sat nav

JAN · Post by **JAN** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 2:06 pm

Well. i've always been an avid map fan, and the old RAC / AA route planner print out, however 'a friend' recently got stopped and charged with driving without due care and attention after picking up a piece of paper and glancing at it to check a junction number.

I think i shall have to get a satnav now despite my reservations and preference maps, seems like 'the man' wants me to go digital.

Which have the best battery lives?

jb · Post by jb » Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:28 pm

Like Mark (Sladey), I have a Road Angel 6000.
I bought a card (sd) for France which worked ok - although it got a bit confused in Rouen. The sat nav is pretty basic and I agree it is annoying but it is mostly accurate.
I really have it for the camera positions which works well both here and in France although I do pay a minimal monthly subscription for the service. It is also good to know the real speed rather than the speedo speed.
If I was to replace it I would look at the Tom Tom that Mark used for Classic Le Mans last year.

Helen · Post by **Helen** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 4:04 pm

JAN wrote:
I think i shall have to get a satnav now despite my reservations and preference maps, seems like 'the man' wants me to go digital.

Which have the best battery lives?

that was a concern of ours as we wanted to be able to use it through europe in the 356a which is 6v.

however we need not have worried as if we put it in the car fully charged and then plugged it into the cigar lighter. the 6v system was just anough to keep it charged up while we were on the road.
we did however always remember to switch it off when we stopped for a break.

brembo · Post by **brembo** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 7:11 pm

Cheers everybody(didn't realise there were as many different sat navs)
Dougie.

JAN · Post by **JAN** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 7:38 am

One question, do people find they can actually hear the things on the motorway? i mean 4000 revs or so in our bouncy noisy cars...

I just wondered if any models were particularly louder than others, or do people ignore the speech and just read the screens?

Cheers

Helen · Post by **Helen** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 8:04 am

TomTom wasn't a problem hearing it, even with the roof down.all instructions are repeated at least once.
the only issue we had with it was that the passanger had to have the unit in their lap as it wouldn't stick to anything in the 356a. the windscreen is too small & too curved.

RichiRich · Post by **RichiRich** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:36 am

I hired a 996 4S not so long ago and couldn't get the hang of the Porsche Navigation, so I stuck my TomTom to the windscreen - must have looked a bit strange to onlookers.

Anyways, I was going rather fast on the Autobahn and TomTom changes it's view to a very simple arrow, so as not to distract you. The funny thing was the voice was alerting me kilometres in advance of the turn off instead of the usual metres because I was cruising at 240km/h!! Oh and I could still hear the voice at that speed too.

Evil J Guano · Post by **Evil J Guano** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:44 am

After much research and help from everyone on here I plumped for a Garmin Nuvi 205w, which has been great I have to admit, being a SatNav none believer for so many years I have to say it's a revelation, especially in the States, where navigation is a nightmare I find.

I can hear it no problem in my Defender at 70mph, which is pretty amazing in itself.

I'm sure they have saved many a marriage (mine included), they make travelling with the family a pleasure now!

james912 · Post by **james912** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:49 am

If you have an iphone then it may be worth waiting a little while until they bring out this in the next couple of weeks. iphone.tomtom.com

I for one will be buying this as it means I dont have yest another device to charge and carry around, and it looks pretty good too from the features included.

Mike Usiskin · Post by **Mike Usiskin** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:47 pm

I've had a tom tom for a while now, got to say i loath the thing, certainly in London where I find My head far better, it doesn't update quick enough so i miss turnings even though my inner sat nav is screaming at me to turn. On longer trips it's useful. mine is a tom tom 600 so admittedly i's getting on and newer ones might be better.

m