47-55.1 51 3100 GPS antenna location

[R&B51]

Kenwood DMX 9085 double DIN receiver. Plan is to have center trim - speaker cover and ashtray unit extend out and fold down to expose screen for receiver. Rare earth magnets on all four corners, so it snaps up into place and stays there. Trying to figure out everything on the dash and ran into hiccup. GPS antenna for this receiver is proprietary along with its connector. It is about 1 in.² and half inch tall black plastic with cable going away from base. Too ugly to just stick on top of the dash.

Anybody found a good place to mount one of these to get unimpeded line of sight up to satellites?

Supposedly it is best mounted horizontally. Can’t have metal between it and the sky, but glass and plastic work (most modern cars have plastic dash and they just mount them on the bottom side of it along with that steep slope windshield). It’s pretty easy to place one if you’re not talking about a 70 year old steel vehicle. I’ve been reduced to considering cutting a small 1” hole in – up by wiper knob, welding a resting platform under the dash and then placing it in there with a 1 inch tweeter speaker cover. Chrome trim ring, and black speaker cloth not super ugly, but it will be one of the first things you look at when you see that dash.

[Hcb3200]

On bumper. Or in a stake bed ��️ pocket. I have been thinking on this as well. You could conceal under a plastic hula girl doll on dash. Anything plastic non metal. I was thinking under fresh air vent holes in front of windshield. Maybe slots are enough to allow communication you could always test and see and move later.

[leegreen]

I put mine on front splash apron, in the shadow of the driving light here:

It works fine and is not very noticeable.
If I had not run driving lights I'd consider putting it on lower grill bar, but that would probably make it less effective.

about the screen, unless you want to cut your dash speaker opening larger there is not much room for a screen. I have a thread on how I did a flip up cover for a head unit here: https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...=841095&page=2

I'll add a picture to that thread to show how much room there is around a standard DIN opening

[fauXGT]

Originally Posted by Hcb3200

On bumper. Or in a stake bed ��️ pocket. I have been thinking on this as well. You could conceal under a plastic hula girl doll on dash. Anything plastic non metal. I was thinking under fresh air vent holes in front of windshield. Maybe slots are enough to allow communication you could always test and see and move later.

Wouldn't the signal wander to another satellite every time she shakes her hula??

[R&B51]

Thanks for ideas, I had not been sure of about moving it outside.
leegreen, your fabrication work is inspiring! You obviously have a creativity there as well.
I like the idea of the splash apron, maybe even become a driving light convert yours look good on there. Even if I don’t use driving lights this unit is pretty small. Planning on a darker color paint like yours so it won’t be quite as obvious since it is black plastic.
Do you know if yours was rated for outdoor use?
Kenwood was no help.
As for hula girls, I’m way too distractible. Everything that moves, I gotta look at it.

[R&B51]

Just got some additional information.
I used the local Best Buy to put a waterproof sound system in my 74 bronco that I built (they were actually really great with the installation, lots of speakers, lots of amp and base for my old ears in that noisy vehicle so I can still hear it when I’m driving and even light shows coming out of the speakers for the grandkids on summer nights).
I gave them a call and they were way more helpful than Kenwood. He advised that this particular antenna would likely not last outside. He said on trucks like mine, the best thing he’s found is to pull the wire up through the A pillar. Make a small hole there and mount the unit on the inside of the windshield. That does mess with that Factory suggestion to keep it horizontal, but he said they were fine that way.
Maybe most important point, he said that antenna really is mainly useful to tell what time zone you’re in so your clock is right when you pass from one time zone to another. If you use internal software for navigation on the receiver, it would need to be in place as well.
He advised that most people use their phone as their antenna and the Google maps and that requires no GPS antenna like the one I’m trying to mount. We don’t have a situation where we’re planning on driving between time zones frequently and your phone has a clock on it anyway.
Learning as I go. I sure appreciate being able to ask you guys questions and get good advice.

[leegreen]

my sensor is for this GPS speedometer:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0755HF5H8/
The location works fairly well. Sometimes if the truck has been sitting for a while and you jump in a drive away the GPS will never lock on. Parking facing North probably does not help with where mine is mounted.

these antennas are very generic, except Kenwood uses an unusual connector....which is probably one of the options for this $4 antenna https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003502409447.html
They are also directional and need to point to sky, glued to inside of windshield might work if the top was towards the glass. Which might look weird
They are 'just antennas' and sealed in plastic. short of immersion in salt water they are probably pretty weatherproof until UV does in the plastic.

"only for time zone" I'll re-interpret that as 'when you install the antenna upside down the GPS in your head unit is useless but it will pick up a satellite often enough that the clock will be accurate'. I'm sure some of the bestbuys have good techs, but I'd never let one of the dash hacking, wire chopping buttsplice wielding weasels at the local places near anything I cared about.

I also considered putting my antenna on the running board splash apron near the box, or just inside one of the stake pockets. If you don't run driving lights maybe over by the front plate - if you run one of those in your state

[e015475]

I have a GPS speedometer and I mounted mine under the wood in the bed. It is about a foot back from the bed's headwall. Seems to work fine.

I didn't mount it directly to the wood - I made a bracket to set it on so it stands off of the wood about an inch

[vintovka]

I have cheepy GPS (sub $5 delivered) speedometers in my 23 taco and 54 AD. Both have antennas built in the display. They work well on the dash near the windshield. Not so much elsewhere. The defroster channel on 54-55.1 are a great place to conceal wires and possibly and antennae if needed. I think as technology advance there may be no requirement for an external antennae. With said advancement mechanical speedometers may well become a thing of the past.

[R&B51]

e015475-that is exactly the kind of brain smarts I needed! Going to wood must be no problem as long as it’s not metal. I would never have thought of that. I will give that a try first.
leegreen-I read your post several times and laughed out loud every time I read it, I think that would be one of those classic lines from a movie that people never forget:
“I'd never let one of the dash hacking, wire chopping buttsplice wielding weasels at the local places near anything I cared about.”
I think I must’ve gotten lucky, they did a great job on my bronco because I’ve been under it and done other maintenance a number of times.

[mr48chev]

I've got one of those speedometers similar to what vintovka showed in post 9 in my 77 one ton that tends to eat speedometer cables. Not expensive and less worry about havng fall off your dash than your phone but you do have to have a 12 V lighter plug in type power supply. They do work better in some places than others in the cab.

Somewhere in my stuff is a GPS antenna for my laptop that I haven't used for a few years that worked better if it was outside the rig. I used it mostly on my boat for charts but did use it with maps in the car. I'd figure out how to hide the antenna in plain sight in a spot that gave it the best chance of working in most conditions.

[vintovka]

[QUOTE=mr48chev;9315194]I've got one of those speedometers similar to what vintovka showed in post 9 in my 77 one ton that tends to eat speedometer cables. Not expensive and less worry about havng fall off your dash than your phone but you do have to have a 12 V lighter plug in type power supply. They do work better in some places than others in the cab.

Mine uses a usb for power and could be hardwired if careful. The cheep combo panels with lights, switches, plugs, usb ports, voltmeters and stuff work well and would be hard to drop $15 on one including the gps. Also fancy speedometers come with compasses and all sorts of add on gadgets but you;; have to spend $5 more. Best if used near a window and do take a minute to lock on to a satellite.