Thread: OEM GPS Installs

Here is some pics of my Garmin GPS 15-LW



Since my shuttle pc does not have a internal serial port header, I made this adapter so I can just plug it into the serial port on the back of the machine.

I also put in the SMA connector so I can disconnect the antenna when I take the computer out of the car.

Here is a better pic of the SMA connector, I just drilled a hole in a standard computer case dust cover

And here it is installed in the computer

view from the back

Hi all,

My first post and just finished my Garmin 15L installed into my casetronics C134 case. The shark fin is a factory VW part, P/N 1K0-035-507-C .

Originally Posted by VWmike

Hi all,

My first post and just finished my Garmin 15L installed into my casetronics C134 case. The shark fin is a factory VW part, P/N 1K0-035-507-C .

Hey Mike how much was that sharkfin? Also where did you buy the connector to that gps? I was thinking of adding one of these to my mk4 golf.

got faster fix and better becon tuning with new version

GPS 15 H/L software version 2.70 as of February 25, 2005

Originally Posted by Stonewall78

Hey Mike how much was that sharkfin? Also where did you buy the connector to that gps? I was thinking of adding one of these to my mk4 golf.

Stonewall78, I have put together the following information about the shark fin in hopes that if you do decide to take on the mod it will go as smooth as possible.

Gps shark fin/ 1K0-035-507-C
The antenna is part of VW's navigation system and cost $110 US. Should be able to get it at any VW dealer . I purchased it online here... Antenna

Cable 1
The first cable you will need is available on ebay. This cable is the one connected to the GPS module and runs to the back of the case. $12.50 US
Link

Cable 2
This is probably the hardest to aquire and runs from the back of the case to the antenna. The cable you will need is RG174 or RG316 and terminated with a male BNC connector. I acquired this at work and didn't need to buy it but have done some searching and you can buy cable assemblies with BNC connectors on both ends fairly cheap.
Link
This leads me to the connectors that are on the antenna. They are made by Amphenol and detailed information on them can be found here
The blue one is GPS and purple is AM/FM radio. I bought them online from digi-key and where about $4.00ea. Digi-key

P/N FA1-NCRJ-C01-0 / GPS
P/N FA1-NDRJ-C01-0/ am/fm

The connectors do require a special crimper inorder to crimp a ferrule around the outer shield of the coax. Although if you have above average soldering skills it is possible to solder the outer shield to the connector. After assembling the cable I would recommend checking that the center conductor and the shield are not shorted together. This can be checked with any ohmmeter and you are looking for infinite resistance. If it is shorted then the 3vdc being supplied by the gps module will be going straight to ground and will it will fry.....

I think that covers just about everything. I have tested the gps operation with mapmonkey and I have locked on to 7 satillites with the antenna strung out my back porch about 7ft away from my house . I can only guess that this would only improve the farther I get from the house. I have not installed this in my car yet as my install is still months away but cannot find any reason why it won't work.

Just a note about the Radio portion of the antenna. I have yet to do any testing in regards to reception quality with a aftermaket head unit. I have read some posts on other forums about poor radio reception when they remove the factory VW radio and replace it with a aftermaket one. This is something I can live with becuase I can't remember when the last time I listened to FM radio. Excellent FM radio reception is something you absolutely must have then you might want to wait unitll I get my new head unit and can verify the reception quality....

Good luck

Originally Posted by VWmike

Hi all,

My first post and just finished my Garmin 15L installed into my casetronics C134 case. The shark fin is a factory VW part, P/N 1K0-035-507-C .

Damn, that is sexy! Are you going to drill a hole in your car to mount that fin? That would scare the crap out of me!