Placement of GPS...?

Peer

Peer

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I'm getting a TomTom 510 GPS (4.2 x 3.1 x 2.5) and wonder if there's any snazzy place that I could mount it -- semi-permanent. Suggestions appreciated.

-- peer
 
I mounted the magnetic antenna just above the center outside of the windshield on the frame. The cable is hidden under the rubber seal around the windshield. I mounted the TomTom on the suction cup holder in the extreme lower left onf the windshield. Works fine.
 
I have a Garmin and toyed with the idea of mounting in the center console, however I didn't want to mess with an external antenna and I wanted it to remain portable for use in our other cars. I used the stock suction cup and placed it in the left corner. I bought an adapter at radio shack and hard wired it to the fuse box, so no more cigarette adapter and it turns on/off with the key. I can also pop it out of the mount if I have don't want to put the top up when leaving the car for a short time. I work in Palo Alto, so if you want to see it in person, let me know.
View from inside:
11nav4bz9.jpg

View from outside:
11nav5qx9.jpg
 
BoxsterBob,
I have a similar Garmin and use it in the same corner of the windshield. However, in California it is illegal to affix anything (other than the Fastrak pass) to a windshield. Have you had any other thoughts about a center console mount?
 
I know it's illegal, so is no front plate and driving 66 mph on 101 ;) I was thinking about removing the CD holders and cubby and building a custom enclosure, but three things stopped me:

1. It would no longer be easily moved to another vehicle
2. It would require an external antenna
3. Putting it that low would require too much eyes-off-the-road time.

I like the position we have ours in now, albeit illegal :eek: unfortunately, I'm right handed and selecting a destination with my left hand is an exercise in futility.

If you come up with a good alternative, please post it.
 
I think the best location for my GPS might be where BoxsterBob has it, and I'm even left handed (and very right brained; http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~peer/humanResearch.html ;^)

> I work in Palo Alto, so if you want to see it in person, let me know.

Yea, that would be cool. However, tomorrow afternoon I'm driving down to LA for a five day stay, (I'm borrowing my friends Garmin since the TomTom hasn't showed yet), so maybe I could take a look at yours sometime next week. I really like the idea of having it hardwired to the fusebox as you did.

-- peer
 
Peer said:
I think the best location for my GPS might be where BoxsterBob has it, and I'm even left handed (and very right brained; http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~peer/humanResearch.html ;^)

> I work in Palo Alto, so if you want to see it in person, let me know.

Yea, that would be cool. However, tomorrow afternoon I'm driving down to LA for a five day stay, (I'm borrowing my friends Garmin since the TomTom hasn't showed yet), so maybe I could take a look at yours sometime next week. I really like the idea of having it hardwired to the fusebox as you did.

-- peer
Click to expand...
No problem, I work off Embarcadero East, near Carlsen Audi, so let me know what day works for you.
 
If that's a C550, there's a dash mount that works great.

http://shop.garmin.com/accessory_highres_image.jsp?img=010-10747-02xl.jpg&name=Dash

I have mine in the exact location as Bob in my BMW. That location works great for two reasons. The wires can run down the left side hidden under the weather strip and your eyes stay on the road. I did the same as Bob in the BMW with a cig lighter socket from Radio Shack hardwired to 12V ignition switched.

For those with external antennas, you can put it where the factory one goes. It fits under the blinking red light in the center of the dash. Run the wire under the plastic trim near the windshield. The plastic trim along there pulls right up and snaps back in. This is where I have the antenna for my Pioneer indash Z1.
 
I have the garmin and sirius I looked into pulling out the plastic change ,wallet, holder and making up a face plate-box . what I have discovered is the garmin works just about anywere in the car. I set the destination and turn the audio up.,then the garmin tells you were to go , it gives plenty of warning of lane changes. I think its safer than trying to look at the screen .
 
I use the audio as well, my only complaint is the Garmin lady says, "In three... hundred... feet... turn............. left". I wish she would say, "turn left... in... three... hundred... feet". In congested downtown traffic, with 3 lanes to navigate, those few seconds can make the difference between getting over to the left lane or missing the turn and hearing the dreaded, "Recalculating... " ;)

My wife bought it for me for Christmas and she loves that I now argue with the Garmin Lady instead of her! :D
 
My Garmin C510 sits on top of the dash in the middle (actually hangs from the windscreen - yes I know that's officially illegal in CA :rolleyes: )
But thinking about Peer's frequent run-ins with the local law-enforcement, MAYBE not the right location for him ;-)

I get the (switched) power for the unit from the back of the radio, the power cable goes inside the dashboard behind the instrument cluster so you effectively have about 2 ~ 3 inch of cable from the back of the Garmin to the back of the instrument cluster.

