Garmin StreetPilot® 2730

[BornFree_n_Now]

Does anyone know what the storage media type and size are for the Garmin StreetPilot® 2730?

[robert]

You might find your answer here:

http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topi ... C_ID=46787

[BornFree_n_Now]

You might find your answer here:

http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topi ... C_ID=46787

Thank you, it proved a valuable resource

[KTnLen]

I bought the StreetPilot 2730 for my rig about a month ago, and it has been a wonderful device. I purchased it from "GPS On Sale" for just under $850 including shipping cost, and it arrived within a week.

I use it in my coach and two other cars, and have had no problems moving it between vehicles, using the beanbag base in the cars, and the stickon base in the coach, plus just laying the 'hockey puck' antenna on the dash near the windshield of the coach of either car. The XM radio reception is great, and you can listen through the built-in 12V line speaker, or set it to broadcast to an unused frequency on your FM radio. The annual XM subscription is about $150 including a small activation charge. You can activate the subscription online.

I also subscribed to the XM weather and traffic services, which requires a short call to the XM customer service line, and these services have been very useful in avoiding construction or other delays, and checking enroute and destination weather in real-time. I think the charge is about $3.50 per month more for that.

A very good feature is the online software updater, and points-of-interest (POI) Loader. After loading a driver from the included CD-ROM, you can connect the Garmin through a USB interface with your computer, register your unit online, and subscribe to updates.

Garmin gives links to external sites which provide POIs for many interesting businesses -- FedEx Kinko's, Walmart, Target, Flying J truck stops, etc -- and these are at no charge. You can also download POI data for RV campgrounds, Starbucks, and others for a charge, or simply look them up using the business name in the unit's database.

Overall, I am very impressed with the graphics, the user interfaces (touch screen, or remote control), the voice commands, and accuracy of the displayed position. The portability opens up XM radio and navigation to all three vehicles, and this is the answer for me.

As for your original question, storage media, I sense you were able to find out what you needed to know. If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer them. Cheers, Len.

[BornFree_n_Now]

The portability opens up XM radio and navigation to all three vehicles, and this is the answer for me.

As for your original question, storage media, I sense you were able to find out what you needed to know. If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer them. Cheers, Len.

Thank you for your response and helpful information ~~ we have placed our order based on the same reasons you mentioned. One of the issues we are still pondering, is whether we will be happy with the smaller screen size (we have used a laptop with a GPS receiver for many years now, and have gotten spoiled by the large screen size and wealth of support information which we have available) ~~ at any rate, we will play with the 2730, and see how we adapt (keeping the laptop close at hand of course).

[BornFree_n_Now]

I bought the StreetPilot 2730 for my rig about a month ago, and it has been a wonderful device. I purchased it from "GPS On Sale" for just under $850 including shipping cost, and it arrived within a week.

Len:

Thank you for the great pre-purchase advice ~~ we are in the middle of our first trip with it in our unit, and wonder how we ever made do without it ~ One comment though, is that about 400 miles of our first day (actually ended up being 900 miles ~ way too much even in a BF), was in a direct North orientation ~~ during this portion of our travel, the XM service was on and off, although the GPS never lost signal ~~ the fact that we had loaded 100+ MP3’s helped, and overall, the experience was most enjoyable ~~ thanks again!

P.S. Glad to see you are owners of one of the best German made auto’s, we have the other, but respect your choice, as well

[KTnLen]

I think you'll find this unit to be very reliable overall. At the risk of providing too much information, my background in space science and education tempts me to explain why you found some issues with coverage.

As for losing XM signal, while holding GPS contact, the orbits of the two satellite constellations are significantly different, and the fact that you were heading north most of the day explains the situation.

About 30 GPS satellites orbit the earth in 55-degree inclined constellations at semi-synchronous orbits -- meaning their orbits take 12-hours and the satellites are about 10,800 miles above the surface, and so they appear to be in motion relative to an observer on Earth. That is why you can find a handful of them within view most of the time, and with four, you have all the data the computer needs to calculate and maintain accurate time and position information to within a few microseconds, and about 65-feet of location in three dimensions. Continuous calculations of position lead to an estimate of speed. "Jill" is a wonderful companion as a navigator. Oh, and the GPS master control station is six miles from my house.

However, the XM signals originate from satellites in geostationary orbits -- that is -- orbiting above the equator with a velocity matched to the rotation of the Earth, and appearing to be at a fixed point in the southern sky. Hence, they are 'behind you' as you travel north. So if your antenna was on the dash of the Born Free, the vehicle itself was a barrier to a direct view much of the time.

Interestingly, Sirius radio broadcasts originate from three satellites that are orbiting in 24-hour geosynchronous, elliptical, inclined orbit (called "Tundra" orbit") where one satellite is rising to view while another sets, and the third is whipping around the 'backside' of the Earth to again start to rise. The satellites climb to over 25,000 miles above Earth at their farthest point above the northen hemisphere, and come within about 13,000 miles at the closest point in the southern hemisphere. As the satellite climbs to its peak, it is slowing down and therefore tends to stay in view for about half a day. After reaching its crest, it then begins to fall back toward Earth and accelerates, and the next satellite rises to view to pick up the task. The Russians utilized a 12-hour version of this type of orbit (called the 'Molniya' or 'lighning') for decades during the Cold War with satellites in the roles of communications, meteorology, reconaissance, and missile launch detection. The 63.4 degree inclination of the orbit matches the launch latitude of Plesetsk, in Russia, also known as the Northern Cosmodrome.

The graphics below depict aspects of this discussion.

DirecTV offers about 70 XM radio channels through its TV subscription, and Dish Network offers 65 Sirius channels to its subscribers.

Probably way more than you wanted to know, but it's why my wife calls me the 'egghead.'

[Roadtech]

Does that mean that you will get better coverage/reception with Sirius than XM?

[KTnLen]

Good question, and as a seasoned consultant, the answer is 'it depends.' I have Sirius in my BMW and the coverage is very good, especially in the mountains, except for brief blackouts driving under an overpass or through a tunnel. I like the reliable, commercial-free, selectable formats, in near-CD quality.

Sirius satellites tend to provide better coverage in the mobile markets because the signal source elevation is higher in the sky, almost overhead. XM, as our intrepid Born Free owner discovered, suffers from self-denial under certain geometries because of the lower southern elevation. But, for stationary applications, XM reception is on a par with DirecTV because of the pseudo-fixed source.

For those of us in North America, especially near the Canadian border, and Alaska, a Sirius 'tundra orbit' is probably the better solution. XM does NOT cover Alaska, and DirecTV will be spotty along the ALCAN route as well -- it will probably require a larger dish to take in more signal (take note you Alaska-bound caravaners). GPS on the other hand, is readily available at all driveable latitudes.

I might also point out that the both XM and Sirius networks use local repeaters in large city areas to augment the signal, especially in the urban jungles of skyscrapers. Also, both services have spare satellites ready to launch in case of a failure in-orbit.

So, Sirius could be a better solution; unfortunately, only XM is packaged with the Garmin StreetPilot 2730, so there isn't a choice.

[BornFree_n_Now]

I think you'll find this unit to be very reliable overall. At the risk of providing too much information, my background in space science and education tempts me to explain why you found some issues with coverage.

'

Always good to know where we can find a good “Rocket Scientistâ€

[whemme]

I use a Roady II XM radio adapter in my Born Free and also discovered the problem of no reliable reception when driving North. I solved the problem in my case by locating the antenna near the fiberglass roof inside the cabover section - I have the entertainment center option in my 26' RSB model. If you try enough positions in the cabover section you should be able to find an antenna position that will work reliably when driving North.