibal]

With the external antennae connected, you just have to power up the iQUE and the GPS becomes active. You don't need to flip up the built-in antennae. I expect that inside a car, you will have the car charger connected to the iQue and so we don't have to worry about the battery consumption.

[OWG]

...until you shut off the car. I have read that it will still run the battery down unless you physically disconnect the antenna.

OWG

[tecman]

Originally posted by ssaibal
tecman Captain T is right. Thank you, guys.



Ssaibal: Suggestion for you:

I didn't like the Garmin idea of screwing the different bases - seemed like a hassle, especially when you travel. I screwed the magnetic base to the antenna. I then used thin foam double sided tape to fasten a thin piece of steel to the windshield bracket. I cut the steel from a thin can lid, trimmed to the size of the antenna base, edges filed smooth. You can then stick the antenna to the bracket.

Now you can leave the screwdriver home. I often leave the bracket at the top of the windshield and just pull the antenna off when I park, to get it out of the sun. It would have been nice if Garmin made the bracket from steel, instead of aluminium.

paul

[CougerofEQ]

Anyone use an antenna from these guys? They seem like a good deal price wise. Can come with a 16ft cable too but not sure how thin the wire is.

http://store.yahoo.com/gilsson/antennas.html

[tecman]

Originally posted by CougerofEQ
Anyone use an antenna from these guys? They seem like a good deal price wise. Can come with a 16ft cable too but not sure how thin the wire is.

http://store.yahoo.com/gilsson/antennas.html

Hmmmm.....Not a recognizable brand name and really cheap. What's wrong with this picture ?

[CougerofEQ]

That why I was wondering if anyone had used one.

[CaptMyCapt]

Originally posted by CougerofEQ
Anyone use an antenna from these guys? They seem like a good deal price wise. Can come with a 16ft cable too but not sure how thin the wire is.

http://store.yahoo.com/gilsson/antennas.html
I'm with Tecman on this. To go just a bit further, I would guess you could see if they have the correct connector or some kind of adapter to deal with that BNC connector that comes with the Gilsson antennas. My older Garmin units also use the BNC. I'm not quite sure what the MCX connector is (maybe one of our other forum friends knows), but I don't think its the one for our purpose (e.g.,the iQue). The website specifically says this antenna is for units with BNC connectors. And it doesn't mention the newer Garmin units, like the GPSMAP76s, which uses the same connector as the iQue. Moreover, this is described as an active antenna . . . I believe the antenna desiged for units like the iQue is passive. You may want to call them to get clarification. You could jury rig almost anything. Afterall, I used to use a coat hanger as an antenna for my TV - LOL.

[tecman]

Originally posted by CaptMyCapt

I'm not quite sure what the MCX connector is (maybe one of our other forum friends knows),

The IQue (and my 76S) are MCX connectors. The other connector sometimes used on GPSs is an SMB, which is similar but larger than the MCX. For the IQue look for MCX.

One problem is that the BNC>MCX adapter is usually a bit bulky and puts a bit of a high load on the small MCX to hold. I had a small cable made to do the adapting some years ago, much more gentle on the GPS.

paul

[opusxcigars]

The seems to offer an MCX compatible model. Anyway, it's only an antenna. If it can acquire and keep sat signals then it's all good. for the price why not try it and let us know.

[CaptMyCapt]

Originally posted by tecman

The IQue (and my 76S) are MCX connectors.
paul
Paul - permit me to go off thread just a bit. I'm very anxious to hear from an iQue owner who also owns the 76s. Have you used your iQue for marine navigation? If so, would you share your impressions?

[tecman]

Originally posted by CaptMyCapt

Paul - permit me to go off thread just a bit. I'm very anxious to hear from an iQue owner who also owns the 76s. Have you used your iQue for marine navigation? If so, would you share your impressions?

Sorry, dry land only

paul

[jacveld]

When you ONLY are using the Auto Navigation kit (when available) or placing the iQue in the cupholder is the GPS receival then acceptable, good or excellent of quality ??

In other words do you need an external antenna ??

Jacques

[tecman]

Originally posted by jacveld
When you ONLY are using the Auto Navigation kit (when available) or placing the iQue in the cupholder is the GPS receival then acceptable, good or excellent of quality ??

In other words do you need an external antenna ??

Jacques

Jacques:

Impossible to say. It is highly variable depending on the car. Window opening locations and sizes, if the windows have a metalized film, etc can make a hugh difference. In various (rental) cars I have had very good to very bad reception. Very hard to predict w/o trying it in your car first.

paul

[smgord]

Will the external antenna make a difference in areas with a lot of skyscrapers? I've been getting generally good reception, except in the very skyscraper-y parts of Chicago's loop. I hate to spend $100 and go through the trouble of installing an external antenna if it won't help that specific situation.

