Dash Mount for GPS antenna?

D

Dave S

Well-Known Member
TECHNICAL Contributor
Oct 3, 2006
6,014
Upstate South Carolina
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I am considering adding a second chartplotter on my 260DA. The current chartplotter I have will be left in place and it has it's GPS Antenna mounted on the spoiler. If I install the second unit, I will also need a separate GPS antenna for it. I was thinking of mounting it right on my dashboard. Has anyone else done this and does it work OK? If you have installed one on your dashboard, could you post a picture of it?

Thanks.

Dave
 
My Garmin has an external antenna that just sits flat on the dashboard. I don't have it permanently mounted, it just rides on carpet material that is there. It works fine. It is under the windshield. The signal goes through normal glass without problem. Unless you have special glass that uses metallic material in it for sun blocking, it should be OK. I don't know that Sea Ray ever used that. It was used in a few cars, maybe Ford for a while, and would prevent your radar detector from saving you.
 
Can you give more details? Why wouldn't you just use the current GPS and network them together?
 
Dave:

My Garmin "mushroom" antenna is mounted on the dash, left hand side, under the overhang of the windshield. I don't have a digital camera so I can't post a pic, sorry. I didn't do the install either, it was that way when I bought the boat.

Not much help, but it's all I've got for you........

Cheers,

Bill
 
I use a Garmin 492 Chartplotter (about $450 on Ebay) as my primary GPS as it has far better resolution that the Raymarine L760 that came with Moondancer.

The 492 is the internal antenna version and comes with ALL USA coastal waters installed. I mounted using a velcro pad just to the left of center on the dash... where the Admiral and I can view it together.

I route the 12 volt power cord over the dash to the receptacle on the starboard side next to the driver. The display is bright and clear, even on the sunniest days.

The Garmin is far easier to program at home with all my waypoints and routes and is very versitile in operation. For example, going up the Occoquan River, as we approach the no-wake zone heading up to Prince William Marina, the channel is pretty narrow. I can "zoom in" to obtain a far better amount of resolution on the Garmin that I can on the Raymarine, so with respect to the narrow channel, I know EXACTLY where I am. On the Raymarine, the SHIP symbol occupies the entire channel that is on the display.

We used velcro to mount the Garmin because we hope to get a bigger boat before too long and we didn't want to drill any holes in the dash.
 
My Garmin GPS

I use a Garmin 492 Chartplotter (about $450 on Ebay) as my primary GPS as it has far better resolution that the Raymarine L760 that came with Moondancer.

The 492 is the internal antenna version and comes with ALL USA coastal waters installed. I mounted using a velcro pad just to the left of center on the dash... where the Admiral and I can view it together.

I route the 12 volt power cord over the dash to the receptacle on the starboard side next to the driver. The display is bright and clear, even on the sunniest days.

The Garmin is far easier to program at home with all my waypoints and routes and is very versitile in operation. For example, going up the Occoquan River, as we approach the no-wake zone heading up to Prince William Marina, the channel is pretty narrow. I can "zoom in" to obtain a far better amount of resolution on the Garmin that I can on the Raymarine, so with respect to the narrow channel, I know EXACTLY where I am. On the Raymarine, the SHIP symbol occupies the entire channel that is on the display.

We used velcro to mount the Garmin because we hope to get a bigger boat before too long and we didn't want to drill any holes in the dash.
 
My Garmin GPS

I use a Garmin 492 Chartplotter (about $450 on Ebay) as my primary GPS as it has far better resolution that the Raymarine L760 that came with Moondancer.

The 492 is the internal antenna version and comes with ALL USA coastal waters installed. I mounted using a velcro pad just to the left of center on the dash... where the Admiral and I can view it together.

I route the 12 volt power cord over the dash to the receptacle on the starboard side next to the driver. The display is bright and clear, even on the sunniest days.

