From Don at Planet 9: "The factory GPS antenna is mounted on an aluminum plate located above the cabin air filter on the port side under the cowl plastic. The aluminum plate works as a "ground plane" which improves the performance of the antenna. Putting it on the chassis like you did should work fine, but you should try to get the antenna mounted horizontally so that when you turn corners the axis isn't pivoting. It is a PITA to get to that plate - best way would be to remove the cowl plastic, I did it by getting my hands under the cowl - they came out slightly bloody though. I'm curious how well the LTE antenna works where you mounted it. I originally mounted mine on the right side "A" pillar, vertically mounted (obviously) - and I got somewhat spotty reception and poor reception in my garage. I finally figured out (duh) that by mounting it there, the back side of it would be blocked by the metal tubing located inside the A-pillar on one side of the antenna. Since it's a dipole sort of design that wasn't ideal, in certain directions the tubing would block its line of sight access to a cell tower. So - I moved it to the top center of the windshield and mounted it horizontally. That improved things - I get a decent signal in my garage now (3 bars) and fewer dropouts. I later read somewhere that this sort of antenna should be mounted vertically (long way up and down), so I'm thinking about making that change. The only issue is - the sticky tape on the antenna once stuck down does not remove easily - partly destroying the antenna by removing it. So - I found the same antenna, two for about $6 on AliExpress with a bit longer cable which worked well on my installation. - The other thing - I actually LOL'd (unusual for me) when I saw you getting frustrated with the mass of wires in the back of the PCM box. I don't think there is a good answer to those - it's a tight fit no matter how you do it once you put the adaptor cable on the factory harness to the radio. The fact that you weren't cursing shows you're much more mellow than I am.. One trick I might suggest - when running cables in and out of that box - find a huge tie-wrap.. A police-size one - maybe 18/24" long, 1/2" wide. You can use this as a "fish tape" - commonly used by electricians to pull wire through walls without being able to see where the wire is going. You can push this through the slots and side-holes in the PCM box from up top, and have the end pushed through come out below/behind the box. Then you can tape the cable you're installing (I use blue painter's tape and try to remember to leave a tab to make it easier to remove) to the tie-wrap and pull it and the attached cable up through the hole/slot to the inside of the box. I only thought of this after many frustrating tries at feeding cables around the box.. but it works quite well. Keep those videos coming! Loving them." See the full post here: www.planet-9.com/threads/guides-for-987.253776/post-2221309
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![🛠 Install a DAB and GPS antenna in the bumper - Tutorial DIY Boxster 986 Porsche 996 [Eng Sub]](/img/tr.png)
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From Don at Planet 9:
"The factory GPS antenna is mounted on an aluminum plate located above the cabin air filter on the port side under the cowl plastic. The aluminum plate works as a "ground plane" which improves the performance of the antenna. Putting it on the chassis like you did should work fine, but you should try to get the antenna mounted horizontally so that when you turn corners the axis isn't pivoting. It is a PITA to get to that plate - best way would be to remove the cowl plastic, I did it by getting my hands under the cowl - they came out slightly bloody though.
I'm curious how well the LTE antenna works where you mounted it.
I originally mounted mine on the right side "A" pillar, vertically mounted (obviously) - and I got somewhat spotty reception and poor reception in my garage. I finally figured out (duh) that by mounting it there, the back side of it would be blocked by the metal tubing located inside the A-pillar on one side of the antenna. Since it's a dipole sort of design that wasn't ideal, in certain directions the tubing would block its line of sight access to a cell tower.
So - I moved it to the top center of the windshield and mounted it horizontally. That improved things - I get a decent signal in my garage now (3 bars) and fewer dropouts. I later read somewhere that this sort of antenna should be mounted vertically (long way up and down), so I'm thinking about making that change. The only issue is - the sticky tape on the antenna once stuck down does not remove easily - partly destroying the antenna by removing it. So - I found the same antenna, two for about $6 on AliExpress with a bit longer cable which worked well on my installation.
- The other thing - I actually LOL'd (unusual for me) when I saw you getting frustrated with the mass of wires in the back of the PCM box. I don't think there is a good answer to those - it's a tight fit no matter how you do it once you put the adaptor cable on the factory harness to the radio. The fact that you weren't cursing shows you're much more mellow than I am..
One trick I might suggest - when running cables in and out of that box - find a huge tie-wrap.. A police-size one - maybe 18/24" long, 1/2" wide. You can use this as a "fish tape" - commonly used by electricians to pull wire through walls without being able to see where the wire is going. You can push this through the slots and side-holes in the PCM box from up top, and have the end pushed through come out below/behind the box. Then you can tape the cable you're installing (I use blue painter's tape and try to remember to leave a tab to make it easier to remove) to the tie-wrap and pull it and the attached cable up through the hole/slot to the inside of the box. I only thought of this after many frustrating tries at feeding cables around the box.. but it works quite well.
Keep those videos coming! Loving them."
See the full post here: www.planet-9.com/threads/guides-for-987.253776/post-2221309