Guest

can you tint the window even though the manual says no????

yee

all I know is that you can't use the glossy ones like the RX300 have because it disturbs your antenna's frequency

btw, where in the manual does it say you can't??

ArN 2000 TL

Just have to vent....this is the biggest BS. Tint will have no affect on the GPS antenna. It is built INTO the glass and the tint goes ON TOP OF IT, which means it is still on the outer part of the window....observe my awesome drawing

-------------------------outer glass
--------------------antenna (fm and gps)
---------------tint

therefore tint has no affect unless it is VERY reflective like really good mirror tint. I have 20% metallic which is very reflective during the sunny days and have NO problems at all......just my .02

edgalang

True, it wont be affected. BUT! the antenna really isnt that mettalic stuff on the window like most people would think. I believe it's really that small stub on the very top of the rear window.

Edub-TL

Isn't that little stub for the defroster? If you follow the defroster lines all the way up, it goes into that box at the very top of the rear window..

btw, did your defroster line ghosts ever go away?? Mine are better, but I still see them when there are headlights behind me..
And are ya coming this Saturday?

edgalang

Hmm...maybe. THe reason why I thought that would be for the nav was that the rental cars my friend got had the magellan nav systems in it. They all seemed to have a Stub attached to the trunk and I could only assume that was for the NAV. As for the ghost lines, I almost dont notice it anymore. Maybe its me, or I just dont look in the rear view mirror enough cuz I'm too busy passing people up instead. Good thing you reminded me about this Saturday. I wasnt going to do anything this weekend except to wash and wax the car...its been like 3 weeks i think since I've washed it plus I kinda took it off roading over the weekend so it kinda looks nasty. I hope I can make it though, but if I do, then I'll be attending in a dirty car

ucla107

hmmm... i wonder if its true.. cuz my navi DOES act a little dumber than normal lately.. and i just got my windows tinted like a little over a month ago....

sometimes it doesn't pick up a signal and the "satellite" will be yellow or it'll have no "bars"... if anyone has the same problem please post

daverman

The GPS antenna is that little "chocolate truffle" box sitting on the right hand side of the rear window.

Jacobian

If you get non metalic tint, you will not have a problem. Metalic tint may interfere, although most users have said they only noticed longer delays in picking up satellites. Otherwise, their systems still worked.

Personally, I see no reason to take the chance.

Regardless of the position of the antenna with respect to the metallic tint, you will still change the performance characteristics if there is metal in proximity of the antenna itself. The technical explanation or proof is fairly complicated, but pick up any electromagnetics book and turn to the section on wave guides, and you'll see.

Erik

daverman

The GPS antenna is a microstrip and is relatively flat; I think the presence of metal around the antenna will not affect its effectiveness. But placing what amounts to a large ground plane between the antenna and the sky will severely attenuate the signal.

I wonder if the tint film can be cut around the GPS antenna?

ZodiakTL

thats why i got the alpine aftermarkter gps system. not is it only better in virtually every aspect, but it also has an antena that u can place newhere in the car, and mine is in the front, so tint does not affect me at all :p

Rastafarian

Anyone know if it's true that tinting windows will interfere with the performance of a radar detector? I've read this on another site and it made me think twice about tinting.

ZodiakTL

i actually conducted tests with my V1 and Fiddler's V1 both in my car after i put the radar behind the tinted strip up on top of the windshield. the performance was virtually identical. i actually got front signals earlier then he did(probably due to height,) while his radar in normal mounting position was able to keep track of signals behind the car a bit longer. but the whole differences was maybe between 20-50 ft. which i dont think is significant.

edgalang

must not be a metallic tint. I think the article was posted on speedzone about how metallic tint affects radar signals.

gohawks63

I have non-metallic tint for close to a month and have not had any problems. The only time the bars turn yellow are when I'm going down a HEAVILY tree-lined street. What I mean by Heavily tree-lined is where the trees block out the sky and it seems as though you're driving through a tunnel.

You should be fine.