GPS Tracking System Comparison Guide and Reviews

GPS Antenna - Getting The Most Out of Your GPS

September 3rd, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

There is little doubt that GPS technology is an outstanding useful invention. For the average person life has become much easier for those who have a GPS in their car and life has also become safer for people who like adventure such as hiking or hunting in the winter time. For situations such as these, GPS brings a highly clear advantage to modern life due to the fact it is a two-way system.

Not only can GPS guide people to their destinations, it can also allow a lost hiker or hunter to be found based on a signal that his or her GPS is emitting. All that being said, there is still the question of transmission when it comes to GPS; GPS is a great tool, but only if it works. In some remote areas, GPS units without antennas don’t work.

Unfortunately, this takes away from the overall efficiency of the idea of having a GPS cell phone, handheld or automobile system. The addition of an antenna to your GPS system just might be what’s lacking if you find yourself losing signal more often than you’d like.

I Thought My GPS Already Had an Antenna?

You’re right, in most cases, GPS units have antennas built right in to them; however, this is not the case for all GPS units; some units need an external antenna. As technology improves, these built-in antennas will become more and more powerful, but for the time being, the built-in GPS antennas are not always sufficient.

The most common culprits of lost signal are valleys/canyons, and heavy tree cover. This is because your GPS unit gets its signal out of the air - quite literally, out of the sky; therefore, when the unit can’t efficiently access the signals coming from above (either because of interference or distance) the result is temporary loss of signal.

Temporary loss of signal to your GPS is not always a huge problem. On the other hand, when the temporary loss of signal lasts 20 minutes, it’s entirely possible that you’ve driven 20 miles out of your way in that time.

After several times of this happening to customers, to solve their problem they likely turn to a GPS antenna. In addition to your GPS built in antenna, an external antenna helps to improve the signal receiving capacity of your device. In less critical circumstances, an externally mounted antenna is likely not worth paying more for it; however, for individuals who seriously mean business, the added power an convenience an external antenna brings to GPS tracking system functionality is well worth the purchase price.