Sat nav

OK, so I'm old fashioned, and prefer to use a map, but not easy when you are on your own.
So this morning I bought one of these new fangled efforts.#

Was told I needed to register it, so went to the website, downloaded something and thought the two bits, the sat nav connected and the download might just sort themselves out, I dont think they have as the sat nav cant seem to find a satellite most of the time and the download just sits there giving me pointless info.
I'm sure the download is not recognising the device when I plug it in, but not sure how I make it do that.
Everything was so much easier with XP, this windows 8 is just a nightmare, its seems to have gone back in time about 10yrs.
Also it says on the megre instruction with the sat nav, that it shouldn't be exposed to high temperatures,.... the thing is going inside a car, maybe in sunny weather?
Who makes this rubbish??????

I'm fed up with it already, and I've not traveled a mile yet.

 

I had a Sat Nav but got rid after I upgraded my mobile phone, the sat nav was always losing the signal, but the one on my phone is excellent, it probably connects through mobile masts.
Even so I always print off a map just in case.

 

Ahhh the old Sat Nav....I prefer a map too Pete....Whilst at Shineyland I had to then travel back to 'base camp'...approx 25 miles away...ended up on a right route march but I listened to the 'lady' ...'take the second exit' and all that jiggery pokery...she never once said that she was 'recalculating' so thought I was on the right track...to cut a long story short I arrived back at base camp ...in the opposite direction,thought things didn't look familiar...when I mentioned this to Mr Loli apparently he had turned the 'recalculating' bit off....that would have been so that he couldn't hear me saying..."don't know why you rely on this daft thing" when he's taken a wrong turning...give me a map anyday.....

 

I bought a TomTom, again meagre instructions you have to just keep fiddling with it. I managed to register mine which has been no help at all because I cannot download any new maps as this feature is not compatible to my iMac. I also feel that my iMac (new last year) is not a patch on my old machine, just thinner!!!!! When you get home after your journey you must take the sat nav out of the car, high temps will just kill it!!! Who makes this rubbish? it is all churned out in factories abroad!!

Val

 

Never used a sat nav , as I have an extra-ordinary skill . I can look at a map and instantly memorise motorway junctions , A road numbers , and street plans to my destination . Unfortunately at my age I now instantly forget these directions as well

 

I think i should update mine, my map says 1998 on the front cover as for sat navs go's give me a hammer

 

I use an 8" wifi/GPS (Samsung tab 3) tablet held in a cradle fixed to the windscreen using Google Navigation - smart phone screens are far too small for my dodgy eyesight. Far more versatile than a satnav.

I've come to increasingly rely upon this as I can no longer snatch a glance at a map whilst driving and have to stop and change spectacles back and forth. Plus the fact that Mrs Scrungee insists on holding maps facing the direction of travel, so if travelling South all the place names are upside down.

P.S. A backup map is always essential.

P.P.S. And that tablet can be used to checkout deals/prices whilst out and about shopping, something you can't do with a satnav.

 

Seems odd ... I would expect it to "just work" when you turn it on.

Registering, and downloading "updates", would probably get you new maps (but most of us manage OK with a map in the car that was not updated yesterday ), and quite possibly long term road works, latest position of Speed Cameras etc.

I use my Sat Nav all the time, even on routes I know well. I look at a map before I go somewhere new, decide what route I am going and ignore the Sat Nav telling me to go a different way ... but ... it helps in a number of ways AFAIAC:

1. Minutia. Getting to a specific street in sprawling suburbia - perhaps to pick up a car full of Bamboo plants bought off eBay

2. Traffic congestion. Usually it tells me before I get into it, and I decide if I want to divert or not (once Sat Nav tells me that there is a delay ahead I phone a service that tells me how long the delay is likely to be), or I hit the traffic and as smoke starts appearing out of my ears I take the next junction off, press the "Road blocked for XXX yards/miles" button, and get re-routed around the problems.

3. Absent-mindedness. I tootle along on my journey, brain in neutral, and would sail past an exit/junction that I needed to take. Sat Nav saying "Turn left" has saved me on more than one occasion

4. Solo pilot. I remember the days of balancing a 100 page A-Z on the steering wheel when hammering down the motorway at 100 mph trying to work out what route I should be taking (days before mobile phones, otherwise I probably would have been Texting too ). I use the Sat Nav for solo-pilot journeys to save me having to stop / pull over / break the law trying to use an Atlas.

However, there are Sat Navs ... and there are Sat Navs. The ones we have built into the dashboard of our cars have been utterly hopeless (and hugely expensive of course). The only thing they have going for them are the lack of trailing wires, suction caps, and lack of clutter obscuring the windscreen. I'm very surprised that the German brand cars we have had have come from manufacturers who have then made such a poor choice of Sat Nav supplier.

We also have a TomTom which consistently picks better routes, better route time estimation, and better blooming everything.

But why do I think it is OK to pay £100 for a Sat Nav when an A-Z is £1.99? (probably only a £1 in a Pound Store, natch!)

Brand / Model ??

 

I agree with much of what Kristen says, another advantage is the estimated time of arrival feature, very useful for someone like me who is chronically late!

However, I think there are lots of glitches in the design of my Tomtom.

1. Awkward to handle and stick on the dashboard. Once it's stuck on, it's difficult to remove.

2.I wish it would display the postcode/address in the corner of the screen so I could check that the satnav thinks it's going to the same place that I think I'm going.

3.I wish it was easier to flip between fastest route and shortest route, with a quick indication of the time/distance differential between them.

4. I wish it didn't flick back to the route overview screen without being told to.

5.I wish the route overview was larger/zoomable so that I could check that I agree with the satnav that it is the best route.

It seems that they are most effective used in conjunction with maps, I would hate to be one of those people who follow it blindly as they drive over a cliff.

 

Make it three for loving them, as with Madahhlia I agree with just about everything Kristen has said.
I am on my second Garmin and I love it.
Being a belt and braces guy I still carry a map though.

 

Is that speed related? (zooms out at speed, zooms in when you slow (e.g. at a junction)?

Can you not Zoom in and then Pan?

Dunno if it would help (it rarely suits me) but there is a Text Directions (Turn Left onto A1234 for 10 miles" etc.) screen you could review / check.

 

Not just satnavs, I killed my marine radio by leaving it on the dashboard in the sun

 

Same thing melted my Raybans.

 

Yes it works, but I was under the impression it was best to register, then you get it updated when it needs to be.

Its a Garmin nuvi2597lmt, I think, atleast thats what it says on the box?

I've been to the Garmin website and downloaded something called Garmin express on three occasions now, but after downloading I get a window that says LAUNCH, bit it wont launch.

All I get is a window saying its being blocked and I need to check my proxy settings whatever they are? Or contact my IS provider to find out what is happening.
Not had this particular problem with any other downloaded progs.

 

No, it just seems to revert to that page when it gets a bit bored.

Maybe you could but I can't - or won't. To be fair, it is quite a small screen, that's why looking it up on a map or the PC is a useful prerequisite.

That might help if I got organised well in advance - a rare occurrence where journeys are concerned. Ideally I'd like a satnav that told me when to start packing.