Andy Berglund
 | | 11/17/2007 12:04 PM |
 Alert | i have a magellan crossover GPS and i was thinking about adding an external antenna. it has the not so hot internal patch antenna but it still gets 8-10 satellites on average. i don't have a coated windshield or anything like that to get in the way; the reason i was thinking about getting an external antenna is to improve performance when there are trees and terrain that might get in the way. what say you? i know that for a standard carputer setup an external antenna is a must. do you think that i'd be able to acquire more satellites more often if i went external with the device i have now? thanks! andy | |
I am loving the Gilmore Girls-Scott Williams | |
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Todd Eliason
Title Sponsor
| | 11/17/2007 12:06 PM |
Alert | Andy, it is definately worth it. does your gps have the ability to plug in an external Ant? If so, I bet you get 50% better coverage. My 276C gets much better coverage in trees with the external antenna.
That is unless you have a Sirf3 reciever, then you might not need it. | |
93 LR Defender 110
05 Land Rover LR3 | |
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Andy Berglund
| | 11/17/2007 12:08 PM |
Alert | it does have a sirf-III chipset. the provision for antenna install comes via the "traffickit" cradle which apparently does nothing traffic-wise. that's why i ask. the traffickit dealie costs ~$60 by itself. not a huge cost but pointless if it doesn't really help.
a | |
I am loving the Gilmore Girls-Scott Williams | |
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Todd Eliason
Title Sponsor
| | 11/17/2007 12:16 PM |
Alert | hmmnnn, I'll punt to Craig on this but if you have not had problems with reception, I would say do without and save the $60 for other LR swag. Or find a cheaper ant on ebay if they make them for your unit.
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93 LR Defender 110
05 Land Rover LR3 | |
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Andy Berglund
| | 11/17/2007 2:44 PM |
Alert | yeah, i found the setup on ebay for $60; normally they're around $100. i figured it was overkill.
a | |
I am loving the Gilmore Girls-Scott Williams | |
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Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 11/18/2007 12:24 AM |
Alert | Andy,
Does your GPS show a circle around your current location that approximates how accurate your position is? E.g. somewhere inside the circle? If so, go for a drive in the trees and compare the circle to your known position and decide if it is accurate enough for your application (staying found).
In general, the external antenna will be beneficial regardless of the chipset. It will get rid of a pretty big source of error and you'll know that you have the best setup possible for your unit. If you can afford it, I'd say go for it.
C
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My Overland Adventure Blog | |
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Davis M
| | 11/19/2007 4:16 PM |
Alert | | craig, i'm wondering if there are differences in the quality of external antennas. for example, will the $25 unit sold by garmin do everything i need or do you get better reception by spending more? | | | |
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Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 11/19/2007 8:13 PM |
Alert | There are differences. The biggest difference being that a helical antenna is better than a patch antenna. Most people opt for a patch antenna when mounted to the roof because it won't get caught on branches, the carwash, etc but a helical would be better.
I'm not sure which garmin antenna you are considering.
Craig
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My Overland Adventure Blog | |
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Tony Sims
| | 11/19/2007 9:42 PM |
Alert | Probaly the same one I have, the 25 MCX. I teased him with my twelve 100% satellites...  | |
Tony
I'm a Woodcock Johnson achiever!
'92 RRC County "Thirsty" RIP...
'84 110/300TDi "Smokey" Sold
1984 Toyota FJ60 "Dusty" | |
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Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 11/19/2007 10:49 PM |
Alert | Is that on the 60CSx? What does Davis have? My 60CSx w/ the built in helical antenna has done pretty well in the truck even with the heated windscreen, although it has lost signal in the woods while hiking a couple of times. My MightyGPS through hull rooftop mounted GPS does the best though. LIke the 60CSx it is a SIRFIII based GPS, but it tracks 20 satellites instead of only 12. I've never lost coverage with it even in very dense forests in the mountains. I haven't hiked with it though, and 4WD trails by their very nature offer at least a swath of clear view to the sky. Craig | |
My Overland Adventure Blog | |
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Nevak Risew
| | 11/20/2007 10:24 AM |
Alert | | I have an older Garmin eMap as my receiver. I have it mounted on the dash with a RAM mount. For mine, the antenna is needed to get consistent and predictable reception. Your mileage may vary. | | | |
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Davis M
| | 11/20/2007 12:39 PM |
Alert | | i have the 60CSx mounted next to the heated windshield. Much better than my previous unit (non-SiRF III chipset) as this one get's much better reception. Well, until I compared it with Tony's, that is. I'm sure our units had similar accuracy where we compared them; but, in the woods, in a valley, in the city, I've got to believe Tony's external anetnna would make his unit much more accurate. Yes, what he said: 25 MCX. It's reasonably priced, low profile, and sure seems to work; I assume it's the patch variety Craig mentioned. What helical antennas should i consider if I wanted bigger and better - and, by better, how much better? | | | |
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Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 11/20/2007 1:08 PM |
Alert | I've only ever seen helical antennas made for boats and surveyor backpacks. The Garmin antenna should work great for your application Davis.
Craig | |
My Overland Adventure Blog | |
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Tony Sims
| | 11/20/2007 3:31 PM |
Alert | I figure the external antenna is useful for vehicle-based not getting lost, and when I'm not getting lost on foot, I can mount it to the metal plate in my head. | |
Tony
I'm a Woodcock Johnson achiever!
'92 RRC County "Thirsty" RIP...
'84 110/300TDi "Smokey" Sold
1984 Toyota FJ60 "Dusty" | |
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Davis M
| | 11/20/2007 5:05 PM |
Alert | | thx | | | |
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Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 11/30/2007 12:37 AM |
Alert | Moved this thread to Navigation...
Also there are a lot of great antenna options at http://www.mightygps.com/oem/antennanavigation.htm
If you don't mind drilling, the bulkhead mount options are very stealth and factory looking once installed.
C
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My Overland Adventure Blog | |
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Andy Berglund
| | 11/30/2007 9:24 AM |
Alert | can i use one of those non-magellan antennas with my device? i wonder if they have some sort of propriety based connector they use. probably, with my luck. :rolleyes:
andy | |
I am loving the Gilmore Girls-Scott Williams | |
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Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 11/30/2007 10:56 AM |
Alert | I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure you can Andy. Most of the GPSs use one of the standard connector types (There are 3-4 different standards), and if not there are usually pigtail adapters available.
Does your manual say what type of antenna you have? What type of GPS do you have again?
Craig
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My Overland Adventure Blog | |
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Andy Berglund
| | 11/30/2007 12:07 PM |
Alert | magellan crossover. the GPS itself doesn't have an input for an antenna; the antenna plugs into the "traffickit" base and that plugs into the GPS.
andy | |
I am loving the Gilmore Girls-Scott Williams | |
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Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 11/30/2007 7:07 PM |
Alert | Andy,
Do you have the traffickit? Does it say what kind of connector it has in the manual? I see that Magellan sells an external antenna for it, so one of these antenna's will work, we just need to figure out what the proper connector is.
Craig
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My Overland Adventure Blog | |
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