The Garmin is far easier to program at home with all my waypoints and routes and is very versitile in operation. For example, going up the Occoquan River, as we approach the no-wake zone heading up to Prince William Marina, the channel is pretty narrow. I can "zoom in" to obtain a far better amount of resolution on the Garmin that I can on the Raymarine, so with respect to the narrow channel, I know EXACTLY where I am. On the Raymarine, the SHIP symbol occupies the entire channel that is on the display.

We used velcro to mount the Garmin because we hope to get a bigger boat before too long and we didn't want to drill any holes in the dash.
 
My Garmin GPS

I use a Garmin 492 Chartplotter (about $450 on Ebay) as my primary GPS as it has far better resolution that the Raymarine L760 that came with Moondancer.

The 492 is the internal antenna version and comes with ALL USA coastal waters installed. I mounted using a velcro pad just to the left of center on the dash... where the Admiral and I can view it together.

I route the 12 volt power cord over the dash to the receptacle on the starboard side next to the driver. The display is bright and clear, even on the sunniest days.

The Garmin is far easier to program at home with all my waypoints and routes and is very versitile in operation. For example, going up the Occoquan River, as we approach the no-wake zone heading up to Prince William Marina, the channel is pretty narrow. I can "zoom in" to obtain a far better amount of resolution on the Garmin that I can on the Raymarine, so with respect to the narrow channel, I know EXACTLY where I am. On the Raymarine, the SHIP symbol occupies the entire channel that is on the display.

We used velcro to mount the Garmin because we hope to get a bigger boat before too long and we didn't want to drill any holes in the dash.
 
I use a Garmin 492 Chartplotter (about $450 on Ebay) as my primary GPS as it has far better resolution that the Raymarine L760 that came with Moondancer.

The 492 is the internal antenna version and comes with ALL USA coastal waters installed. I mounted using a velcro pad just to the left of center on the dash... where the Admiral and I can view it together.

I route the 12 volt power cord over the dash to the receptacle on the starboard side next to the driver. The display is bright and clear, even on the sunniest days.

The Garmin is far easier to program at home with all my waypoints and routes and is very versitile in operation. For example, going up the Occoquan River, as we approach the no-wake zone heading up to Prince William Marina, the channel is pretty narrow. I can "zoom in" to obtain a far better amount of resolution on the Garmin that I can on the Raymarine, so with respect to the narrow channel, I know EXACTLY where I am. On the Raymarine, the SHIP symbol occupies the entire channel that is on the display.

We used velcro to mount the Garmin because we hope to get a bigger boat before too long and we didn't want to drill any holes in the dash.
 
Dave S said:
I am considering adding a second chartplotter on my 260DA. The current chartplotter I have will be left in place and it has it's GPS Antenna mounted on the spoiler. If I install the second unit, I will also need a separate GPS antenna for it. I was thinking of mounting it right on my dashboard. Has anyone else done this and does it work OK? If you have installed one on your dashboard, could you post a picture of it?

Thanks.

Dave
Click to expand...

Dave,

Here is my solution...without using an external GPS antenna.

I use a Garmin 492 Chartplotter (about $450 on Ebay) as my primary GPS as it has far better resolution that the Raymarine L760 that came with Moondancer.

The 492 is the internal antenna version and comes with ALL USA coastal waters installed. I mounted using a velcro pad just to the left of center on the dash... where the Admiral and I can view it together.

I route the 12 volt power cord over the dash to the receptacle on the starboard side next to the driver. The display is bright and clear, even on the sunniest days.

The Garmin is far easier to program at home with all my waypoints and routes and is very versitile in operation. For example, going up the Occoquan River, as we approach the no-wake zone heading up to Prince William Marina, the channel is pretty narrow. I can "zoom in" to obtain a far better amount of resolution on the Garmin that I can on the Raymarine, so with respect to the narrow channel, I know EXACTLY where I am. On the Raymarine, the SHIP symbol occupies the entire channel that is on the display.

We used velcro to mount the Garmin because we hope to get a bigger boat before too long and we didn't want to drill any holes in the dash.
 
