External aerial for 2610

[Droopy Dick]

I have noticed, recently, that I seem to be getting far more occasions when my 2610 reports that it has lost contact with the satellites needed to help it inform me where I am.

And it's even worse if I use the rather natty aluminium sun shade that my kids bought me from the USA. Lovely job, mind you. I assume that aluminium affect signal strength or summat.

Anyway, it would seem that a simple remedy would be to fit an external antenna.

Has anyone done this?

If so, where have the they mounted the thing? Does it have to be 'flat' or can it be mounted obliquely to the ground? I was wondering if the top surface of the beak, just in behind the beak extender would be suitable.

 

[jimbo]

I bought one off ebay for not many £s and it definately improved matters.
Mine is mounted under the silver plastic cover, just above the main beam headlight as far forward as possible. Seems to work OK.

 

[Schtum]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/REMOTE-ANTENN...ihZ015QQcategoryZ4668QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

A very good price, rapid delivery and very fine man to deal with. I've no connection, other than being a very satisfied customer.

 

[Ted]

Fitted mine above the speedo. If you do a search there is a link to someone who makes the leads/aerial up and you can spec a length of cable so you dont have meters of the stuff wedged under the fairing. Think mine was about £15 with a 1.5mtr cable. Will see if I can find the recipt and get you the web site

The passanger is optional

Must be quicker, its the site posted above by schtum.

 

[cookie]

i have one, and it's a big improvement over built in antenna.

they do need to be mounted flat. i reckon velcro'd on top of the master cylinder is the easy way to go

 

[wilbjr21]

In a similar vein to the answer from Cookie I used the brake master cylinder, but glued the antenna (magnet is not strong enough) to the metal lid from a "cook-in" sauce jar. This fits perfectly and is then itself velcro'd to the plastic lid of the master cylinder for additional security on the move. Can be painted black and acts as a ground plane to the antenna.

 

[Deleted account 231211001]

I put one on the top box on velcro. The lead is about 300 metres long, so I fed it under the seat, round the house, up the drainpipe and back again.
But it don't half improve the reception.

OK, I was joking.

I lied about the drainpipe bit

 

[longdog]

I bought a remote aerial thingy from fleabay and it improved reception tremendously. It does need to be mounted flat(tish) and mine is on the beak, but the suggestions above seem pretty good too.

Hmmm......... might move mine........

 

[John Armstrong]

I bought a remote aerial thingy from fleabay and it improved reception tremendously. It does need to be mounted flat(tish) and mine is on the beak, but the suggestions above seem pretty good too.

Hmmm......... might move mine........

IIRC PanEuropean said you can fit it under the beak without any loss of reception compared to it being on the top.

 

[Droopy Dick]

IIRC PanEuropean said you can fit it under the beak without any loss of reception compared to it being on the top.

I've got two HID ballasts hiding under the beak, but they're well back, so the front of the beak is unimpaired - apart from the plastic beak extender thing.

I hadn't thought about fitting one on top of the brake fluid reservoir, but the GPS sits fairly close to that as it mounts on the handlebar near the LHS. Would that obscure any part of the sky?

And that eBay thing is way cheaper than Garmin's own device. I almost collapsed when they told me their price.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[cookie]

I hadn't thought about fitting one on top of the brake fluid reservoir, but the GPS sits fairly close to that as it mounts on the handlebar near the LHS. Would that obscure any part of the sky?

my master cylinder is on the right

my gps is mounted forward of the bars, so i can't answer your "obscure" question.

 

[Steve]

Halfords were selling off external aerials at £1 each in-store the other day - don't know if it's the right connector though.

 

[Schtum]

Halfords were selling off external aerials at £1 each in-store the other day - don't know if it's the right connector though.

Oh yes, I'd forgotten about those. ISTR that they were MCX connectors which is what's required for the 2619.

 

[Droopy Dick]

my master cylinder is on the right

my gps is mounted forward of the bars, so i can't answer your "obscure" question.

Ho hum ....

Yes, the brake is on't right and clutch on't left.

So, the problem disappears.

Halfords were selling off external aerials at £1 each in-store the other day - don't know if it's the right connector though.

They guy I spoke to in Halfords on Saturday told me they were Navman aerials and wouldn't fit a Garmin. I hope he wasn't lying to me.

I emailed the chap who runs the eBay shop listed above, and he replied within 10 minutes.

He's put a 1m Garmin-capable antenna in the post this evening. All for £13 inc postage.

I reckon that was pretty damned good service.

And several tens of pounds less expensive than I was quoted from Garmin.

So, once again, this website has come up trumps! Many thanks.

 

[Sir James]

Iv'e checked out some of the ariels and they seem to range from 28db to 55db , does this mean the 55db ariels are more powerfull , just wondering before i order

 

[Schtum]

I emailed the chap who runs the eBay shop listed above, and he replied within 10 minutes.

He's put a 1m Garmin-capable antenna in the post this evening. All for £13 inc postage.

I reckon that was pretty damned good service.

I'm not surprised, Colin's a bit of a star when it comes to customer service. Glad to see that my recommendation still holds good.