Thanks and a question

[orangetoad]

Firstly I want to say thanks to everyone who has posted on dashcamtalk.

I have spent weeks on this forum researching dashcams ready for my 1st cam purchase. I wanted something small and discreet but that was as much as I knew about dashcams.

To cut a long story short I changed my mind loads of times but finally came down to Street Guardian and the SGZC12RC.

I would secondly like to thank Hiniko, from whom I ordered the camera last Wednesday and received it on Monday this week, great service as I note that it had obviously been checked before dispatch as even the time and date had been set up for me. Can’t think of any electrical item I have bought from a retailer where they have checked the contents are working before selling it to me before so thanks!

I installed everything on Tuesday, ordered the left angle L-shape usb lead as well and that really does make for a neat install, everything works perfectly can’t fault it at all perfect for me.

Now the question. It’s installed in a 2015 Ford Ranger and I thought I must have pulled a cable or something when installing it as that day the built in Ford SatNav stopped getting a GPS lock and I have been trying to find out what I have done for the past few days and tonight I discover that if I turn the SGZC12RC off suddenly the SatNav gets GPS lock again, playing round further if I turn the main unit on but disconnect the camera the SatNav gets lock but the second I plug the camera back in GPS lock gone.

Could the camera be emitting an electromagnetic field that is disrupting the GPS sensor which is built into the dashboard at the base of the windscreen? Any advice or info anyone has would be useful as I currently have a choice of using the dashcam or the SatNav but not both at once.

 

[abarth]

the wiring that came with the camera indicated that it was shielded. the L-shaped USB lead that you used may not be. have you tried just using the included lead? it may be a factor.

 

[orangetoad]

Good point, I will try it without l-shape cable however it came from hiniko who has tested them as shielded and suitable but it could always be a bad one!

 

[jokiin]

do you know where the GPS antenna is mounted in the vehicle, if the base unit is too close that could have an effect

 

[orangetoad]

The GPS antenna is centre of the dashboard just next to the windscreen, the base unit is in a little compartment above the foot pedals, if I leave the base unit on but unplug the lead from the side of the camera GPS gets a satellite lock so don't think the base unit is to blame unless the base unit only causes interference when it is receiving a signal from the camera. The camera is behind the rear view mirror and the GPS antenna is directly below in the dashboard.

 

[jokiin]

it's uncommon to have that kind of effect from that distance, the external camera (still used in the same location though) might be better for your situation as it's enclosed in a metal housing which would shield it and prevent any unwanted EMF, maybe something that can be tested, will need to speak with @niko to work that out

 

[orangetoad]

So it could be the camera then. Best thing for me to try tomorrow evening then is to detach the camera from the wind screen and using the longer USB lead that I didn't need have the camera working outside the vehicle i.e. away from the GPS antenna and see if I get satellite lock. I will keep you posted. Thanks.

 

[niko]

adapters are double-shielded. I tested them all and cut few to be 100% sure

 

[niko]

So it could be the camera then. Best thing for me to try tomorrow evening then is to detach the camera from the wind screen and using the longer USB lead that I didn't need have the camera working outside the vehicle i.e. away from the GPS antenna and see if I get satellite lock. I will keep you posted. Thanks.

As for test purpose you can wrap camera unit into kitchen-foil to see if this improves performance of your in-car GPS ? So then we can go further from there with other ideas / solutions.

 

[orangetoad]

Well good news (mostly), I removed the camera from the screen and plugged the longer lead into it and held it ouside the car while watching the satnav signal lock, then started bringing it closer to the centre of the windscreen to see how far in I got untill I lost lock, to my surprise full signal 9 satalites and it was back in it's original position behind the rear view mirror! Hmm I thought definately not the camera then, so i then plugged the L-shaped adapter cable into the system and straight away no signal.

So the good news is the camera and base unit deffinately don't give any trouble to the ford SatNav on this truck but unfortuantely the L-Shaped adapter does, it is either a rogue faulty one or my Ford SatNav is ultra sensative with where the GPS antenna is located.

