Garmin Streetpilot GPS Receiver

This is the ORIGINAL Garmin Street Pilot GPS - vintage around 1998. They are quite durable units. While they don't have a full-color display, or many of the latest 'bells and whistles', these units are solid trackers - and being quite reasonably priced on the Used market, make for a good introduction to GPS technology for newcomers.

I have had mine mounted on the dash of my Freightliner, since buying it new in 1999. They were $699 back then - much cheaper now. Through nearly a million miles of jolts and vibrations, it has never given a single problem. It's still going strong, and I still use it on a daily basis.

I have long ago lost count of all the times the Street Pilot has kept me from missing a turnoff, or enabled me to quickly and reliably backtrack my way out of a bad spot. It, or one of the many newer models out there now, is an absolutely indispensible Tool for the long-haul traveller.

I rate the original Street Pilot EXCELLENT for its long-term durability (mine being at 8 years and still going), and its ease of operation.

It doesn't Talk to you, like some newer models do, but that's fine by me. The 2-tone Black & Orange display isn't as colorful as the newer Color displays, but it does get the job done - and I would argue that it is less of a distraction while driving. It distinguishes between day and night by reversing contrast, and provides the essential information in a quick-read form.

It's primary shortcoming, compared to newer models, is the amount of road detail in its fixed database. It only has established primary highways, with a handful of major thoroughfares shown in cities. This still works fine for long-haul trucking (as I do), but auto drivers may desire more road detail.

The original Street Pilot has a provision for adding that detail, in the form of 26 optional plug-in modules (which could be quite hard to come by now) with street-level detailed maps for different areas of the continent. Newer units, in contrast, often come with a CD-ROM featuring the street-level detail for the whole continent - and a few of the newer units have enough memory capacity to actually store all that info.

I will echo another reviewer's recommendation - that of adding an External Antenna - as it does greatly improve the reliability of the unit. They are small, easily installed, and can be found on eBay for $30 or less. Well worth the additional investment.

In summation: If you're looking for a GPS unit that can reliably guide you from town to town, with constant tracking of how far you've gone and how far remains, then the original Street Pilot will probably serve you just fine. If you're wanting address-to-address guidance with automatic routing, you will need to look at newer models which have that capability.

This gps receiver is one of the best out there. It's tuff as nails so you can take it anywhere. Practically (but not) waterproof. Extremely easy to use, however the only complaint I'd have is that it's hard to mount.

Sellers that advertise that the Streetpilot 111 can be used for marine purposes, fail to tell you that this unit is 2001-2002 vintage, it also will cost you $140.00+ for the Inland Lakes Map download. You have to be careful in buying update as there is only one version that will work. You should call Garmin if buying update. You can easily end up with a $300.00 unit if you buy the map update. After downloading update, the screen is so small that it is not great as a marine GPS.

The Garmin 2730 is a great GPS and has all of the features I was looking for. Except that the unit keeps rebooting for no reason at all and it happens at 5 to 10 minute intervals. I brought a new power cord thinking that was the problem but the problem presisted. I have contacted the seller but I have not gotten a reply.

I'm very unsatisficed so far with this transaction.

I would love it if it actually worked, yes it powers up but no satilites will enquire my position! I believe the seller knew this and sold it anyways saying it worked fine so watch what you buy from this guy!!!