Customer Reviews

GlobalSat BU-353 Waterproof USB GPS Receiver

5 star:		(160)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This GPS is awesome!!! I have struggled with trying to interface handheld GPS to my laptop for a couple of years. I live aboard a sailboat in the Caribbean using navigation software to plan my passages and have been frustrated trying to use my handheld GPS input which resulted in continual problems. That has all been changed using this new GPS and couldn't be happier with it's ease of installation and awesome performance. It picks up the signal below at my nav station, aquires quickly and performs without causing any problems with my computer. I have tried several systems and this unit outperforms them and I cannot recommend this unit highly enough, you will not be sorry...

I am a over-the-road truck driver and my blue-tooth gps unit started going out on me so I looked around for a replacement. Most of the review were positive and that had me really looking at this inexpensive gps. One person talked about loose connection I wonder if it might have been the user that had the loose connection as I have never had a problem with my laptop and gps bouncing around inside of the truck losing connection. I like the idea of a usb unit as I had already tried the blue-tooth versions and the batteries just do not last well for me as I drive between 5 to 11 hours a day. I have waited for several weeks after purchase and use to write this review as I wanted to give it a good try. I have drive all around the country during that time and I have been places where the road was next to a mountain cut-out on both sides of the road and still had gps lock the only places that I have lost gps signal was when I went through mountain tunnels but it picks back the signal on the other side within seconds. I would recommend this to anyone even if you are not a truck driver.

This is the fastest lock GPS device I have used, and I have used about a dozen. One thing though-I was having trouble with it crashing my Vista laptop after a couple hours of use. I Solved this by going to Control Panel->Hardware and Sound->Device Manager->Under Ports->Select Properties of Prolific USB-to-Serial...->Port Settings->Change Flow Control to Hardware then->Select Advanced->Change both buffers to 1. And that totally solved the blue screen issue I was having.
Great product, best available USB GPS.

Very simple to use and very reliable. I've used this device with SeaClear II navigation software for nautical and auto navigation and have yet to find a problem. Comes with a CD that will help you define a com port (meaning you'll assign one of your USB slots for use with the GPS). Also included is basic software to test and configure the device.

An excellent value!

I replaced my Deluo GPS with the Globalsat and have been very impressed at how fast it acquired the satellites. I use it with Microsoft Streets & Trips 2006 and it works great. I would highly recommend the device.

The only downside is DO NOT BOOT-UP a Dell Notebook with the Globalsat GPS USB plugged in or Windows could crash. I find it better to unplug the USB connection when I power down the notebook pc.

purchased this GPS unit because of the fast satellite acquire times and great GPS lock. I was not disappointed. This unit replaces my DeLorme Earthmate which was good, but this unit is unreal. I set up a route from inside my house and got the GPS lock in a couple seconds! This is so much faster than the DeLorme and I could never have done it in the house. Usually it always takes 1 to 2 minutes to get the GPS lock with the DeLorme and that's outside in the driveway. Talk about keeping a lock, this unit never dropped the 3D signal once on a very hilly, high foliage and rural area on the 125 mile trip. The DeLorme unit always dropped the 3D signal at least 5 times over the same route. The DeLorme unit is very good, but this one is fantastic! This GPS unit is always locked onto at least 8 to 10 satellites. This unit is also much more accurate, especially estimating the time to the next turn. It seems to have very accurate vechile speed determination. The DeLorme was always way off by 30 or more seconds. This unit computes the time to within a second. I do like the DeLorme software and if you purchase this GPS unit you will be very happy. Now I'll have to try it in the downtown area.

This one is a five-star keeper.

The setup was dirt simple - just follow the simple instructions about how to get it to talk on a COM port and you are ready to use it. Then tell your software what COM port to read from. That's it.

It locks on as soon as it sees the sky (faster than you can bring up Map Point). Fast as in sets new standards for how fast it locks on. I just tossed it to the front of the dashboard of the rental car and it was happy. The magnet works (doesn't blow off at Freeway speeds) and the suction cup works (holds to the inside of the windshield just fine), but I really did not need them.

I used it to calibrate the speedometer in my cars (with the help of a co-driver to call out speeds). One car was accurate and the other was way off.

I used it (with the latest version of Map Point) on a trip into the hills and redwoods of California on a dark, foggy, rainy night and it got me there just fine. A laptop screen makes for one huge GPS display. The trip would have been hopeless without the unit.

You will need your own software package (such as Map Point) to use it. You need a laptop or device that has a USB port.

I keep it in my laptop bag so that I always have it when I'm on the go.

I purchased this as a replacement for my GPS that came with Microsofts Streets and Trips. What wonderful unit. It starts to track in about half the time as my other unit.
It even picks up the satelites indoors for me. Unlike my other unit that would loose tracking under an outdoor canopy.
I also like the magnet on the back of the receiver that holds it in place on my dash or any other metal object. No more sticking suction cups to the windshield. i cant recommend this product enough.

I purchased this GPS before making a road trip around the country. I used it with Microsoft Streets and Trips, and I never got lost. Great response time and refresh rates. Picks up satellites quickly. Easy to install, worked great in conjunction with Streets and Trips.

I'm using this receiver with a CarPC. This gets a 3D lock by the time the PC has come out of hibernation into the NAV software. Can't say enough. If you're looking, get this!