Mobius USB cable generating GPS interference - help!

[Stanczyk]

I bought a Mobius on Techmoan.com review. I'm very happy with the camera in general but the GPS interference is slightly annoying.

I get GPS signal interference with my Garmin Streetpilot 2610. Unmodified, from 16 inches away, the mobius will completely block GPS reception from the Garmin. I've covered the Mobius in aluminum foil and that has stopped the interference when running on battery power. But I'm not interference free yet.

The stock 3 meter USB is generating interference too. I lose about 20% of signal strength when ANY USB cable I've tried is plugged in to the Mobius. Just plugging in the Mobius will drop the reception, plugging in the other end has no effect on the interference.

I've been to Radio Shack (We're really short on helpful electronic shops around here in Denver.) and bought several cable chokes without much improvement.

Help.

 

[jokiin]

What power supply are you using, some are electrically quite noisy and the cable accentuates the problem acting like an antenna

Have you got another power source you can try, USB power bank or similar maybe?

 

[Stanczyk]

I think the cable is acting like an antenna for the mobius not the USB power supply because the power supply isn't plugged in yet.

With the GPS running and locked on to satalites:
Turn on the mobius on battery power: No interference.
Plug in usb cable to mobius, leaving other end unplugged: Interference. 20% loss of signal.
Plug in second end of usb cable: interference. 20% loss of signal.

Now would a good USB power supply do something to the USB cable to reduce the intreference?
I'm using a 12v to usb cell phone power adapter branded by Verizon. It's not likely to be top of the line quality.

 

[Gurkha9]

You are right about the cable acting like an antenna, this happens in one car of mine but not on the other. Don't know what the solution would be.

 

[BobDiaz]

A ferrite core or bead will help reduce RF noise. You run the cable through the core and snap it shut. Try to put 2 cores, one at each end of the cable and get it as close to each plug.

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/category/235/Ferrites/1.html

 

[murcod]

Are all USB cables shielded in the same fashion? Perhaps there are higher quality leads available with better electrical shielding?

 

[BobDiaz]

It's possible that someone makes a high end USB Cable with the cores already attached. However, I can't recall seeing one.

 

[DaveP]

You are right about the cable acting like an antenna, this happens in one car of mine but not on the other. Don't know what the solution would be.

Are you using different power adapters (12 to 5v) in each car ?

 

[niko]

A ferrite core or bead will help reduce RF noise. You run the cable through the core and snap it shut. Try to put 2 cores, one at each end of the cable and get it as close to each plug.

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/category/235/Ferrites/1.html

Good point !

For example high-end Urive Albatriss II power cable has them already installed from factory

 

[Dashmellow]

It's possible that someone makes a high end USB Cable with the cores already attached. However, I can't recall seeing one.

Monoprice has variety of high quality shielded USB A to Mini-USB B 5 pin cables with or without a ferrite core at very attractive prices.

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030302&p_id=5449&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030302&p_id=3897&seq=1&format=2

 

[Gurkha9]

Are you using different power adapters (12 to 5v) in each car ?

Same USB adapter but different cables. The one with the built in ferrite core from Monoprice that Dashmellow recommends is a lot better at reducing interference but does not eliminate it altogether.
When I say interference I am not referring to GPS interference but radio (AM). I have no issues using an Android phone as a GPS within the car and the Mobius at the same time.

 

[Dashmellow]

Same USB adapter but different cables. The one with the built in ferrite core from Monoprice that Dashmellow recommends is a lot better at reducing interference but does not eliminate it altogether.
When I say interference I am not referring to GPS interference but radio (AM). I have no issues using an Android phone as a GPS within the car and the Mobius at the same time.

Thanks for the hands-on feedback about the Monoprice cables. Sorry to learn that the cable is only partially effective in eliminating interference but it can still be part of the fix-it. I didn't realize you were referring to AM band RFI. These days automobile manufacturers are providing radios with poor AM performance and instead put the money into better FM components. Many people discover that the AM radios in their late model cars don't perform as well as radios in older vehicles. One of the things you can try is to install an aftermarket RFI filter on the radio itself. There are various approaches and some people use more than one at the same time if RFI is really bad. There are static filters, suppressors and noise filters. Some filter the power going into the radio and some filters are placed in the antenna path. Some examples can be found HERE.

This article may also be helpful.