The factors to be considered when setting up different antennas vary. For household antennas, the main concern is the reception of signals. However, for vehicle-mounted antennas, the setup is related to the polarization waveform of the signal.

       The polarization mode of the common vehicle-mounted GPS vertical antenna is usually vertical. If you insist on using it horizontally, it won't cause any problem as long as the signal strength is sufficient. However, when the signal is weak, the antenna will not be able to effectively sense the electromagnetic waves emitted by the other antenna. Moreover, the signal is weakest in the direction along the extension line of the antenna's two ends. In practical applications, this leads to a decrease in signal reception efficiency and a significant reduction in the effective communication distance.

       The most common types of antennas are suction cups and edge clamps. Suction cups are easy to install and remove, but they tend to scratch the vehicle paint. Even if you wrap red silk around them, the advantage is that they can be placed at the center of the ground grid, making adjustment convenient. Edge clamp bases have the advantage of being firmly fixed, but the ground grid is not uniform.

       Having talked about the selection of the base, let's also discuss the issue of the antenna connection line (feed line). To ensure excellent communication quality, the connection of each part is very important. It is best to minimize the use of adapters as much as possible. At the same time, attention should be paid to the material and thickness of the connection line. Generally, the cables used for installation are the ones that come with the brackets. However, there are also some enthusiasts who prefer to use diamond-shaped fixed-length connection lines. This is of course the best option.

       It is also very important to calculate the length of the connecting cables. For a typical four-door sedan, the connecting cables are approximately 4 meters long, which can basically meet the connection requirements from the front seat to the rear luggage compartment. For recreational vehicles or jeeps, the cables might be slightly longer. When purchasing, it is necessary to accurately estimate the length of the cables to avoid adding additional connectors in the middle, which could reduce the signal strength.

       Once all the preparations are completed, the next step is to choose an appropriate installation location. The antenna installation positions on the vehicle can be on the front engine hood, the roof, and the rear trunk. The signal attenuation will vary depending on the different installation positions due to the different installation methods and the reflection effect of using the vehicle body as a ground grid on the signal. The most ideal installation position is to fix it with a bracket in the middle of the vehicle. Of course, using suction cups will also work well. Compared to this, installing it on the rear trunk position of the vehicle will have a slightly worse effect. Of course, there are also special cases. Everyone can test their car-mounted radio based on different installation positions and take the actual measurement data as the reference.

      Due to the size limitations, the efficiency of the vehicle-mounted antenna is not very high. Therefore, even a slight difference in the quality of the antenna can affect the entire communication process. Currently, the general vehicle-mounted antennas are divided into single-section and multi-section types. The single-section ones are cheaper, but if it's a multi-section device, it's better to be equipped with a multi-section antenna.

      The position of the antenna is extremely important. According to relevant research, the antenna placed at the top center of the cockpit has the highest efficiency because the ground grid is large and uniform, and it is at a high position. It can also be placed on the trunk, but the effect will be relatively poor.