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12th April 2018, 12:38 AM
#1
GPS interference
Wanted to report a weird signal interference near the dashboard. Recently bought a y61 and installed a gps tracker as i always do, everything worked fine. Couple of days after, had the entire dashboard replaced at the dealer because it was in bad condition, they also installed a car alarm and central locking system. After that, the gps tracker had trouble locking a gps signal. First, i tried with another tracker, changed antennas, power cables and still couldn't get the gps signal to lock, so I moved the GPS antenna to sit over the dashboard, at plain sight, instead of below. Didn't work either. At some point I noticed that holding the antenna a couple of meters away from the vehicle, the gps unit worked just fine. This morning I installed a GPS diagnostics app into my phone and every time I had the phone near the dashboard it lost all satellite signal locks, 1 meter away and 11 sats come back. I know about some "gps jammers" devices that sell on ebay to interfere with the gps signal so i was suspicious about the car alarm the dealer installed (maybe it works at the same frequency). I disconnected the vehicle´s battery and still the gps could not get a lock. Finally installed the antenna behind the front grill and got it working for now. In the past years i installed several gps trackers on diverse vehicles and never had this problem. I find it odd that even being near the dashboard with the car battery disconnected there is an interference. Anyone had something similar happening?
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12th April 2018 12:38 AM
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12th April 2018, 12:56 AM
#2
I am he, fear me
Nope... only thing I have ever seen interfere with GPS was a 'leaky' Radar Detector (other than jammers of course).
Has the alarm got a glass break detector?
Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.
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12th April 2018, 02:15 AM
#3
Yes, the alarm has a glass break detector indeed.
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12th April 2018, 10:22 AM
#4
Patrol Freak
Disconnecting the vehicle's battery will not always stop the alarm. Most have a built in battery back up that lasts for some time. To see if it is the alarm you would have to ensure that it is switched off - to the point that it would be easier to unplug it and remove it from the car.
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12th April 2018, 11:20 AM
#5
I am he, fear me
Originally Posted by
jsgbrl
Yes, the alarm has a glass break detector indeed.
Then the Alarm would be my prime suspect.
Also agree with Bill vis a vis power but personally I would just live with the new GPS antenna location.
As a point of interest does the GPS diagnostics drop out when driving around or is the GPS on the phone/navman/whatever OK when moving?
Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.
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13th April 2018, 11:16 PM
#6
Thanks for your input guys, i will test the alarm hypothesis by removing it this weekend and have another go with the gps diagnostics app (gps status & toolbox from android store).
Either with the vehicle parked or moving, my phone starts to lock some sats but then loses all signals at once, this happens at periodic intervals of maybe 10 seconds.
I also mounted a dashcam at the top area of the windshield and without surprises it won't get gps signal. I'll report back my findings after the weekend and thanks again for your input.
cheers
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14th April 2018, 12:23 AM
#7
Patrol God
earths,are all your earths clean?
Watch this space, as there maybe a comment added soon
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14th April 2018, 05:23 PM
#8
Expert
Have heard of some alarm proximity sensors mucking around with GPS signals. So could be that as well if that was part of the alarm package as well as the glass breakage detector.
Most aftermarket alarm systems just have your standard box with the inputs plugged into it. Eg knock sensor , proximity sensor and so on. You could maybe pull off each connection and test which one is giving you grief
Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk
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15th April 2018, 02:51 PM
#9
Expert
WIndows tinted? Some of the film (V-Cool) has metallic content and plays havoc with GPS signals.
Steve
2011 Patrol Safari 4.8 (Fitek)
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19th April 2018, 01:30 PM
#10
Hello again, reporting back after some experimients i did this morning:
First took some gps readings with my phone to have some control data:
18 sats locked at plain sky sight
11 sats locked inside the garage, sitting on the dashboard of another vehicle
0 sats inside the garage, sitting on the patrol's dashboard
Screenshot_20180418-150044.png
As you guys mentioned, i took the alarm module (and central locking module) off the vehicle and stored them a good 15 meters away.
IMG_20180418_150449.jpg
Made the same readings in different order, multiple times, giving the phone some minutes before each reading ... and got exactly the same results, nothing changed. Then i moved the vehicles (switched spots) inside the garage just in case and made all the readings all over again, no changes.
At this point i already solved the problem with the new antenna location, at least partially, as i still have some minor gps signal loss, but am really curious about what is happening.
The only other change is the dashboard and it is hard for me to believe it is causing interference.
So i guess i'll leave it here for reference in case someone else has this problem in the future, if you guys have any other ideas i'll gladly try them just for the sake of experimenting.
also the patrol does not have any tinted windows, not factory nor aftermarket.
cheers and sorry for my english, not my native language.
Last edited by jsgbrl; 19th April 2018 at 01:41 PM.
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Bulbous (19th April 2018)