S4Per

Hi All,
Believe I posted this some time back but in the wrong forum...trying again.

I have an '02 B5 S4 which came with Nav as an option. I since have removed the OEM head unit and Nav unit (trunk) in lieu of a PC based solution.

I'm now looking for an external GPS antenna for my USB based GPS chip, and am wondering if I can just tap the existing antenna that is already in the car? If so, how/where?

TIA,
Per

TeddyBGame

your oem nav drive in the trunk uses a SMB style (90 degree angle) GPS interface. I recommend doing some searches via google.com to see if you can find a store that sells stuff like this.

FYI - here is what most folks in your shoes use to extend the gps connection in the trunk to the dash (when upgrading to the OEM RNSE). You might be able to use this...and adapt the fakra end to fit your USB device. AFAIK, most of the tom-tom and aftermarket units us MCX interface - not sure.

http://stores.vagnav.com/Detail.bok?no=76

Good luck!!<ul><li><a href="http://stores.vagnav.com/Detail.bok?no=76">http://stores.vagnav.com/Detail.bok?no=76</a</li></ul>

S4Per

<center><img src="http://www.smelectronics.us/imagesParts/SM2063.jpg"></center><p>Can you tell me specifically what type of SMB connector I'd need?

My GPS has an SMA female connection, so I believe I'm looking for a SMA-male to SMB? connector. I have a link below to some models I think are close, if you could verify, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Something like SM2063 "SMA/M-SMB/JACK" (above) or SM2065 "SMA/M-SMB/PLUG"
<img src="http://www.smelectronics.us/imagesParts/SM2065.jpg">

or SM2069 "SMA/M-SMB/PLUG"
<img src="http://www.smelectronics.us/imagesParts/2234-000-N000-069.jpg">

I can't quite tell from the info/picture that you linked to which exact connector on the SMB side would be the right one. If I can get the details of that, I believe I'm all set via one of these connectors!

Thanks again,
Per<ul><li><a href="http://www.smelectronics.us/smbadapterssmc.htm">Which one?</a></li></ul>

S4Per

small SMB plug to SMA male. I'm using the ET301 eval board from Sparkfunelectronics.com btw, and it found satellites/fixed relatively quickly.

Only other thing I'm considering now: roofmount GPS/GSM/Wifi (available at mobilegpsonline.com) vs. the stock GPS and different GSM antenna (no real need for wifi right now, GSM gives broadband access already).

I had a USB GPS sitting on the rear deck and I have metallic tint; I was expecting to get a lot better/stronger signal from the OEM antenna, but in the 10 minutes of testing I did, seems pretty much the same. I think the OEM GPS antenna is just underneath the rear deck, though, so that would make sense.

Roofmount would be the best, but I'm a bit hesitant about drilling holes into my roof

Anyway - that's one long FYI for everyone. Thanks again for the help, TBG.

TeddyBGame

cool...congrats!!