Gps with built in antenna

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bladesmith

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Nov 8, 2017
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C Dory Year
2007
C Dory Model
16 Cruiser
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
 
I removed the GPS antenna on the roof of our boat when I realized it wasn't hooked up to anything. The Garmin picks up satellites right away with no issues.
 
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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