Home > Consumer Reviews > Garmin GA26 Remote Vehicle Antenna for StreetPilot II+ and III+

What a great plus for anyone who uses their GPS for their car. I bought this antenna for my StreetPilot III. As I opened the box, I was surprised how small and compact it really is (about the size of a cell phone). I chose to use the suction cup method which took literally 30 seconds to assemble. It simply entailed taking off the antenna on the StreetPilot III and replacing it with the antenna and then screwing the antenna to the suction cup mount. Then I took the suction cup and mounted it first on my windshield. When it usually takes up to a minute to sufficiently aquire satellites, the antenna allowed me to aquire over six satellites within 15 seconds. I also suctioned it on to the side window with the same success. By the way, if you choose to mount it on the outside of the vehicle, it simply involves screwing the antenna to a magnet which magnetically sticks to the car. There is no screwing into the car itself! Also, it has enough cable to run wherever needed. This is a great product!

This antenna really works well. The satellite aquisition time is greatly reduced. I can mount the GPS anywhere without worrying about keeping a clear view of the sky.

I have a Buick Rendezvous and unfortunately the windshield has some kind of coating on it that makes it next to impossible for the StreetPilot 2720 to find any satellites. There's a spot at the top of the windshield that doesn't have this coating, but holding the GPS up to this spot isn't an acceptable solution. This antenna is an effective work-around to that problem. If you don't have a coated windshield than I doubt you really need this. My SP-2720 works fine in other cars without it. I haven't tried moving the antenna outside of the vehicle (how do you run the cable?) because I'm content with the suction mount. For me, this antenna was a necessary addition and I'm glad I got it. I'd rather not have had to buy this thing, but at least Amazon had an excellent deal on it and it works as advertised.

The Garmin GA27C external GPS antenna works great! But the "Gilsson High Performance active remote external" antenna provides the same performance for $20 compared to $100. Avoid the Garmin 25MCX. It's performance is pathetic. I've written detailed reviews on Amazon of the 25MCX and the Gilsson. But the bottom line is: Get the Gilsson.

I use the magnetic mount to put the antenna on the roof of my truck. I usually am READY TO NAVIGATE by the time I turn out of my driveway. Also, I never loose satelite connection while I am driving because of trees or tall buildings. A GREAT improvement over the units antenna.