Two gps antennas

[Tony M]

Has anyone ever put two GPS antenna is on an RV 12 IS? I have the issue of GPS 20A needs a GA 35 antenna and the Garmin G3X panels want a GA 56 antenna. I want to have touch display as back up GPS.

Or a better question can I just use GA57 antenna with both units with a splitter and that would also deal with xm that would be ideal?

[bjdecker]

I don't have an RV-12, but I do have 3 GPS antennas in my RV-7; GA 35 for the GTN 650, GA 26 for the G3X Touch GDU 460, and GA 37 for the G3X Touch GDU 465.

No issues or interference noted.


Cheers!

[BobTurner]

Originally Posted by Tony M

Or a better question can I just use GA57 antenna with both units with a splitter and that would also deal with xm that would be ideal?

Without a very careful investigation, splitters should be avoided. (1) many antennas these days have a built-in amplifier. The receiver is looking for a specific signal level from the antenna, different boxes may have different requirements. (2) GPS signals are very weak, I wouldn't give up half the signal from a non-amplified antenna;(3) the amplifiers are powered by dc running up the coax. You'd need a splitter that didn't interfere with that, and could tolerate additional dc running up from the other receiver.

[rongawer]

Originally Posted by Tony M

Has anyone ever put two GPS antenna is on an RV 12 IS? I have the issue of GPS 20A needs a GA 35 antenna and the Garmin G3X panels want a GA 56 antenna. I want to have touch display as back up GPS.

Or a better question can I just use GA57 antenna with both units with a splitter and that would also deal with xm that would be ideal?

I have a GA 35 and GA 56 side-by-side with 6" separation on the tailcone just behind the turtle deck bulkhead of my -12. They work great there. You can see them in the first photo of the linked article.

RV-12 build article

[Tony M]

Thanks everyone for the replies. And so that?s the new plan to use both.