Humminbird Side Imaging Forums
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Whitedog on December 28, 2009, 06:38:34 PM
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I am almost through installing my unit and just out of curiosity I placed the antenna puck under the console of my bass boat to see if it picked up a good signal there. It seemed to work fine but my question is do you think it will work there under most conditions and is it possible there will be more interference problems? I will probably try it there before moving it but has anyone else attempted this?
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Have you got a picture of the installation? You always want to try to have a clear view of the sky.
Robert
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Thanks for replying. No, I don't have a picture but I have it temporarily lying on the floor beneath the fiberglass console. It seems to be receiving a good signal through the glass (with wires, steering apparatus, etc also underneath there) and I will leave it there for at least one fishing trip to see if there is any problem when the engine is running, tachometer, fish finder, etc are active. I actually think the problem of interference may be more an issue than reception. I was just curious if anyone else had tried this. If it works I like the location and if not I can always move it.
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You might want to activate the self tests and then scroll to the one that shows how many sattelites you are locked on to.
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Soretoe is right, you can look at how many satellite and the accuracy of the readings. You can move the receiver on top and and around the area to determine if there is a significant difference
George
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Thanks guys I'm going fishing tomorrow and I'll try to remember to do the self test. I have a friend going with me who has had a unit for a couple of years so he will be a better judge that I will. I pulled the boat out this afternoon and turned it on again and it almost instantly found itself. Oh, and I forgot to mention that when I initially fired it up yesterday if found itself in just a matter of seconds. I have had a number of GPS units and that's the fastest I ever had one locate itself on the initial turn on.
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These newer Humminbird GPS antennas are very sensitive, so it may be tempting to hide it away. But, keep in mind that it will ALWAYS perform better with a clear view of the sky, as Robert mentioned. Satellites that appear low on the horizon are much harder for any GPS to receive and lock onto, so a clear view of the sky will allow more satellites to be received at any one time, and more satellites received equals greater accuracy.
bob baldwin
bryan, texas
997c SI
1197c SI
AS GRHA GPS
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Well, I tried it today and it appeared to work fine but the one thing I didn't do is to set a waypoint on a known object then see what kind of drift I had while sitting at that location. That will tell me if the stability and accuracy is what it should be. I honestly had not thought about sattelites low on the horizon that might be difficult to pick up. I'm going to try that next but I'm having second thoughts about leaving it beneath the console. Dang!! It's so convenient to not have to drill more holes in the boat and having it out of the weather and away from big feet.
I'll try a couple more things then report back what I decide to do. Thanks to everyone.
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There is a ram mount that allows you to mount your unit on it with the GPS puck right behind the unit. The ideal location for GPS Antenna is as close to your sonar transducer as you can get it. That will cut down on the error of offset that could be several feet depending on the size of your boat.
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Whitedog sorry I am late on post. On the placement issue you can always use industrial velcro for placement. It will hold well and give you a definite placement until you have a place to mount that you are sure about. I will only mount near the transducer for wpt accuracy.
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Harry, thanks. I haven't yet been too concerned with the accuracy of the waypoint placement. I do very little vertical fishing and my boat is a twenty footer so with the puck at the console I am about ten feet off. Ideal for me would be with the waypoint set from the front of the boat since I will be fishing from there. I may at some point find that desirable but right now I'm just trying to get my feet on the grouind. I see you are from Douglasville and probably fish Lanier a lot. Some of the very little vertical fishing I ever did was on Lanier.
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I mounted my GPS receiver under the rear deck lid on a Ram Mount within a foot of my transducer. The lid is fiberglass and I have not noticed any accuracy issues. I lock on a ton of satellites quickly. I have another receiver under the fiberglass up front near my trolling motor.
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