Gps with built in antenna

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bladesmith

New member
Hi Folks..I recently bought my first CD, a 2007 16' cruiser. My first boat with a pilot house...Can I mount a GPS with a builtin antenna inside my cabin or do I need a separate antenna mounted out side?... Thanks
 
I've had mine mounted inside the cabin with no external antenna for years. No problems. Signal passes through fiberglass quite well.
 
I’ve got a Garmin Echomap 50DV chart plotter on my dash inside my fibreglass pilot house. My boat is not a C Dory, but the pilot house is fibreglass and very similar to many, including the C Dory. Works perfectly and picks up satellites very quickly. I can’t imagine an external antenna would make any difference to the GPS performance. I’ve read that my experience is common.
 
I've got two Garmin Chartplotters, an AIS transceiver, and now a VHF radio with GPS. I haven't hooked the new radio up yet, however I've had no problems with the chartplotters and AIS transceiver receiving GPS signals without an external antenna, and I don't expect to have a problem with the VHF radio. Colby
 
Modern GPS receivers will pick up the GPS signals in cars, boats, planes, etc, unless there is extensive shielding--for example if you had a steel boat, and GPS on lower deck. Even with trawlers with hard tops flying bridge (including aluminum in the hard top), I have had the GPS work in the cabin below.
 
Bladesmith,

I still find electronics to be one of the most confusing boat purchases. Internet research to find out if there is an all-in-one product that can answer your issues, or whether a new unit will interface with existing electronics takes some research. To further complicate things, asking what electronics will work for you is a bit like asking others what size shoe you should buy. Ultimately, individual needs should override internet market preferences. So I don't have much to offer in the way of product choices, other than to say good luck.

Mark
 
I have one GPS antenna on the outside cabin top, and 2 inside on the shelf. I cannot tell any functional difference between them.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon
 
I have two GPS antennas on the roof. One for the chartplotter (NMEA 0183). The boat came with that one. I added a NMEA 2000 GPS receiver antenna (all in one) for my NMEA 2000 network. Never thought of putting the one I added anywhere else.
 
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