Question about G P S ?


We purchased a GPS a few weeks ago and it works great in our modern cars but not in the Speedster. Purchased a water proof dash board accessory socket from West Marine and wired it in per good Model T Ford Speedster practice.

If I put it on the dash the sun is too bright to see the display. So I put it inside of the side cowl just under the wooden dash board down by Mary's pretty legs and out of the sun. Down there you can see it very well but the vibration is so bad that the screen tilts down in about two miles of driving and must be tilted back up. When you grab the frame with your fingers you accidentally activate the touch screen and start looking for places to eat or gasoline. Not a fun experience.

I put a piece of paper in the ball and socket joint to tighten it up but it still vibrates to new locations at will. Adding more paper to increase friction just makes it impossible to clip the joint together and I don't want to glue it because we use it in all of our vehicles so it must be adjustable.

Any ideas to stop the tilting drifting screen because of the way the ball and socket joint is made ?

Duct tape?

Additional information: I am requesting a high class good looking installation without bailing wire and scotch tape Bud !

Don't mount it down there. Looking at it takes your eyes off the road. Mount it in the back of a searchlight, like I did the Greatrace speedo. You can get brass balls of various sizes from McMaster.com and make your own stable mount.



rdr
next door to Farm&Fleet

By chance would it work to replace the piece of paper with a similar sized piece of a latex or rubber glove?

Isn't this what that modified bitumen roofing tar is for?

Aha, change the surface friction qualities of the shim rather than making it thicker. I will try it. Thanks Walt . . . .

Ralph, I know a story about brass balls but it had nothing to do with global positioning ;~]

I have an old Garmin, probably 10 years old(small screen) it's mounted with velcro.

yes but velcro will still let it vibrate even more and it's ugly when the GPS is not mounted. I am trying to use the suction cup and keep the ball and socket from moving with the engine viration.

I mainly use it in my modern pu and it's probably a lot smaller than yours. There is nothing attractive about velcro but it's easily removed. The problem I've had with those ball and socket mounts is vibration. the farther you get from the mounting base, the more vibration. I used to have one for my old Motorola brick phone back in the day.

Cut the end of the thumb or finger from a thin
throw away vinyl glove and pull it over the ball.

Suction cups suck. It's illegal to mount them on the windshield in Calif or Minn, and that makes it too far away in most cars, anyhow. I have made custom mounts for our various cars for our Garmin. Be creative, Frank.

You gotta' get that thing as close to your primary road view as possible. You can always put a hood over it for shade. I have a multifunction GPS/radio in the dash of our minivan, and hate it. It's down too low, and takes your eyes off the road. Even with largest display possible, about all I can see is next turn. I also mounted the Garmin up high in a dash vent, and it's good.

Either mount it up high in your PFOV, or mount it so your navigator has to use it, and you can't see it.

rdr
mid-trip 4,000+ miles.

In the modern cars, I use the Garmin accessory holder that is weighted and just gets plopped on top of the dashboard wherever you want it. I place it so that the GPS is close to my view of the road.

Frank - Maybe just figure out a convenient place to place it within easy reach, and when you want to use it, just pick the GPS up, check the readings and then replace it in it's normal place (wherever that may be). At least that way, vibration won't be a problem, and you can hold the unit up close to your normal "line of sight" for driving safely. Also, at the age you and I are, it is also easy to hold the GPS the proper distance from the eyes for easy reading. (Assuming that you probably have to wear reading glasses like I do; it's hell to get old!)

Anyway, that's how I use mine and it works well,....harold

I'd worry about the GPS electronics being too close to the magnetos and not reliably talking with the satellites...

I like to sip really good, strong coffee while I drive, which is not that easy to find when crossing the prairie. I use the Garmin to find coffee places enroute. Leaving Grand Junction the other morning, it guided me to a Coffee Bean or some such. It was deja vu all over again. The place didn't exist, and we then realized the Garmin had guided us to the exact same nonexistent shop two years ago.

Guess it's time to update the three year old data base, which is expensive, I hear. Might be about as cheap to buy a new one.

rdr

You could epoxy two or three strong (ceramic) magnets to the back of your GPS unit. It will then stick firmly to any steel surface with no vibration — at least, no more vibration than the surface to which you have stuck the thing.

Put a layer of thin tape on the magnet to prevent scratching if that is a concern. If the angle is not right, attach an appropriate bracket to the back of the GPS and the magnets to the bracket.

The magnets will not affect the operation or accuracy of your GPS — I use my Garmin GPS in two Ts and two Other-brands with no problems and no special brackets. Just keep it away from your wallet and credit cards!

Hang it around your neck on a strap?

My goodness Frank,you mean you dont use a roadmap anymore?

I think it is because a Ford 'T' speedster goes too fast for the satellites to pick up the postion...Dave C