[reinbeau]

I found the Titan lll for sale at Tweeter.com for $44.97 with free ground shipping (for now). What I was wondering was is an external antenna necessary? What advantage would it add? I drive a Ford Ranger, don't know if I've got film or anything blocking the windows, it'll sit on my dash, or in the cup holder (til it has something to sit on the dash in!!). It's cheap enough, so I don't mind getting it, but is it a good one and is it necessary? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Deuterium]

I drove to work this morning in my Ford Ranger with the iQue sitting on the arm-rest. I got great reception. I will be placing it on the auto-mount when that arrives but more than likely will buy a mount for the A/C vent as I think this will work out best for viewing. I won't know until I get the Gatmin auto-kit though.

[reinbeau]

Originally posted by Deuterium
I drove to work this morning in my Ford Ranger with the iQue sitting on the arm-rest. I got great reception. I will be placing it on the auto-mount when that arrives but more than likely will buy a mount for the A/C vent as I think this will work out best for viewing. I won't know until I get the Gatmin auto-kit though. The A/C vent? To the left? Would it mount on top of the dash, or does it grab onto the A/C vent, or what? I guess I don't get what you mean. If you have a website you could point me to, I'll go check it out there. Thanx!

[paul6347]

An external antenna is necessary for driving around Manhattan, which I do. Up until I got an external antenna for my GPS, I would loose reception all the time. Once I got the external GPS antenna (make sure it's an amplified one) I around 98% GPS coverage in the thickest parts of the city. An external antenna is a god send for tall building infested areas. It was very fustrating without one. I'll never go back..


Paul

[funkadelic]

Originally posted by CougerofEQ
Anyone use an antenna from these guys? They seem like a good deal price wise. Can come with a 16ft cable too but not sure how thin the wire is.

http://store.yahoo.com/gilsson/antennas.html

i actually went to their storefront in person this afternoon (using the iQue to guide me ;) )

bought the external antenna w/16ft cable (i intend to hardwire it into my audi) & windshield mount..came out to $25 and change.

on the drive back to work (San Leandro, CA -> Brisbane, CA), i temporarily routed the external antenna up through my sunroof and plugged it into the iQue. It has a built-in magnet (a very strong one at that) at the base of the antenna.

With the built in antenna i would normally only get 3-5 satellites. With their external antenna I got 11-12.

so for all the doubters about this business...neener neener!

if anyone is interested i can snap some pics of the antenna tonight when i get home (although they have pics of it already on their website)

[adanzis]

I also ordered an antenna from GPSGEEK. For $25, how could I go wrong?

The unit seems so similar to Garmin's unit ($100 list) that it wouldn't surprise me that they build them for Garmin.

I wish they made an auto kit. I sent an email to them, but they said it would be about 6 months for an auto kit or cigarette power adapter.

Alan

[CougerofEQ]

Thanks - just ordered mine online :)

[kamwu]

funkadelic, how many satellite can it see when the external antenna is on the windshield mount?

[funkadelic]

Originally posted by adanzis
I also ordered an antenna from GPSGEEK. For $25, how could I go wrong?

The unit seems so similar to Garmin's unit ($100 list) that it wouldn't surprise me that they build them for Garmin.

I wish they made an auto kit. I sent an email to them, but they said it would be about 6 months for an auto kit or cigarette power adapter.

Alan

i inquired about a suction mount and cig power adapter when i was there today (they don't currently have anything that will fit).

One of the points he brought up was that they wanted to see if there is enough demand for the iQue for them to justify investing money (well into the tens of thousands) to develop the production tools to create the accessories.

as FWIW, they said they are coming out w/a universal PDA suction mount (I don't remeber if he mentioned a timeframe though)

[GPSgeek]

Hi funkadelic,

It was my pleasure meeting you earlier today.

I hope you had a chance to try out our Gilsson Amplified GPS Antenna on the car roof today. We normally see 10-12 satellites at 90% to maximum strength after installing our Amplified GPS antenna on the car rooftop, instead of the typical 3-4 satellites without the external antenna.

CougerofEQ, we are sure you will be happy with its performance. We are the largest manufacturer Garmin compatible GPS antennas, cables, neoprene cases, datacard and mounting brackets. We can guarantee our amplified GPS antenna to be the best performing GPS antennas available for the Garmin GPS units. We know so, because we had extensively researched the market and had conducted side-by-side performance test on 6 different brands of GPS antennas.

At Gilsson, we believe in designing the best performing products for the lowest prices. We can afford to do this because we spread out the R & D and toolings cost over a large quantity of products we designed and manufactured.

If anyone who is not familiar with Gilsson Technologies (aka GPSgeek in eBay), please look at our stellar eBay feedback under
http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=gpsgeek

We are proud of our 99.92% customer satisfaction rate out of the 12,600 eBay users whom have bothered to leave us positive feedback. Our entire team (overseas and domestic) has worked extremely hard to earn such recognition.

If we can answer any questions or be of service, please email sales@gilsson.com or me personally at ming@gilsson.com.

Kindest regards,
Ming Ho
Gilsson Technologies, GPSgeek:rolleyes:

[CougerofEQ]

Mine shipped out today - can't wait to try it out :)