Sat Nav help for a dummy required

[Ed68]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the help you guys provided when choosing my company car. I went for a BMW 320d es as opposed to a Golf GT and haven't regretted it a bit....other than my missus keeps getting speeding tickets. Now I know that she should keep to the limit but she claims it's harder in a BMW than her old 1.4 Corsa!

Anyway I think that now may be the time to look at getting a speed camera detector and also may as well get sat nav at the same time.

I've read the other posts but the terminology is confusing me a little. Can I ask for receommendations based on my requirements, as below:

I want Sat Nav and Speed Camera detector.
I want a removable system, preferably the smaller/slimmer the better.
I do not want to use my mobile as the screen is too small.
I do not own a pocket pc (or whatever they are called) but would purchase one if this is the best/cheapest way to get what I'm looking for.
I also want the cheapest option (that is reliable).

Hope you guys can assist.

Thanks
Ed

Edit to say don't need any fancy schmancy mp3 player either

>> Edited by Ed68 on Thursday 6th October 11:16

[puggit]

A PDA is not going to have any detecting capabilities, nor will your average GPS based system (ie TomTom GO).

I'm not sure how many detecting systems feature GPS - but I believe there are a few around.

Try www.pocketgps.co.uk for a bit more expertise

[bigdods]

the usual method is to have either a PDA with something like TomTom5 and the Safety camera database freely available for download (dont pay tomtom for it!) or get the tomtom go which has everything in a box and you can add the safety cameras.

Personally I have an Ipaq with TT5, TT Bluetooth GPS and the safety camera database from checkpoint. Works a treat :-)

Radar detectors are in my experience just an annoyance, lots of false readings.

Safety camera database includes known hotspots where plod like to put their vans.

[Ed68]

Guys,

Thanks for your response.

I'm presently looking at either Navman Pin570 with speed camera database at £250, Mio 168 with Navigon 5 at £250 or Acer n35 at £275 (but another £67 for speed camera alerts).

I'm favouring the Navman as it's got all I need and is cheaper but I need to 'hold' one as opposed to just read the internet reviews (which seem all good at the mo').

I'll let you know how I get on and what I think of it.

[bigdods]

I used one of the cheaper navman units a few weeks back and it didnt compare favourably to my PDA based TT5 - very slow to lock on and slow to update - my tt5 appears to update at least once (maybe twice) a second, this navman dedicated unit was only doing it every 5-10 seconds - not much good for scameras or tricky navigation points like multi-lane roundabouts. Like you said try before you buy, but often you get what you pay for.

[NormanD]

I have a NavMan 510 with scamera downloads, seems to work well.
Also I have the Europe DVDs had no troubles last week.

[Graham]

Its not removable so that may throw it straight out but I use smart nav and think its brilliant.

no fiddling about to put a destination in. just press a button and speak to a real person.

its much cheaper to buy than the cd based systems and the subscription costs are lower than buying new maps all the time. smartnav updates their map a min of every 3 months..

you can also add speed camera loctations and tracker

G

[dogwatch]

I was disappointed with the speed (safety??) scamera aspect of my Navman 520. After the hassle of downloading the sites all I get is a discreet chime as the wretched box on a stick comes into sight. So I brought back my Inforad which beeps and winks a red light if there is a camera site near (although could be on a nearby road)and nearly leaps off the dash if I am over the scamera limit(as if!). Cheapish, and effective in unfamiliar areas, but some false alarms. Can be left on permanently.

[dti-dave]

I have the Navman 510 and I was about to through it in the bin then realised it was still under warranty. short version sent it back and got it checked out and at the same time updated with the latest software for free released this October the transformation is quite different it actually works better and faster and for the first time I can use it out of the car. I hope it remains this good or it will be in the bin for sure
I've not been able to down load the camera locations can anybody help me with this I'm told you can do this but How the user manual not very helpful
Cheers
Dave

[coach john]

I got the following off the navman uk site, not easy to find its under tech support and FAQ:

UK 501) How can I import the UK Safety Cameras in my Navman?

Content

NOTE You need SmartST V3.0 to be able to import your own POIs.

This is quite simple: You just need to download the POI database, and import it into your Navman. Sounds easy? Well it is. Follow me:




Download the Safety Camera Database from Pocket GPS by clicking HERE

Once the file has been downloaded, extract the contents in a folder that you will be able to retrieve

The file that you would mostly need is the one called PocketGPS_UK_GATSO.

Now comes the bit that might be tricky: You need to run Notepad (Start > Programs > Accessories > Notepad).

Click on file > Open, choose "All Files" in the "Files of type" field.

Browse your PC to retrieve the extracted files and open "pocketgps_uk_gatso.csv". Be careful, the file that you are looking for has a small a on the icon, as shown on the picture below.






Once opened, the easiest is to add a semi column ";" at the very beginning of the file, before "Longitude" as in the picture below:





Save and close Notepad.

Now you can start SmartST Desktop, when synchronized, click on Map > POI.

Click on File > Open text file and choose the file that we just edited (pocketgps_uk_gatso.csv)

Click on File > Save to Device, then enter the desired settings. The most commonly used settings are:

Active: Ticked

Visual Alert: Ticked

Audio Alert: Ticked

Units: Depends what you understand the best )

Distance: 1500ft / 500m

POI Visibility Level: 3/4 towards the right



Click on the [...] button and choose the picture called "pocketgps_uk_gatso.bmp"

When prompted, enter "GATSO" or "SPEEDCAM" as a name (following your preference)

Follow the instructions on the screen et voilà.

Hope this helps.

[dti-dave]

Hi coach john
Thanks for the information I have no idea how you found that lot out but I will have a go and follow your instructions and see what happens
Cheers Dave

[size13]

I have an ipaq with tt5.

How about a Garmin i3?

www.garmin.com/products/spi3/

[coach john]

Hi DTI Dave
I've gone one better, here's the link:
http://ems00801.egain.net/system/web/view/selfservice/controller.jsp?CONFIGURATION=1019&PARTITION_ID=1&CMD=STARTPAGE&LANGUAGE=en&COUNTRY=gb

[dti-dave]

Hi coach john
Thanks for the additional info I needed that site. Worked through it and downloaded the information how often do you need to up date every 3 months or 6
Thanks again for the help
Cheers Dave

[coach john]

Hi Dave,

I've only done the download once and so far haven't encountered any speed cameras that the system didn't know about.
I'm not sure if new cameras are high on the Govs stealth tax agenda!

[dti-dave]

Hi John
Very true. and thanks again, I gave it a test run today on a recently installed camera and it showed up right where its supposed to be on the map. I set the range to 600 seems to be about right.
Cheers
Dave