So thanks Abarth you called it on this one, and thanks Jokiin for your suport, and I'm sorry Hiniko but for me this appears to have issues - as I say probably a one off as no one else has had a problem. I would be happy to post back the cable for you to test and would love to try another one as without the L-Shape adapter the install is definately not as neat.

 

[orangetoad]

Actually after even more testing, I find that the longer 5m cable must be shielded the best as this doesn't affect the GPS lock at all, but the shorter 2m cable knocks my GPS lock down to 2 or 3 satellites, and using the L-Shaped adapter cable with either the 5m or 2m kills it totally. So am more inclined to think that it is my SatNav being ultra sensitive rather than a bad cable.

 

[niko]

Well good news (mostly), I removed the camera from the screen and plugged the longer lead into it and held it ouside the car while watching the satnav signal lock, then started bringing it closer to the centre of the windscreen to see how far in I got untill I lost lock, to my surprise full signal 9 satalites and it was back in it's original position behind the rear view mirror! Hmm I thought definately not the camera then, so i then plugged the L-shaped adapter cable into the system and straight away no signal.

So the good news is the camera and base unit deffinately don't give any trouble to the ford SatNav on this truck but unfortuantely the L-Shaped adapter does, it is either a rogue faulty one or my Ford SatNav is ultra sensative with where the GPS antenna is located.

So thanks Abarth you called it on this one, and thanks Jokiin for your suport, and I'm sorry Hiniko but for me this appears to have issues - as I say probably a one off as no one else has had a problem. I would be happy to post back the cable for you to test and would love to try another one as without the L-Shape adapter the install is definately not as neat.

Thanks for testing.
Probably vehicle specific.
One more thing you can test. There is unshielded area on cables plug end, about 2cm on each side of the female and male connector. Also there is about 1-2mm exposed when you connect adapter to video cable. Probably this area may give interference to your in-car GPS, however in my car there is no problem with it. Anyway, you may try to wrap into kitchen foil connectors area and see if this makes any difference ?

 

[orangetoad]

I will give this a try tomorrow as an intersting experiment, put it all back for tonight but will let you know what I find.

Hopefully someone might learn something from this, at least we now know that if installed in a Ford Ranger with factory fit SatNav extra attention needs to be paid to the cables used and the Ranger is quite common in Australia.

Still love the SGZC12RC though - even more now this problem has been sorted!

 

[niko]

I will give this a try tomorrow as an intersting experiment, put it all back for tonight but will let you know what I find.

Hopefully someone might learn something from this, at least we now know that if installed in a Ford Ranger with factory fit SatNav extra attention needs to be paid to the cables used and the Ranger is quite common in Australia.

Still love the SGZC12RC though - even more now this problem has been sorted!

Yeah, out of curiosity please do this experiment, if this makes any difference to see if my assumptions in regards to non-shielded area make sense?
L-shape adapter I am going to take back if no use for your car.

 

[orangetoad]

Hiniko, just to let you know that I tried the L-Shaped lead back in the loop but covered the whole cable and particularly the joint in aluminium foil. Surprisingly it still killed the GPS signal. Can't explain.
Anyway thanks for the offer of taking the lead back but I will keep it, plan to buy another Street guardian for the wife's car later in the year and she doesn't have built in GPS so it will work fine there.

 

[niko]

Hiniko, just to let you know that I tried the L-Shaped lead back in the loop but covered the whole cable and particularly the joint in aluminium foil. Surprisingly it still killed the GPS signal. Can't explain.
Anyway thanks for the offer of taking the lead back but I will keep it, plan to buy another Street guardian for the wife's car later in the year and she doesn't have built in GPS so it will work fine there.

Thanks for testing. Probably vehicle specific with combination of aftermarket adapter which works on most cars, but in your case not.
Anyway, remind me about this case and I will look after you on your new order.