NaviGadget

More antenna for your GPS receiver

Mar 29, 2006 gps navigation, hacks

GPS is a nifty piece of technology. GPS hardware needs to have a clear view of the sky because it’s satellite based, so using your handheld unit can be a problem when the roof of your car is blocking signal reception. The obvious answer is to add an external antenna. The catch-22 is that many GPS units lack external antenna jacks.

If you crack open your GPS, you could extend the wire between the antenna and the internal antenna, but the loss from the extra wire would degrade the signal. But active antennas amplify the signal to get past the loss in the extra wiring; with a little bit of hacking, you can add an external active gps antenna to just about any GPS unit. Find out how in today’s How-To.

To complete this project, you need:

• A suitable GPS receiver
• 26 gauge wire (0.4mm thick)
• 100pF or 47pf ceramic capacitor
• Active external GPS antenna
• BNC panel mount connector (may vary, get one to match connector for the antenna)
• 1/8 inch mini jacks or similar for power and serial output (optional)
• Tools: Soldering iron, pliers, wire strippers, drill

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