Recommend External Antenna For 60cs?

[+jollybgood]

I purchased a Norstar external antenna last year on Ebay for 20 bucks. Worked great but the other day I pinched the cable in the car door and apparently broke the wire inside the insulation.

 

I'm not sure I can do an adequate splice/repair job so I'm looking to buy another antenna.

 

Before I buy another Norstar on Ebay I thought I'd check to see if anyone else has found a better one. Hard to beat twenty bucks but I thought I'd ask.

 

The cable is sort of flimsy on these things.

 

BTW is it possbile to buy an MX plug adapter somewhere so I can just cut the cable where it split and put on a new plug?

 

Thanks for any help in advance.

[ImpalaBob]

We like our Gilsson antennas that we have for our 60Cs. I bought ours at GPS Geek. I have both the straight and 90 connectors and prefer the straight as it is much easier to plug and unplug. Try Amazon.com for better pricing.

 

Have you contacted Norstar about repairing? ImpalaBob

[+2Wheel'in]

Agree with ImpalaBob, hard to beat the Gilsson. Got mine from GPSGeek as well, $19.00 plus shipping.

Regards,

Bill

[robertlipe]

One thing to watch about GPSGeek is that they have different prices depending on how you shop.

 

http://www.gpsgeek.com/gps_antenna.htm shows $39

Their 'buy it now' price in their Ebay store ( 5817963135 ) shows $19

 

(Same part #, same fone number.)

 

Signed,

A confused customer that's happy with the product, but doesn't like to work that hard while shopping.

[+Sputnik 57]

I've noticed the same thing about Gilssons on GPSGeek. Their web site is full retail, but they show up elsewhere for a decent price. You should only pay about $20 for the antenna.

 

As Impala Bob noted, the antenna connection can be very tight (especially the 90° connector). By careful when disconnecting it.

[+jollybgood]

THanks all.

 

I got a good deal on ebay for a Gilsson. Love it. Man the quality is far better than the norstar and I paid just about 6 bucks more for it.

 

No comparisson. THe cable on the Norstar was thin and brittle. I like the look/feel of the Gilsson much better. Even the plug/adapter is of better quality.

 

I'm a happy camper. I went to Radio Shack adn found a plug for the Norstar and installed it with no problems. It only has a three foot cable now. I'll toss it in my backpack. Might come in handy when I'm deep in the woods to help get a lock.

[+jollybgood]

BTW I do have one question/concern.

 

On teh back of the Gilsson there's a plastic sticker that says

"Peel to remove magnet"

 

AM I to understand the ONLY thing holdy the magnet to the atennae is this thin sticker?

 

That concerns me. What if I'm driving down the road in the rain. Is there s chance the magnet will separate from teh case?

[+Sputnik 57]

I've put my Gilsson through some scary weather on my Jeep and have never had a problem. I have a feeling that the magnet holds itself to the antenna with far more force than the plastic cover supplies. Not sure why anyone would want to remove the magnet anyway.

[peter]

Not sure why anyone would want to remove the magnet anyway.

It's a good option to have if you want to mount the Gilsson antenna in your plane or boat and the most convenient location is near the existing magnetic compass.

 

And actually the plastic tape is the main thing holding the magnets in place but I've found it to be more than sufficient in practice.

[+CraigInCT]

I just got an antenna in from an ebay sale. I'm finding two satellites while sitting INSIDE my house. The seller name is ricepaddy1. Cheaper than any I found online. Field testing begins tomorrow.

 

I'm running a gpsmap60. Your mileage may vary.

[+Team Perrito Blanco]

I've put my Gilsson through some scary weather on my Jeep and have never had a problem. I have a feeling that the magnet holds itself to the antenna with far more force than the plastic cover supplies. Not sure why anyone would want to remove the magnet anyway.

I noticed a lot of compass related problems with my 60CS before I removed the magnets. Magnets removed, problems gone.

[metrobum]

Hello,

 

I just got my new 60cs last week--love it so far!

 

I'm looking to get an antenna that I can pin to the top of a backpack while wearing the unit on my belt. I was originally going to get one with a 90 degree connector as this seems less awkward considering where I want to mount the unit. However as ImpalaBob and Sputnik57 point out, this could be a problem. Does anyone know if the 90 degree is not doable, or just something I need to be careful with?

 

Thanks. Great forum BTW!

[+Sputnik 57]

As you noted, I have the 90° connector on my Gilsson antenna. I have a small strip of metal strap wrapped around the shoulder strap of my pack. I toss the Gilsson up there so it sits on top of my shoulder and clip my 60C to my belt with no loss of signal, even in fairly heavy tree cover. After reading comments in this thread about the belt clip button coming off, I also have a lanyard attached the the GPS.

 

Reception is great, and the 90° connection is ideal for wearing the unit on your belt. Just be careful removing it (my Leatherman helps). I keep meaning to get some di-electric grease to see if that will help, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[ImpalaBob]

I've got a plastic twisty tie wrapped around the cable right at the 90 degree connector which makes disconnecting quite easy and it lays flat. If you want to mount the antenna on top of your tilley hat just carry a thin large flat washer to put inside the hat under the antenna. ImpalaBob

[+Thrak]

I drove from California to Montana and, part of that time, I had my external antenna stuck to the roof of the car. It is a VERY solid connection and you have no need to worry about it coming off.

[peter]

Does anyone know if the 90 degree is not doable, or just something I need to be careful with?

I haven't had any problems with the 90° bend in the connector. The little cube that forms the bend has slots on the sides that you can put your fingernails in to get a firm grip to disconnect the cable. Just pull straight out on the connector and don't try to pull on the cable itself.

[StripeMark]

I also have the 90 degree angled one and have no problems getting it off. And yes, the worse thing you want to do is pull on the wire itself.

[metrobum]

Thanks for all the great info on the 90 degree connector. I'm sold. I ordered the Gilsson with the 90 from GPSgeek today!

[+CraigInCT]

Field testing complete. I have a metal pin on top of my hat and the magnet sit there. The antenna works much better than the one in the unit. In deep tree cover it hardly loses contact.

[+geckoboy49]

Just started using my Glisson on the 60CS and am not overwhelmed; most of the time it seems to make little difference in the accuracy reading. Is it crucial for optimal antenna performance to use some sort of ferrous mount as a baseplate? Noted one poster mentioned compass related problems with the magnet in place, have others noticed this? I currently use the "fender washer on the vest" to hold it as I hike, and yes, it seems to mess up my compass also at times.

[wshelley46060]

My Glisson works very well. Out in the open, without a ground plane, I get lots of full bars.

[peter]

Is it crucial for optimal antenna performance to use some sort of ferrous mount as a baseplate?

No, the ground plane should be conducting material but it makes no difference whether or not it is ferromagnetic other than for ease of mounting with the included magnets. And the Gilsson design works well even without any external ground plane. Note that the main advantage of an external antenna is that it can generally be placed in a more optimal location than the GPS unit itself. So you get less obstruction from your own body and don't have to worry about how the GPS is oriented.