There’s no question about the fact that GPS is an awesome invention of modern technology. Life has become much easier for the average person who has GPS in their car and life has become safer for the adventure seeker hiking in remote places or hunting in winter.

For these domains, GPS brings a very clear advantage to modern life because it is a two-way system. Not only can GPS guide people to their destinations, it can also allow a lost hiker or hunter to be found based on a signal that his or her GPS is emitting.

All that being said, there’s still the question of transmission when it comes to GPS; GPS is a great tool, but only if it works. In some remote areas, GPS units without antennas don’t work.

Unfortunately, this takes away from the overall efficiency of the idea of having a GPS cell phone, handheld or automobile system. The addition of an antenna to your GPS system just might be what’s lacking if you find yourself losing signal more often than you’d like.

I Thought My GPS Already Had an Antenna!

You’re right, in most cases, GPS units have antennas built right in to them; however, this is not the case for all GPS units; some units need an external antenna.

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As technology improves, these built-in antennas will become more and more powerful, but for the time being, the built-in GPS antennas are not always sufficient.

The most common culprits of lost signal are valleys/canyons, and heavy tree cover. This is because your GPS unit gets its signal out of the air - quite literally, out of the sky; therefore, when the unit can’t efficiently access the signals coming from above (either because of interference or distance) the result is temporary loss of signal.

Temporary loss of signal to your GPS is not always a large problem. On the other hand, when the temporary loss of signal lasts 20 minutes, it’s entirely possible that you’ve driven 20 miles out of your way in that time.

After a few times of this happening to consumers, they most often turn to a GPS antenna to solve their problem.

An external antenna, in addition to your GPS’s built-in antenna, improves the signal-receiving capacity of your device. In less crucial situations, an external antenna is probably not worth the added expense; however, for people who really mean business, the added convenience an antenna brings to GPS is a buy well-worth its price.

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