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Author Topic: Sat-Nav For The First Time.  (Read 10139 times)

tickmike

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Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« on: May 04, 2017, 02:52:13 PM »

I have always used Maps and still will do  :)
 But on a 250 mile trip down to Kent in our car (not on Motorways !) to see our daughter some weeks ago we were following say A20 near Ashford then you come across a new massive roundabout then it is like the A20 does not exist  :o nothing about it at all, then you have to go miles out of your way to find the road you want to be on.
This sort of thing happened about four other places with new road junctions on the way down and back.

So I have done something I thought I would not do to buy a Sat-nav.
A Tom-Tom Go 620 with WiFi.

I will not be connecting it to my Phone which is for Emergencies only and taken photo's  ;D

Not used it in the car yet, just trying to work out how you find things or places.

One thing we all need are Toilets and when you get older you need them more often   :blush:
My wife and I also have a 'Radar Key' for access toilets.
 
How do you find on a 'Search' Toilets or Access toilets ?, Nothing comes up at all.

I sent an email to TomTom and they say 'Unfortunately there are no such POI's* available at the moment on any of our device'

What  :rant: :thumbdown:
*  POI's = Points Of Interest.
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Bowdon

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #1 on: May 04, 2017, 03:11:20 PM »

This site might be of interest to you: https://greatbritishpublictoiletmap.rca.ac.uk
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Ronski

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #2 on: May 04, 2017, 03:40:35 PM »

Now you know why you've got a smart phone,  so you can look up things whilst out and about, like toilets   ;)

I also hope you got one of the tom toms with free map updates, or you'll be in the same position in a few years unless you of course you buy an updated map.
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broadstairs

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #3 on: May 04, 2017, 06:07:17 PM »

I'm still not sure I trust satnavs. Last year I was waiting for the windscreen repair folks to come out to replace my car windscreen at my home, they were late and so I went out in the front garden to see if they were nearby when I got a phone call from them asking why I was not at home  :o so I said I am where are you and they said outside my house  :o so after a while they agreed their satnav was useless they were about a mile away on the other side of town and yes they did have the correct post code  :o

So you see why I still am more keen on maps and road signs than a satnav.

Stuart
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JGO

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #4 on: May 04, 2017, 07:12:54 PM »

   "So you see why I still am more keen on maps and road signs than a satnav."

It applies here too " Garbage in,  Garbage out  ! " 
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Ronski

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #5 on: May 04, 2017, 07:29:14 PM »

It pays to double check, when we got our first Sat Nav my wife used it to go to a dentist in Sheerness, turns out there is two roads with very similar names, Broadway & The Broadway, needless to say she selected the wrong one and turned up at the wrong dentist! Both roads had dentists in them, there was some confusion at first, but was then pointed in the right direction.

After that I always double check and use Google Streetview, and once you've used one especially if going to somewhere in a very busy city you won't want to give it back. I've got several professional drivers at work who always said they would never use one, but once they had they would not give them back, one is in his late seventies - he's clueless with his phone, but never has problem with his sat nav and wouldn't be without it now.
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displaced

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #6 on: May 04, 2017, 07:57:50 PM »

I get a lot of use out of Apple Maps on my phone.  (Stop smirking, it's actually quite good these days!)

95% of the time, it gets me from door to door without any problems.  However, the best thing is how it deals with that other 5%.

There's a 'Report an Issue' button for every route or point-of-interest.  For example, last Sunday I used Maps to get me to a local(ish) pub I'd never been to.  Turns out it thought the Miller's Cottage was about 500m from its actual location, and not even on the same road!  A bit of searching got me to the proper place - about a 2min diversion overall.

Now, here's the cool bit.  Tapping the 'Report an Issue' button, followed by the 'Incorrect Location' button brought up a map showing my current location.  One more button tap and the pin was dropped for the pub's location right on top of mine.  Tap 'Done', job done.

Yesterday (so about 3 days after the event), I got a popup notification on my phone telling me the issue had been corrected.  I checked, and not only had the location been checked, but the opening hours had been updated too.

I've done this a half-dozen times over the past year or so.  It really is quick to do, and helps everyone else too.

(Plus, I'm off to the same place this evening, so it's good to know it'll be right this time!)
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Ronski

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #7 on: May 04, 2017, 08:26:22 PM »

That's how it should be, nice and easy. I've updated quite a lot of places on Google Maps via the PC and it's just as easy.
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broadstairs

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #8 on: May 04, 2017, 08:36:33 PM »

I'm sorry but I still dont see how satnavs are better than maps and using your eyes on road signs and name signs. However often you update satnavs they will almost always be out of date and although the same is true for maps they usually get you to the right area and then it is just a case of careful observation and yes if necessary stopping to ask someone with local knowledge. Too many folks, especially foreign truck drivers but also those addicted to technology, follow satnavs religiously and end up getting stuck. Yes common sense is best but too many people get caught out by satnavs because they dont use common sense. I used to drive 1000's of miles for work before satnavs and never had a problem I could not sort by careful reading of road signs and asking someone. If you rely on technology what happens when it fails if you cannot read a map?

