uBlox_Installed_02

Nathaniel: this is based on 1 data point, but I suspected some overheating heating issues with the ublox5 when I sealed it up in foam. I then tried double-sided taping it to the side of the fuselage (against a small block of foam to get some clearance for the antenna.) It is now almost entirely exposed to open-air inside the cockpit, and it's been working pretty well ever since.

My theory is this: (and I'm more of a software guy) :-) The helical antenna needs to be "well powered" according to Jordi in order to see satellites. In my experience, that's somewhere between 4.8 - 5.0V. Less than that and your view of the satellites starts the suffer. (The gps engine itself runs happily on voltages down to 3.3V, it just stops seeing any satellites when your voltage drops much below 4.8v.) So I suspect that when you totally encase the ublox5, enough heat builds up to degrade the output of some power regulator onboard the gps and it can't deliver sufficient voltage for optimal antenna operation and your view of the satellites either suffers or is non-existent.

Hopefully you won't have any problems, but if you do have trouble getting enough satellites for a good fix when you are outside, you might consider relocating your gps into open-air.

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Nathaniel Caner August 16, 2010 at 2:38pm

Curt,
Thanks for your insights! Perhaps what I will try is ventilating the area where the uBlox is mounted. Vented both to the outside, and to the inside through the battery tunnel.
Curt Olson August 16, 2010 at 5:07am

Nathaniel: this is based on 1 data point, but I suspected some overheating heating issues with the ublox5 when I sealed it up in foam. I then tried double-sided taping it to the side of the fuselage (against a small block of foam to get some clearance for the antenna.) It is now almost entirely exposed to open-air inside the cockpit, and it's been working pretty well ever since.

My theory is this: (and I'm more of a software guy) :-) The helical antenna needs to be "well powered" according to Jordi in order to see satellites. In my experience, that's somewhere between 4.8 - 5.0V. Less than that and your view of the satellites starts the suffer. (The gps engine itself runs happily on voltages down to 3.3V, it just stops seeing any satellites when your voltage drops much below 4.8v.) So I suspect that when you totally encase the ublox5, enough heat builds up to degrade the output of some power regulator onboard the gps and it can't deliver sufficient voltage for optimal antenna operation and your view of the satellites either suffers or is non-existent.

Hopefully you won't have any problems, but if you do have trouble getting enough satellites for a good fix when you are outside, you might consider relocating your gps into open-air.

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