Customer Reviews

Gilsson High Performance Active Antenna (MCX 180 Degree) for Garmin Nuvi 660, 350, 360, 310, 300 StreetPilots i2, i3, i5, c550, c530, 7500, 7200, GPSMA 16ft cable

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I currently own 3 of these Gilsson High Performance Active Antennas. But I have owned 5 over the years (gave 1 to my dad and sold the other to a friend.) I have also have owned the equivalent Garmin units, the GA27C for $99 and the 25MCX for about $30. There's no difference in performance between this $20 Gilsson and the $99 GA27C. But the price difference is actually shocking!

Finally, avoid the $30 Garmin 25MCX. It's performance characteristics are PATHETIC! I actually returned the 1st two thinking they were both faulty. But, after trying a third one with the same pathetic results, I returned it and purchased yet another Gilsson.

My GPS is mounted in the front console, below the dash. It is not an ideal satellite reception location, but in California it's against the law to mount anything on the windshield that will obscure your view. I've purchased the Gilsson antenna after encountering reception problems around tall buildings in a downtown area. Rather then attach the antenna to the roof of the car I've experimented simply placing it on the dash. Not only were the reception problems eliminated, but satellite acquisition on power up improved tremendously. It used to take several minutes for my GPS to acquire a satellite signal. With the Gilsson external antenna it takes less then 30 seconds. As a follow up, I also ended up buying the suction cup antenna mount. There was enough space to attach it to the windshield, behind the rear view mirror. From the drivers' position you can't see the antenna, so it does not obscure in any way the drivers' view of the road. All in all an excellent product.

BOTTOM LINE THE GILSSON ANTENNA WORKS ON MY GARMIN NUVI 750; EVEN INDOORS.

BEFORE THE GILSSON ANTENNA MY GARMIN NUVI 750 WAS GETTING REALLY BAD RECEPTION, AND I COULDN'T EVEN USE SAME TO NAVIGATE.

The different between having a GPS that that works and one that doesn't.
I live in Sao Paulo, Brasil, and the reception without the Gilsson Antenna, was very poor. Sometimes I arrived to my destination and the GPS still didn't catch any satellites.
With the Gilsson antenna it catches almost every satellite and the precision is of about 3 metres (9 feet).
I would definitely recomend it.

I purchased this for an older portable GPS that didn't get good reception inside my truck. This antenna greatly increased reception and works great.

Product works fine. I understand that it can be used as an external antenna outside the vehicle, therefore a 16 foot cord is provided. If it is being used inside the vehicle, a long cord like that is not needed. It should be offered with a 4 foot cord also.

I bought this antenna from an Amazon vendor after comparing reviews of similar antennas. My experience is only one data point, but this antenna functioned for only a bit more than a month before failing. It was mounted on the cowl of my Toyota Landcruiser, so not in a place of extra ordinary heat, vibration or other conditions that I would have thought might cause failure in a product purportedly intended for use on a vehicle or vessel.

For the short time it did work, it was not noticeably better than a less expensive Garmin auxiliary antenna I owned previously. The Garmin died after about 18 months, and was mounted in a similar spot on my Range Rover Classic.

For the record, this vendor warrantied the antenna and offered an immediate replacement.

This item came without instructions. It took me a while to figure out how to attach it to my Garmin Nuvi, and I had to contact Gilsson to find out how to detach it. After contacting them I realized it's meant to be used on the outside of the vehicle. The Gilsson antenna generally adds bother to using the Garmin, and only in a few instances (driving near skyscrapers) does it add any accuracy (which you can measure for yourself using the satellite location screen on your Nuvi). In that circumstance it is minimally helpful.