Yes it matters a lot
GPS is most accurate when the antenna has a 360 deg view of the sky.
Anything that blocks the view of a satellite can make the GPS reading less accurate.
The GPS satellite signals are not very strong and easily blocked by trees or objects.
I recommend putting the GPS antenna up above the boat so that it has a good view of the entire sky to get best accuracy.
It will work but not as good as it should or could if you mount it on the deck.
Below the deck it will be out of sight of a lot of the GPS satellites and not work very well at all.
You need at least three good satellite signals to get a longitude, latitude and height reading using GPS. The more satellite signals your gps can receive the better and more accurate it will be.
The WAAS satellite is one of the most important ones to see and it's not very high above the horizon so you need a high up puck position in order for the antenna to see the WAAS satellite.
Hope this helps.
PS put the antenna as close to the transducer as possible to get the best accuracy when marking waypoints.
Originally Posted by stoner
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