Stuart
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Ronski

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #9 on: May 04, 2017, 09:27:44 PM »

I think the operative word there Broadstairs is 'used to', roads are far busier than ever, finding somewhere to stop to read a map is much harder, trying to read road names is difficult & dangerous (not paying attention to traffic) and as for asking directions, well I once asked someone directions, and they hadn't got a clue as to where the road was, turned out they were standing in it!

How's your map reading and navigating skills abroad whilst driving alone? Ever tried reading a map whilst driving (I hope not), trying to navigate tiny streets in central London or some other city. All this can be done with relative ease with a Sat-nav, and until you've really used one properly I don't think you'll ever appreciate how useful they are. I still remember our drivers having boxes of maps in their cabs cluttering the cab, now they just have one sat-nav, it's so easy.

Like I said I don't trust them 100%, I do double check via google maps, and I have been known to take two sat-navs on holiday - one built into the car and my old tom tom :-)

The real advantage of a Sat-nav is not getting from Broadstairs to Birmingham, but actually finding that little street in the middle of Birmingham and finding it quickly - and I've had that said to by professional truck drivers in their 60's and 70's - the ones who used to have all the maps.
 
PS I can read a map too.
« Last Edit: May 04, 2017, 09:30:19 PM by Ronski »
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celso

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #10 on: May 04, 2017, 09:42:39 PM »

Buying a sat nav these days is wasting money. Some time from now you will have the same issue unless you pay to receive map updates for another X years. Also, you need to update your maps regularly...

I think the best option for most people is to use a smartphone, something that most of us already have. There are lot's of free (Google Maps, Here Maps, Waze) and paid apps (TomTom for example), we have good accuracy, up to date maps, and things like real time traffic information, radar alerts, points of interest, etc.

Most apps don't need internet/data/cell access to work if we save the maps we need before hand and updates are automatic (when we connect to a wifi network). This is good because 1) not everyone has a big data plan, 2) sometimes we don't have signal and 3) if privacy is a concern, we can use only the GPS signal (at least on Android) + any app that works offline + airplane mode.

In your case, and if don't like free apps, all you had to do was to buy the TomTom app (~35GBP subscription) and it would do all your GPS does.
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broadstairs

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #11 on: May 04, 2017, 10:57:34 PM »

Smart phones might be OK but you need a signal and while that might be OK in large towns it is not always the case out in the sticks and it usually happens just when it needs to load a map or the like. I don't drive in cities and never have by choice at least not in the day time. If youplan your route beforehand I have found it usually works out just fine.

I'll stick to my maps and plan ahead every time ....

Stuart
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celso

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #12 on: May 05, 2017, 01:23:20 AM »

@broadstairs If that works for you, then there is no need to change :) But you're wrong here:

> you need a signal

With, let's say, Google Maps, you can use the "offline maps" option to keep a local version of the map. This way you don't need to have signal to load the map or use turn-by-turn navigation.

All you have to do is select the areas you want the app to keep (local maps are updated every 30 days while you're connected to a WiFi network). After doing this, network signal/data connection is only needed if you want the app to give you information about road works, accidents, suggest faster routes with less traffic, etc.

Some screenshots from my phone: using maps offline; navigation offline; saving maps for offline use;

There is no need to worry about the GPS signal since UK/continental Europe coverage is pretty good. Most phones use signals from GPS (US) and GLONASS (Russia) satellites, some already support BeiDou (China) and future phones will also support Galileo (created by the European Union), so even on a cloudy day the signal will be good enough for turn-by-turn navigation. But if for some reason it fails, then you have the local copy of the map and can use it like you use a paper map.
« Last Edit: May 05, 2017, 01:40:41 AM by celso »
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broadstairs

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #13 on: May 05, 2017, 08:03:23 AM »

You're assuming that the smart phone has sufficient storage for all that stuff.

I just wish that people would use satnavs with a modicum of scepticism and common sense especially truck drivers who follow satnavs even though the road signs say HGVs are not allowed. Also what happens when GPS gets hacked as is highly likely in the future given how insecure things are these days. You cannot hack the map book in your glove compartment nor the road signs. I also think satnavs are a distraction while driving almost as great as a mobile phone.

Technology has its place BUT it is in no way perfect hence the need for common sense.

Stuart
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Ronski

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Re: Sat-Nav For The First Time.
« Reply #14 on: May 05, 2017, 10:27:16 AM »

Stuart, I think that's clearly a very blinkered view,  yes they need to be used with common sense. Your views are clearly applied to your own use scenario having never used one,  you choose not to go into cities,  many drivers don't have the choice. 

Did you know they are even going to become part of the driving test.

If you ever want to try one to see what you're missing then you can borrow one of mine  ;D

PS I work for a haulage company and have done for over thirty years so I've seen the difference sat navs have made first hand and that is a vast improvement over navigating by maps. We have drivers that go all over Europe, just how many maps do you think they need to have to cover  that vast area,  and remember they need local maps to cover towns and cities,  not just regional maps.
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