Garmin nuvi 310D GTM12 TMC problems

JT-Mech · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:44 am Post subject:

Where did you get your USB lead from?

mabsey · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 08, 2006 Posts: 43

The lead actually came with my Blackberry device called a RIM 7290.

As a lot of devices use the common power end now, I thought I would try a few USB leads to see if it made any difference. Only the one that came with the RIM made my traffic work. All the other leads I've got are straight through without that round lump on the end, I suspect this is what they call a suppressor???

Mabsey

mabsey · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 08, 2006 Posts: 43

Update,

I'm off to my local elictrical store now, to buy a range of Ferrit Rings.

I'll run a test with all of them on the different leads and see if any of them get my Traffic working.

The ring needs to be fitted about 1 inch down from the end that plugs into the Nuvi.

Expect a report in a couple of hours.

Mabsey

Trafficman · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:30 pm Post subject:

My Garmin 12 volt car charger has a built in ferrite ring built in at the power end that you plug into the car socket. It is the red LED type. Has no-one else got this type with ferrite ring? The problem is that since about 3 weeks ago, I have not had anything from Traffic. Not a sausage! This is despite a week away down south where it worked without fault. I think it's a transmission fault in South Yorkshire. Anyone else up north got no signal at all in the past few weeks? Also, I do not think the recent firmware update to 2.9 helped by getting rid of the Search bar on the traffic section. Now I can't even search for a signal. I back tracked to the firmware (2.50) that I used on holiday but still nothing. So I'm back with 2.90 again. I do not think that my GTM firmware has updated successfully despite webupdater saying so, as I have connected a few times where it says the same version is available for download, that version being v3.70. I'm at the end of my tether with this thing.

mabsey · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 08, 2006 Posts: 43

Well,

I bought the Ferritt ring for £1.99 and it fits perfectly on my USB straight leads. I ran all the tests again and none of the leads worked.

I plugged back in the one from the pictures above, and Traffic within 10 seconds again. I dont have to even stick the lead to the windscreen, its just sits on the dashboard and I get 14 pages of traffic alerts and the traffic icon in the menu stays constant blue.

The only difference I can see with the lead I'm using that works and the leads I've tested that dont work, is they are all about 12 inches longer than the one that does work. Also the one that does work has the Ferritt built onto it.

I'm sorry for everyone here who cant get their traffic working. I've tried all I can to establish where the problem lies, but to no avail.

I have traffic now and I'm sure Garmin will have a fix for you guys soon. I was just lucky to get mine working with a different combination of cables and adaptor.

Mabsey

JT-Mech · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:09 pm Post subject:

Thanks for all your work mabey, at least you've proved that it can work on start up. I've been playing with a ferrite ring all week but all to no avail.
Must be nice to have traffic info before the start of a journey and not in the middle of a ruddy great traffic jam Driving

Oh well! will just have to wait for Garmin to come out with their superdooper fix Stop it!

hawk74 · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 8:42 pm Post subject:

Trafficman

I had traffic during the hot weather a few weeks ago. NOthing since. That included a trip all along the M62 with no traffic. I have had some further south though but nothing spectacular.

I have a car adaptor with red LED which has a ferrite ring just after the adaptor.

I also have a USB cable supplied iin the nuvi box which has a ferrite ring just before the connector to the Nuvi. None of these have worked in the past few weeks. Although the GTM status screen implies that there should be a signal.

mabsey · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 08, 2006 Posts: 43

hawk74 · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 9:05 pm Post subject:

Probably not a power loss over that length of cable. More likely that the longer cable makes a better aerial and therefore is more noisy hence no signal lock.

tkerby · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 9:50 pm Post subject:

If the length of the cable is equal to half, quater or the full wavelength or any multiple thereof, it will probably make a reasonable aerial. Divide 3x10^8 by the frequency in Hz and you will get the wavelength in metres.

