Discussion
It could get nicked!
GRP body won't cause any problems, the antenna will need a clear view of the sky. Mine sits at the front of the dash so it can pick up the signal through the windscreen. Some modern cars have problems as they have heat reflective windscreens (Renault) that can cause signal breakdown. Should be fine in a TVR.
GRP body won't cause any problems, the antenna will need a clear view of the sky. Mine sits at the front of the dash so it can pick up the signal through the windscreen. Some modern cars have problems as they have heat reflective windscreens (Renault) that can cause signal breakdown. Should be fine in a TVR.
Big Les said:
It could get nicked!
Thanks for the foregoing. One of the reasons I want to fit an "old one" is that I think good sound systems in this type of car are daft. I bought the car to listen to the noise it makes.
The getting nicked issue is always a problem. BTW can the antenna sit outside the car? Don't have a fit!!
But I have noticed that there is a rubber gromet in the centre of the body just in front of the boot and wondered if the antenna could be secured to the outside of the body (with the wire going in to the body shell through the whole covered by the gromet). Is the antenna supposed to live inside the car? or can they be external?
ro_torque said:
It could get nicked!
Thanks for the foregoing. One of the reasons I want to fit an "old one" is that I think good sound systems in this type of car are daft. I bought the car to listen to the noise it makes.
The getting nicked issue is always a problem. BTW can the antenna sit outside the car? Don't have a fit!!
Is the antenna supposed to live inside the car? or can they be external?
I've wondererd about this myself. GPS receivers are pretty good these days and the signal strength is rarely marginal. The GRP body should have minimum effect as it is relatively transparent at 1.5GHz. I was planning to put the antenna either in the boot or under the bonnet -as long as there is nothing metallic obscuring the view of the sky. It should be anonymous and easy to fit.
They do work better on a metallic ground plane though so some sort of backing plate would be good - even if it is only silver foil.
I've got an antenna at home and some software for my laptop which measures signal strength. I can do a little test if you're interested.
k
Podie said:
Personally I'd go for an external fit all-in-one unit like the TomTom Go… cheaper, easier to update, no installation issues, and moveable from car to car...
Agree, I borrow the misses TTG when out on a blat, helpfull that I've added the safety camera location database to it too 
. Harry
I use Tom Tom on an iPaq so the antenna is seperate. It came with one attached to a cable (signal & power), but I changed it for a remote wireless Bluetooth one. However this has it's own battery and has to be re-charged (fron cigar lighter) from time to time. Both of them are designed for interior use.
I've never considered fixing one behind the GRP bodywork, I would have thought it would be too thick. I know the antenna on my boat is fitted externally but it is encased it it's own lightweight plastic casing.
Probably best to contact tha manufacturers for comment first.
I've never considered fixing one behind the GRP bodywork, I would have thought it would be too thick. I know the antenna on my boat is fitted externally but it is encased it it's own lightweight plastic casing.
Probably best to contact tha manufacturers for comment first.
Similar problems to Wildfire. Mine has been "being repaired/waiting soft driver updates" that I bought the cheapest one I could find and loaded up the camera database. It works better than my Ipaq ever did.
BTW there is an overlay available for Tomtom that has all the TVR dealers listed
BTW there is an overlay available for Tomtom that has all the TVR dealers listed
Big Les said:
I've never considered fixing one behind the GRP bodywork, I would have thought it would be too thick.
I've fitted them under vehicles for telematics applications - works off reflections from the road. You'd be surprised what you can get away with using a decent receiver.
The portable handheld sounds a good solution for navigation though. I was fitting mine as a covert homemade tracker (got all the bits at work).
k
gifdy said:
I've got an antenna at home and some software for my laptop which measures signal strength. I can do a little test if you're interested.
k
Yes I would be interested if it's not huge amounts of hassle. I like the idea of the unit living insitu.
I know nothing about the hand held units the other guys have mentioned. Other than the fact that they exist. I guess it's lack of familiarity with the portable units, never having seen one in operation. I have tended to assume that a unit of this nature would be difficult hear above the roar of the engine.
Tom Tom3 with a bluetooth receiver works fine for me. I tend to leve the receiver in the hole in the consol behind the gear stick and the ipaq itself either there or on the spare seat. I rarely need to refer to it other than when I'm in a city and need to know street by street turns. Having said that, just uploaded the camera detector database and might investigate a dashboard/windscreen mount at some stage soon..
ro_torque said:
I've got an antenna at home and some software for my laptop which measures signal strength. I can do a little test if you're interested.
k
Yes I would be interested if it's not huge amounts of hassle. I like the idea of the unit living insitu.
No problem, any excuse to be a geek. I'll have a look tonight or over the weekend & email you the results through your profile.
k
sjgardner said:
It could get nicked!
I went for a combined PDA phone (M1000 from Orange) with TomTom bluetooth GPS unit works a treat using a vent mount for the PDA no issues at all. Move it from car to car as well.
Alright, as it happens, I too use an M1000. And as I said earlier, I'm not familiar with the kit. So in simple terms what do I need to make it work as a sat nav tool? Also what are the relative costs? (i.e. the cost of a sat nav radio is now around 200 gbp for a mono display)
gifdy said:
gifdy said:
I've got an antenna at home and some software for my laptop which measures signal strength. I can do a little test if you're interested.
k
Yes I would be interested if it's not huge amounts of hassle. I like the idea of the unit living insitu.
No problem, any excuse to be a geek. I'll have a look tonight or over the weekend & email you the results through your profile.
k
That's excellent thanks
R
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