Radar detector and GPS

[jslarson]

On my St I run the Escort 8500 X50 and a Lowrance iWay500C. The problem I am having is that when I turn on the radar detector it knocks out the GPS. The GPS unit looses track of the satalites. I hace tried moving the componets around, no help. Anyone else had this problem and able to correct the problem??

Thanks

[John Anthony]

Wow! That's one I haven't heard before. I've got an Escort and Garmin 2610 and they get along well together. They're also in close proximity. It will be interesting to find out what's going on.

Good luck.

John

[fastflyer20]

It might help to do a trial in the garage of powering the detector with another 12 volt source to determine if it is power interference or the radar signal causing the problem.

[Blrfl]

What you're most likely experiencing is called intermodulation, where signals used internally by your Escort and iWay leak out into the air and combine to form a third signal at the frequency used by GPS. When two signals run into each other, they produce what are called a sum product and a difference product. The sum product is at a frequency that's the sum of the original two frequencies and the difference is at the (wait for it...) difference between the two. This mixing effect is one of the fundamental things that makes just about everything that transmits or receives radio waves tick.

For example, let's say your Escort is leaking a 1500 MHz signal and the iWay is leaking one at 75 MHz. They combine into a weaker 1575 MHz (sum) and 1425 MHz (difference) product. The former is in the chunk of spectrum used by GPS, which is centered at 1575.42 MHz. GPS is a very weak signal to begin with, and local intermod can be strong enough to wipe it out.

Running an external antenna on the iWay on the tail of the bike will be far enough away to prevent the problem and get you better GPS fixes to boot. (The antenna inside the iWay is less than ideal for use on the bike for a bunch of reasons I won't go into.) I have a Gilsson that I picked up on eBay for about $35 that works very well. For the iWay, you need one with an SMB-F connector.

HTH.

--Mark

[redst05]

I learned something!!!!!
I also learned I really am STUPID.
Thanks for the info.
My Garmin and Escort work together

[wjbertrand]

Strange. My Garmin and my 8500 X50 sit side by side on the dash shelf and appear to ignore one another.

[Diggers1300]

A couple of years ago, detector makers had to ensure that their units did not interfere with GPS units. Apparently there was enough problems, because this was mandated by the Fed. I don't, for the life of me, remember the exact date. However, several retailers, including the one I work at, blew out their existing stock at ridiculous prices because they could not be sold after that date.

Interestingly enough, I have an old RCA Lyra mp3 player that will cause my GPS to lose satellite contact, but my newer one doesn't.

[Blrfl]

Strange. My Garmin and my 8500 X50 sit side by side on the dash shelf and appear to ignore one another.

Your Garmin probably doesn't leak the same things his Lowrance does, hence the difference.

--Mark