Review on HK GPS 500 Widescreen Navigator by Harman Kardon by William Belczyk

Excellent performance - poor quality Harman Kardon should stick to audio products only. This GPS turned out to be a big mistake. The sucker was starting to let me down. This resulted in the device falling onto my dashboard and the USB/power connector detaching from the PCB due to surface mounting. These are two disadvantages of the device. The mount must be strong enough to support the device it is designed for. The port must not be mounted on a circuit board surface. It should have at least 2 legs attached to the PCB with a "through hole" to relieve stress. This is a good idea especially if the suction cup is designed to detach while driving and drop the device onto the plug that goes into the outlet. I was about to reseat the connector but the traces on the board had come loose from the pads attached to the connector. I think when it comes to sound, Harman Kardon is still good. Next time I will focus on a company that specializes in GPS, such as B. Garmin. It was fun while it lasted. My only other complaint is the lack of map updates. This is negligible if you expect the product to last more than 18 months. Damn, a lot of my electronic devices are over 30 years old!