You might want a ferrite on both ends of the cable for full effect at noise removal. The other option is to put a few very small value capacitors across the output of the car adaptor. Tantalum capacitors are best. THe high frequency noise should flow through the capacitors to ground and not to the gtm / nuvi

JT-Mech · Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:56 am Post subject:

Was thinking about making up some screening for the power lead and earthing it to a suitable point on the car, anyone got any tips or thoughts on this before I start?

tkerby · Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:02 am Post subject:

A high quality usb cable is probably screened anyway, usually with both a foil and outer braid. You could try stripping the outer plastic carefully with a knife (the screen should protect the inner cables) and quickly soldering an earth lead to this or perhaps using a metal jubilee (hose) clamp to attach it. I'd suggest the ferrites too.

If you feel up to it, you could check the power adaptor itself and see if the negative supply is connected to the screen and the car earth

harri1n · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 05, 2006 Posts: 3

Just some info to throw into the pot.....

First I managed to wrangle two GTM12's so I have one to butcher.
Over the last 6 weeks I have made step by step changes to see if things improved. These are the results. Not exactly scientific but then I'm not a scientist :D

All tests were made over the same bit of the M6 a 33 mile run between junction 9 to 2.

Initial position of GTM12 aerial!! vertically about 2 inches from screen pillar.

This configuration gave max signal of about 5 for first 5 miles of journey the nothing till last 4. Channel that it would only lock to was 132. (classic FM??)

1. Cut tip off the end of the lead from the GTM12 and attached it to the center pin of the coax for the main car aerial.
Result. Not a lot of difference....

2. Extended aerial lead to four times its length by soldering extra wire on to end. Looped lead between screen suckers in same screen position.
Result. Slight improvement.

3. Purchased another car charger. Carphone Motorola clone. Took the ferrite slug off my video camera and positioned it about 2 inches from Nuvi.
Result. Definite improvement, not brilliant but signal slightly stronger and could latch onto another channel.

4. moved aerial lead to passenger side... So Nuvi on right of car. lead trailed across dash to passenger side then rest of aerial lead between screen suckers about 1 inch from screen pillar.
Result. improvement significant signal received for about 12 miles from start of journey and 7 miles from end.

5. Updated Firmware for GTM and moved the black plastic lump that I assume contains the active components of the GTM to sit horizontal not vertical.

Result. During the full 33 miles I received data for nearly the whole journey. The maximum time I was without packets was for about 3 mins. Also it locked onto four different channels during the journey and the screen after the GTM12 data screen that lists the services had about 8 entries including Classic FM BRMB. Signal strength on average was in the 5 to 6 and maxed out at 12 many times.

As I said these are just my tests I thought I would share with you. Hope it gives some people hope of success.

p.s. The only problem at the moment is the inside of the car looks like an explosion in a mattress factory with wires going every where. :D :D

deesoft · Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:06 pm Post subject: Jumped Ship

Hi

I have got 'p*****" off with the problems of Traffic, so thie morning I went back to Halfords, and'jumped ship' I exchanged my Nuvi for a TomTom Go 910 (mad fool) luckily I have still got 8 month left on the TomTom Traffic system. It is isntersting to note that TomTom mention in thier manual that the TMC Traffic system (when i9t arrives is dependant on area!!!.

I will keep an eye on this forum just to see how long it take garmin to sort out the problem.

Best of Luck
_________________
Ipaq hx2750, TTN5, Globalsat 338 GPS, Garmin Nuvi 310D and GTM12, TomTom GO910 and now GO540

God gave us the Integer, the rest was devised by man.

hawk74 · Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:13 pm Post subject:

I sent a support email last Friday and received an email with a troubleshooter document attached today.

It shows some ways of arranging the aerial and then states that if this doesn't work garmin will send out a supressor kit (a ferrite ring which attaches just before the electrnic bulge on the GTM12 (between the usb connector and the electronic bulge).

It then states that if this temporary fix doesn't work they will put me on the list until an as yet to be determined fix date is announce by garmin USA.

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