poor reception

enabb

Well-known member
UKGSer Subscriber
Joined
May 3, 2003
Messages
2,900
Reaction score
62
Location
Looking for Vera
used me sp111 in the car today, kept loosing satalite reception, think its coz of the rake of the windscreen (vauxhall Zaferia), any sugestions on wot arieal to go for would be appreciated,



:beerjug:
 
I bought an ariel extension cable for the car...you take the ariel off and refit to the end of the cable which will attach to your screen (or side window) with the aid of a sucker.

Its a lot better for in car reception although you will still loose reception going through wooded areas.

I have, today, ordered a signal boosting ariel from a bloke on E-bay. It will be interesting to see how much it improves the situation
 
If your Zafira has got a heat reflecting windscreen like my Scenic, it will all but bar the GPS signal due to the high copper content in the glass coating.

I fitted the Garmin remote aerial on the roof immediately behind the radio aerial, using the included magnetised pad & the cable shares the same hole....GPS, mounted centrally on the dash, works perfectly.... :D
 
There is normally a small area near the rear-view mirror which doesn't have the heat-reflective layer. Buy a Garmin aerial lead extension and stick it there.

Greg
 
enabb said:
used me sp111 in the car today, kept loosing satalite reception, think its coz of the rake of the windscreen (vauxhall Zaferia), any sugestions on wot arieal to go for would be appreciated,

The Zafira has a metalised windscreen (designed to reflected the suns rays and prevent glare and heat build up inside the car), and therefore is not suitable for internal antennes that look out the front screen, you need to look out the back window for your reception or have an external antennae fitted


John
 
I tried my new active ariel today here

Its great...It has a strong magnet with a smooth plastic base so it does`nt scratch the paintwork.
It has a thin long cable that allows the door to close Ok.
The signal is very strong and quick to aquire. It locked on quickly inside my garage when I plugged it in and I then took the wife for a 50 mile round trip through Sherwood forest without losing signal once.
I`m a happy chappy now..I just need to find somewhere on the GS for it. perhaps a metal plate screwed to the windshield.
 
Dave Hall said:
I`m a happy chappy now..I just need to find somewhere on the GS for it. perhaps a metal plate screwed to the windshield.

How about on top of the beak, just ahead of the oil cooler - you could run the cable down the side of the oil cooler.....

Mike:)
 
When in Scotland a 2 weeks ago my etrex legend showed accuracy was 10 feet....

best I'd seen before was 13 feet in the Sahara


What's the best you've seen?
 
How about on top of the beak, just ahead of the oil cooler - you could run the cable down the side of the oil cooler.....


I`ve never got a signal in the garage before but I plugged that sucker in and away it went, beeping and displaying.

Layed the magnet on the tank, the beak, the rear rack..it was up for it anywhere.

Best £20 I`ve spent for a while!
 
Dave,

is loss of signal a common problem in your experience? Other than the obvious (tunnels, some service station canopies etc), I find losing the signal extemely rare (once in the peak district, way down in a valley,once in some woods near Bristol - I think that's about it in over a year's usage).

Mike:)
 
Mike
I dont know if its where I mounted it, using a TT mount on the crossbar, but anytime I went through a heavily wooded area I knew it would lose signal.
The same thing happens in the car. I had a remote ariel lead with the sucker stuck on the windscreen but driving through the foresty bits of southern germany, even on a motorway, would cause signal loss.
Maybe it was my unit...but its fine now with the active ariel.
 


Back
Top Bottom