GPS reciever reception indoors?

Player_One · 11-03-2004, 10:34 PM

Just wondering how everyone's reception works indoors... And what kind of indoor environment was this in?

Also, does Bluetooth or WiFi interfere with the GPS signals?

peegee · 11-03-2004, 11:00 PM

mine wont even find a sat if i am fully indoors, if i sit it near the window it will find sats and ill get 3d Fix.
I dont think any would be able to find sats if fully indoors, but i could be wrong.
Mine is a Rikaline 6010 (i beleive the same one CoPilot rebadges for sale with their GPS receiver/ Software pack.

Player_One · 11-04-2004, 01:05 AM

But it should be fine going through a few layers of plastic, right? How under a metal sheet?

Bugbyte · 11-04-2004, 01:10 AM

I have a Royaltek Sapphire and installed it underneath a plastic cover on my dash. It works...sort of. It takes a lot longer to acquire satellites and is more prone to dropping into 2d or losing lock completely. When I placed it on top of the cover in the identical position, it worked flawlessly.

I'm almost certain metal will kill your sat reception. An easy experiment is to wrap it in one layer of Aluminum foil and try it.

lawrence · 11-04-2004, 01:20 AM

GPS is a line of sight any signal that has to go around walls ( not a straght line ) will compermise the accuracy of the unit. GPS signal is RF and there for can not pass throuh metal or dense objucts.a ground plain will help recption as it will with most omnidirect antennae. with that said the best place to mount a GPS antenna is on your roof, as close to centered as posable.

Player_One · 11-04-2004, 01:39 AM

If it's RF, will a Bluetooth or 802.11g device in close proximity mess it up? Or no?

lawrence · 11-04-2004, 01:56 AM

never had a problrm with mine ,diferent freq ranges. cant say for all though denpends on your hardware

ÐuTcH · 11-04-2004, 03:57 AM

i have a bu-303 usb gps receiver, works indoors, picks up around 4 satellites, not a great signal strength though, and lock takes a fair while. i've also a belkin bluetooth usb dongle & rf mouse/mediaremote working in the car and home, doesn't make any difference, i think they work on different frequencies though.

l0gic · 11-04-2004, 04:03 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by ÐuTcH

i have a bu-303 usb gps receiver, works indoors, picks up around 4 satellites, not a great signal strength though, and lock takes a fair while. i've also a belkin bluetooth usb dongle & rf mouse/mediaremote working in the car and home, doesn't make any difference, i think they work on different frequencies though.

This is my experience with the BU-303 as well.
Running USB wireless LAN and USB Bluetooth as well does not seem to have any inpact on it.

August · 11-06-2004, 08:57 PM

On a sidenote, I emailed Garmin technical support about painting a GPS...

Paint is generally not a problem for the GPS 35 unless the paint is reflective or absorptive at 1.5 GHz. Most paints are neither reflective nor absorptive near 1.5 GHz, so they have little effect on the performance of the GPS 35. About the only paints I've ever seen that cause problems are ones that are intended for use as a conformal shield or paints that are loaded with carbon or carbon fiber.