Sat Nav woes

[culzean]

I like my new satnav, but it has many faults as well. Apart from the erroneous maps (roundabout missing, service roads missing), the pronunciation is suspect (avenoo), and the accuracy of distances is a bit off. Also how the Garmin deals with two roundabout close together leaves a lot to be desired. The TomTom would say "At the roundabout take the second exit then at the next roundabout take the third exit". The Garmin is fine for the first roundabout, but waits until you exit that one before offering directions for the next one. Not a lot of use if you have 70 yards between roundabouts and two or more lanes to choose from.

You have to watch the screen,  at least Garmin 'zooms in'  when a roundabout is approaching to give you a more detailed picture.  I have never found distance to be off, but it does throw you a bit when it changes from miles / fractions of a mile to feet for the final approach to a turn - and display jumps from 0.1 ( miles ) to 500 ( feet ).

Another thing I learnt ( the hard way in a strange city ) was that if any dispute between voice message and screen always follow the arrow on the screen....

[sparky Paul]

You have to watch the screen,  at least Garmin 'zooms in'  when a roundabout is approaching to give you a more detailed picture.

Doesn't TomTom? The TT Go app certainly does, and gives lane guidance - I thought that was the same as the later navcores.

I find TT voice guidance pretty good, as Jocko says, it gives you more detailed instructions in advance of anything complicated. It's ok if you only have to briefly glance at the screen to confirm where you're going, but any longer is not safe in roundabout traffic.

[culzean]

On Jocko and mine Garmin Drive you have to go to settings / map and vehicle and tick the box for auto zoom, have to say if satnav is where it should be in line of sight it is to see the magnified roundabout and see where the purple highlighted route goes...

[John Ratsey]

My TomTom (recent model) struggles with two roundabouts close together. It's best to use the spoken instructions as a prompt to take a quick look at the screen which shows the required direction (eg the first turning might be straight on, depending on the road layout).

[sparky Paul]

My TomTom (recent model) struggles with two roundabouts close together. It's best to use the spoken instructions as a prompt to take a quick look at the screen which shows the required direction (eg the first turning might be straight on, depending on the road layout).

I can't say I've noticed any problems to be honest, but I've always used the android app, and the Windows CE tablet version before that, not the stand alone units. When two events are close together, it usually bundles the instructions up together.

[Ozzie]

Sat nav failed again sitting in my lounge. Luckily I knew where I was. Must be something heating up and dropping out.

Blimey how big is your house ? You need a sat nav to find the kitchen ? 

[Jocko]

I am using the satnav all the time (after all it switches on and off automatically).
I was joining an urban dual carriageway, here in Kirkcaldy, which has no slip (just a road junction).  The satnav told me to turn right, even though it is left turn only. The central reservation is solid so to turn right you would have to turn into lane 2 of the oncoming traffic. Now there is an arrow in the carriageway and I am sure there is other signage, but a driver strange to the area, maybe after dark or just under pressure from screaming bairns and a greetin' wife could make the possibly fatal error of turning right. Even my wife, a non driver, commented on it.

[John Ratsey]

I don't think Garmin has the equivalent of TomTom's system for users to report mapping errors http://uk.support.tomtom.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7244/~/about-tomtom-mapshare .

[Jocko]

No, they don't. I reported a number of errors on the TomTom system.

[John A]

No, they don't. I reported a number of errors on the TomTom system.

Have a look here:

https://support.garmin.com/en-GB/?faq=pJLZBzPen9A7OXw5vlRyu5 which leads to

https://my.garmin.com/mapErrors/report.faces

[Jocko]

More satnav woes today. Occasionally it has failed to sync with my phone but I have always got them chatting again. Today, nothing would get them talking. I brought it up to the house and spent a couple of hours faffing with it to no avail. I updated the software (including an update to Garmin Express) and  removed and re-installed Smartphone Link but still no luck. The phone would find the iOS version, but not the Android version it needed. Eventually I gave up in disgust and decided I would just use it, as I did the TomTom, for finding addresses that were unfamiliar to me.
This evening, I went on the Garmin UK site and they had a Live chat function, so I thought I would give it a try. While I was waiting on a response I thought I had better fire them up again in case I was asked questions, so I reinstalled Smartphone Link (I had removed it from my phone in disgust) and lo and behold, the f***ing thing worked.
It is a pain in the butt, but I like it when it works. Just checked it a minute ago and it is currently working.

[Jocko]

My last post on my Garmin 51 Drive. I like some of the bells and whistles but the basic mapping is cr@p. It will get you where you want to go but be prepared for a bit of a journey. The maps leave out lots of roundabouts that I have encountered. And we are not just taking new ones or painted circles. Roundabouts that I have used for 15+ years are missing. I stick it on even when driving in my local area just to see how well, or otherwise, it copes. Today it tried to send me up a one way street, the wrong way, and it has been one way all the time I have lived here.



Today I wanted to go from the traffic lights at A to B, on the photo (from Google Maps). The shortest and best route is shown in green (30 mph zone). It wanted me to go via the red route (also 30 mph), navigating the worst roundabout in town at C (the main road is the other two roads at C so you struggle to get on to the roundabout as the Garmin directed). Give the satnav its due though - it doesn't know there is a roundabout there!

I do love the phonetic pronunciations of street names (another reason I use it in my local area), despite the fact it insists on saying Avenoo. And also how it pronounces your destination. I cannot explains how it says "Christopher".

Okay, that's it. No more from me on my satnav.

[culzean]

Funny you should mention mapping,  I have just driven into Shrewsbury and wanted to find the railway station using my Garmin Drive 51,  it took me a lovely drive through the suburbs but probably added at least 5 miles to my journey,  and coming back 'home' it tried to take me the long way around again but I knew where I was going and decided to save 5 miles worth of fuel,  it tried to get me doing U-turns a few time until it realised where I was going and calculated a nnew route more in line with where I was going.  The behaviour of even modern satnavs sort of reinforces my doubts about autonomous vehicles ever being able to roam freely about on the roads - what happens when they come across missing roundabouts etc.

The other problem I have is with road signs,  when I was entering the suburbs of Shrewsbury there was the symbol ( old red British rail one ) showing the way to the station, this was about 2 miles from the station,  but I did not see any more signs after that,  so if I had been trying to find station using road signs I would have been totally frustrated,  and this happens a lot in UK where the signs seem to disappear after a few turns.

[sparky Paul]

I do love the phonetic pronunciations of street names (another reason I use it in my local area), despite the fact it insists on saying Avenoo. And also how it pronounces your destination. I cannot explains how it says "Christopher".

Leverton Road near me, which is pronounced the same as 'Everton', comes out as Lev-urr-ton on most satnavs, and the female voice I have in my Vauxhall pronounces the 'A' in a-roads like The Fonz use to say "Heyyyy" in Happy Days... so it's Heyyyy-fifty-seven. Really odd.

[Jocko]

Nothing to do with satnavs, but an ex workmate of mine was stopped by an Aussie, and asked for directions to Loogabarooga Road. He pointed out that there was no road in Kirkcaldy with that name, so the lad showed him the written address.
Loughborough Road. Keep meaning to drive along it to see what the satnav calls it!