By the way: I have the live FM traffic option for the Garmin, which ROCKS.
It re-routes you based on live traffic data, example: driving from San Carlos to Santa Clara it first wanted to send me 280 to 85 to 101 but then "changed it's mind" and send me from 280 down Lawrence Expressway which was free and I arrived in record time :D
 
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I just got a Garmin Nuvi 350. I have the "console delete option" (aka...I removed the center console), and I mounted the Nuvi under the center of the dash (with the suction cup holder) It sits immediately under the dash and the antenna is about 3-5 inches behind the face of the radio. I get perfect reception! I was very surprised. I thought I would need the external antenna too.

I've got it hooked up through the aux on the CDR-210 (re-using the CD changer cables). The MP3 playback sounds as good as the 5 other MP3 players I've tried, so I plan to load up a bunch of music and podcasts.

While I also want to keep my unit portable (to prevent it from being stolen and to swap to another car), I am thinking of an option to mount it more nicely. The clip-on mount requires that the antanne be extended (GPS on) and I'd like to use it much of the time to play MP3's with with the GPS off to save battery life. I'll come up with something. Ideas or pictures anyone?

Enough rambling...hey Bob, can you provide details of the hardwired power? Does your unit use the mini-USB connector for power? If so, can I simply connect a couple of the wires to the same switched power that my V1 is hooked to????

Comin' to SSprings anytime soon? GPS power hack help is certainly good for a BBQ lunch! :)

Thanks, Doug
 
FM Traffic does rock. Even if you are not on a route, you get "Traffic Ahead". Press the little yellow button and get details. The Pioneer Z1 I have in the BoxS isn't nearly as good as the Garmin in the BMW, IMHO. The Pioneer uses XM to get traffic data but it just doesn't route as well as the Garmin.
 
if you wish to keep the boxster happy change the unit to metric then its ""in 800 metres turn left " I also use the garmin to show how far out the speedo is on the boxster when switched to metric(Im Canadian) 7 km at 120 km no wonder the OPP were letting me blow by their radar , I only thought I was speeding!!
 
doug_d (7.7/77777) said:
Enough rambling...hey Bob, can you provide details of the hardwired power? Does your unit use the mini-USB connector for power? If so, can I simply connect a couple of the wires to the same switched power that my V1 is hooked to????
Click to expand...

I did the key remote distance hack at the same time, so I had the A-Pillar trim piece removed and this allowed me to easily slide the wire between the dash and the body of the car.

Then I removed the carpet piece surrounding the fuse box and found a ground screw below the fuse box attached to the car’s frame. The next step could probably be more elegant, but I just pulled fuse E7 (AC power), wrapped the positive wire around one of the legs and reinserted the fuse (I know, rather redneck, but it works). :) I bought these adapter pieces at Radio Shack. I brought the unit in with me to ensure a proper fit:
11nav1ws0.jpg
 
thanks bob. mine is a little different...perhaps as simple. my car adapter terminates in a mini-USB plug which powers the device and charges the battery. i tried a motorola phone mini-USB car adapter and the nuvi didn't indicate a connection. i'm afraid i'm going to cut my original nuvi car adapter to connect to switched power and have it not work for some reason. off to the car stereo store...
 
BoxsterBob - San Carlos said:
I did the key remote distance hack at the same time, so I had the A-Pillar trim piece removed and this allowed me to easily slide the wire between the dash and the body of the car.

Then I removed the carpet piece surrounding the fuse box and found a ground screw below the fuse box attached to the car’s frame. The next step could probably be more elegant, but I just pulled fuse E7 (AC power), wrapped the positive wire around one of the legs and reinserted the fuse (I know, rather redneck, but it works). :) I bought these adapter pieces at Radio Shack. I brought the unit in with me to ensure a proper fit:
11nav1ws0.jpg
Click to expand...

huh... what is this remote distance hack? :confused: pls share more details.. As far as the navi That is a great loction easy to reach and see. I had the old Garmin that was bigger and having it mounted in the center above the center air vent was not a good spot because in the day time when the top is down, it is hard to see. That was my excuse I used to my wife to justify me buying the Pioneer Avic N3 navi head unit with ipod controls. :D
 
boxs2000 said:
huh... what is this remote distance hack? :confused: pls share more details.. As far as the navi That is a great loction easy to reach and see. I had the old Garmin that was bigger and having it mounted in the center above the center air vent was not a good spot because in the day time when the top is down, it is hard to see. That was my excuse I used to my wife to justify me buying the Pioneer Avic N3 navi head unit with ipod controls. :D
Click to expand...

Remote hack removes the antenna wire from the wire bundle in the A-Pillar to extend the range of the remote:

http://www.ppbb.com/scgi-bin/boards/986/museum.pl?read=1167783
 
ChrisZang wrote:
> But thinking about Peer's frequent run-ins with the local
> law-enforcement, MAYBE not the right location for him ;-)

Darn, you're jinxing me -- now I REALLY have to relocate my GPS.
Thank you, buddy boy.

-- peer

;^)
 
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