Dave S said:
I am considering adding a second chartplotter on my 260DA. The current chartplotter I have will be left in place and it has it's GPS Antenna mounted on the spoiler. If I install the second unit, I will also need a separate GPS antenna for it. I was thinking of mounting it right on my dashboard. Has anyone else done this and does it work OK? If you have installed one on your dashboard, could you post a picture of it?

Thanks.

Dave
Click to expand...

Dave,

Here is my solution...without using an external GPS antenna.

I use a Garmin 492 Chartplotter (about $450 on Ebay) as my primary GPS as it has far better resolution that the Raymarine L760 that came with Moondancer.

The 492 is the internal antenna version and comes with ALL USA coastal waters installed. I mounted using a velcro pad just to the left of center on the dash... where the Admiral and I can view it together.

I route the 12 volt power cord over the dash to the receptacle on the starboard side next to the driver. The display is bright and clear, even on the sunniest days.

The Garmin is far easier to program at home with all my waypoints and routes and is very versitile in operation. For example, going up the Occoquan River, as we approach the no-wake zone heading up to Prince William Marina, the channel is pretty narrow. I can "zoom in" to obtain a far better amount of resolution on the Garmin that I can on the Raymarine, so with respect to the narrow channel, I know EXACTLY where I am. On the Raymarine, the SHIP symbol occupies the entire channel that is on the display.

We used velcro to mount the Garmin because we hope to get a bigger boat before too long and we didn't want to drill any holes in the dash.
 
I use a Garmin 492 Chartplotter (about $450 on Ebay) as my primary GPS as it has far better resolution that the Raymarine L760 that came with Moondancer.

The 492 is the internal antenna version and comes with ALL USA coastal waters installed. I mounted using a velcro pad just to the left of center on the dash... where the Admiral and I can view it together.

I route the 12 volt power cord over the dash to the receptacle on the starboard side next to the driver. The display is bright and clear, even on the sunniest days.

The Garmin is far easier to program at home with all my waypoints and routes and is very versitile in operation. For example, going up the Occoquan River, as we approach the no-wake zone heading up to Prince William Marina, the channel is pretty narrow. I can "zoom in" to obtain a far better amount of resolution on the Garmin that I can on the Raymarine, so with respect to the narrow channel, I know EXACTLY where I am. On the Raymarine, the SHIP symbol occupies the entire channel that is on the display.

We used velcro to mount the Garmin because we hope to get a bigger boat before too long and we didn't want to drill any holes in the dash.
 
Works great.

DSCN0762.jpg
 
Dave S said:
...... I was thinking of mounting it right on my dashboard. Has anyone else done this and does it work OK? If you have installed one on your dashboard, could you post a picture of it?
Click to expand...

I carry an old Garmin GPS48 that has an external antenna. I sort of mounted in on my dash and it works great. I used velcro to hold it in place and just run the wire down the side of the dash to where the unit sits on the side of the helm chair. I keep this as a backup should my in dash unit crap out, but I use it all the time. My on board raymarine electronics do NOT have the ability to give me Distance traveled....this little Garmin gives me distance traveled, avg speed, time traveled, total time, max speed and few other neat items of info for the log book.

I'll try to remember to post a pic...but it's really nothing to look at...just a little 2" x 2" by 1/2" high black piece of plastic on the dash...
 
Sorry about multiple postings

There is a "bug" in the posting code. My posts kept getting rejected due to a "timeout" problem, so I tried multiple times to post my response. The end result was multiple posting of my message.

Moderator: Please delete the extra postings.

Thanks,
 
Thanks for your input everyone and thanks for the pictures as well JG300DA.

I am considering doing this because I can get the second unit gratis as a result of some issues Northstar has been unable to resolve for me on the current unit I have. I think a second GPS unit on the dash will work out fine if I go thru with this. All the Smartcraft information would be displayed on the second unit on the upper dash while the current one would be used soley for GPS mapping functions.
 
My Lowrance GPS antenna is on the dash and under the windshield and works fine as does my XM antenna.

I have installed GPS receivers on numerous cars and plastic and glass are not an issue. We install them under the dash, on the dash, on the rear package shelf, and they all work fine as long as there isn't metal obscuring the sky above.
 
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