GPS - do overcast days like in central ohio affect GPS?

I tried a gps - it worked on and off, and I wonder if the weather can have a large affect on its ability to perform. The unit I tried was a magellan 300 roadmate. It cost 299.99, but I am willing to spend more on a reliable unit.



Can weather cause the unit to not pickup a signal - is this common?GPS - do overcast days like in central ohio affect GPS?
magellan 300 comes with a b uilt in antenna that is mounted on the GPS device; that is usually positioned/ fixed inside your car on above the dash board/ below the windshield etc which means that even in good conditions; the receiver will get moderate signal levels provided that 1. its using a built in - probably passive antenna-.

2. the antenna - which is mounted on the device is placed inside the car/ even if close to the windshield.



answering your question.. yes weather affects GPS signal reception.

but using a GPS device with an external active antenna that is usually mounted above the roof top of your car will surely provide you with better reception levels on both clear and story weather conditions. you can also try adding an external antenna to your device. try here

http://www.amazon.com/Performance-extern鈥?/a>GPS - do overcast days like in central ohio affect GPS?
Considering a GPS unit uses satellite signals it is possible the weather affects reception.GPS - do overcast days like in central ohio affect GPS?
GPS units will work during overcast days. Cloud cover or other weather conditions, for the most part, won't affect the reception of the unit. GPS signals are blocked by solid objects, such as a roof when inside, or even the metal roof of a car- sometimes just moving the unit from the dashboard where the unit receives the signals through the windshield to the center armrest will cause the unit to not receive the signals.



However, the atmospheric conditions do affect the radio signals that the unit receives. This can affect the timing of the signal, which in theory degrades the accuracy of the unit- also known as dilution of precision. In real life use, this is negligible and if the unit is receiving more than 5 satellites you probably won't notice- the difference is several feet at most. Also differential GPS such as WAAS will reduce that error even further.