Streetpilot i3 external antenna position - the Maplins one.

[philai3]

Are the angles of the satellites with respect to the horizon constant i.e. in geosynchronous orbit? If not, the angles will be changing all the time - and it woudn't matter how your antenna was angled in the car - one particular orientation would be just as bad as any other. The moving whilst standing still phenomenon is a "function" of the sat-nav, to compensate for periods when there is no or poor signal.
_________________
Garmin I3 October 2006
Garmin 1310 December 2009
(Firmware 3.2-2.7-3.4-2.7)
Renault Scenic with inbuilt Carminat Tom-Tom April 2013
Renault Clio
Mazda MX5 2010

[PaulB2005]

I'm just going on what i've observed and been told.

From the other thread - what does

[philai3]

As far as I can tell, it would mean that the GPS antenna is tuned to signals which are polarised in a clockwise direction - which GPS signals are. It doesn't tell you anything about in which direction or orientation, if any, is preferred.

According to Wikipedia (yeah, I know!), GPS satellites are in Medium Earth Orbit (20,200 km out), which is below geostationary altitude. Each one therefore completes an orbit in between 2 and 12 hours. So, the GPS has to track the staellites across the sky, and therefore the angle of the satellite is constantly changing. So, you would think that the mounting angle of the satellite antenna would be the least of your worries, if you were a GPS, given that the satellites are moving (albeit relatively slowly)all over the sky, and the vehicle you were attached to was changing it's attitude all the time as well.

Of course, if there is anyone out there with real knowledge about these matters......
_________________
Garmin I3 October 2006
Garmin 1310 December 2009
(Firmware 3.2-2.7-3.4-2.7)
Renault Scenic with inbuilt Carminat Tom-Tom April 2013
Renault Clio
Mazda MX5 2010

[PaulB2005]

[iandee]

for what its worth I stuck the maplin arial on my Scenic behinf the rear view mirror with some small bits of blue tack on each corner and it works fine
_________________
Ian Dee,
tommtom iphone6
bad elf TomTom25

[mikealder]

Ian, Good location as the glass area in front of the rear view mirror is often left devoid of the Athermic coating that gives GPS signal reception problems - a simple fix to an increasing problem with some car manufacturers - Mike

[jaff]

here is atip for those witha clio and i dunno if meganes have them too ut ther is a windo int he UV coating onthe windcreen right in the middle athr ebottom pof the dash, this is for the tollroad passes in france that need to read a barcode and they cant read it throughthe coadting, this little 3X2 opening is perfect for an ariel. but what i do is just stick my unit inbetween my speedo and rev counter ober the warning lights mind you and just mag mount the ariel to the door. i recently Pimped my garmin( or as we call her Senga sat nav), well i took a torx skrewdriver to it took off the face plate and painted it to match my dash as the blue stuck out like a sore thumb i also glued a thin layer of soft fabric to the underside of the ariel to stop it scratching the paint again, had to t-cut the door.
I have stuck the aeriel on every panel on the motor that isnt plastic, and on a clio is does not make much difference where it goes althogh i wonder if i'd get a better signal id the cable were shorter i don't need 5m but it was the same as it was for 3m, althogh i did find on my old laguna that if you stick it to the A piller, it used the cars internal ariel and boosted the signal even more, connecting me to the satelites in litterally 30 seconds, un like th 5 minutes in the clo and the 15 minutes withought the ariel at all.

[PaulB2005]

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