GTM21 traffic issues

[JoshT]

[quote="swing Sure, but it's a lifetime subscription built into the cost of the unit (unlike in the US, where you have to pay per month), so once you have bought it, at least there is no ongoing charge.[/quote]

I'm sure Garmin are aware of the problems on the GTM21 and just don't want to admit it. What I was getting at is if Garmin had any sympathy with its clients it would offer a trade in on the GTM21 for a GTM10. Therefore not having to pay the subscription twice

[swing]

Indeed. I once asked Garmin if they would be willing to swap a GTM12 for a GTM10 and they ignored the question.

[citron]

I purchased a 660 1 week ago and am unable to get traffic. I thought at first that it was due to my location ( Home of the Traffic Taliban- sunny North Wales !! ) but after coming across this forum today I see I am not the only one with Traffic problems. I have Traffic Master as standard in my Citroen C5 and this works wherever you see the blue cameras but not so the TMC., however the info is limited and subscription is due for renewal !!
However last weekend I was in the Wrexham area (A543 Wrexham bye pass) and all was fine - it even informed me of problems on the M25. The interesting fact here is that the main FM transmitter for North Wales is within 500 yards of the road! It seems obvious therefore that signal strength is possibly the main cause of the problems experienced by all.
I travelled A55 M56 M6 M62 to Yorkshire and back today and not once did I get a signal , I contacted Garmin when I got home (before I found this site) and I was conned by their techie. - I was told to down load latest software and that it was not possible to check what version was already loaded on the unit 9 -- all lies - all you have to do is-settings -system - about. I found that the latest version 2.7 was already loaded. I shall contact them again tomorrow and point this out to them and also guide them to this excellent forum.
Depending on the reply from them I may return it as not being fit for purpose under Sale of Goods Act and perhaps buy the equivelent Via Michelin unit or is that a bad move ??
Cheers,
Ron

[swing]

Yes, the local TM transmitters will only provide information for upto 3 motorway junctions or about 15 miles around.

You are certainly correct that the radio transmitter strength is the main issue up and down the country.

Certainly most retailers accept back Garmin units based on the traffic not working, although you may have to demonstrate the problem to them.

Before switching to another device, check how it's traffic works - many of the competitors are having similar reception problems with the "other" TMC service too.

[cjthebrave]

People,
I'm still struggling with a GTM21. I get no traffic info in the Staffordshire area almost without fail so far, although I have had reception in a couple of most odd locations, like little villages completely off the beaten track.
Can anyone point me to a resource where I can find the location of and or suggested range of transmitters broadcasting TrafficMaster info so I can do some testing myself?
Garmin have advised me to get the GTM10 - nice advice when I've only just had the 21 on the grounds that it would receive traffic data - very helpful - NOT.
For reference, I live in Stafford - the ST17 9 area, and on a main road. There are TrafficMaster cameras on my road within 1/2 mile of my house so presumably the transmitters should cover this area too.
So far, I can only receive traffic info when the system is mounted upstairs in a window in my house, once out and about in my vehicle - nothing.
Garmin have suggested that heated screens and UV reflective screens will block the signal, but since I have tried mine in an old MX-5 with neither (and a soft-top), as well as my own car (which certainly has no heated screen) with no success I have decided that this is not my specific issue.
By the way - how many cars DONT have some form of UV protection in their screens these days??
Any help gratefully reeceived.
CJ

[MarkieT]

[portman]

[citron]

Yes the windscreen on my C5 is aethermic but guess what ? I may have found a solution - or so I thought !; ---
The night before last I went up A55 M56 and M6 to Preston and back. Prior to leaving I tied a length of thin bell wire to the end of the aerial, passed it through the door and tied it to the roof rail above the drivers door with about the last two inches of insulation on the wire removed.
Initialy nothing happened, --I live about 6 miles away from the A55 trunk road. However after about two or three miles on the A55 road I suddenly got a signal and full info. This remained throughout the whole journey and stayed live even when I arrived at home 4 hours later. Full of hope I went back into the car the next morning - but not a sausage !!. It appears to me that perhaps you need a strong signal initially whilst it first searches and then it hangs on to it.
Examination of the menu system confirmed that the signal was from Traffic Master
It seems strange having to adorn £20,000:00 of Citroen and 350 pounds worth of Garmin equipment with 5p worth of bell wire to get the damm thing to work. !!!
I wonder if I could 'Patent' it ?????

[cjthebrave]

Hi Markie,
Thanks for your interest. Yes I have tried that RHS and up to visor configuration, also up the middle also horizontal etc etc. I have also (on Garmins advice) tried mounting the unit and aerial across my side window in case my screen is 'screening' the signal - so to speak. All attempts are without success. For reference my car is a Focus ST170 (without the option pack which would add a heated screen)
Funnily though, with your configuration, I did get a signal in an out of the way village the other day. (Brewood - ST19 9DS to be precise) on the face of it, this is relatively remote from main routes, on which I receive nothing. (M6, A5, A34, A50, A52, A449 etc).
This is very frustrating - and to be honest, the fitting and removal of the 'dangly wires' does nothing but charge my unit and frustrate me, particularly when it needs removing every time I leave my car in case 'Mr Naughty' takes a fancy to it.
I might as well charge it at home and just use the unit for navigation.

[MarkieT]

[cjthebrave]

Yep Markie,
Thats a spookily identical setup to how I got mine to recieve in the middle of nowhere, yet left like that I have no success on major routes.
Yes I do get both lights, (sorry missed that in previous post) only the 'signal' indicator remains amber/yellow and the 'two cars' (traffic) symbol on the C510 stays greyed out.
Do you mind me asking what area of WestMids you are from, and if you successfully receive traffic data there. Perhaps I should take a drive around nearer your neighbourhood, or somewhere you get good reception to prove my setup - it could be Stafford and Stoke that are a 'black-hole', though I've had no luck in Telford, Lincoln, Mansfield etc etc.
Thanks madboy
CJ
(The brave one 8))
P.S. Driving an ST170 aint that exciting, particularly when you watch the fuel gauge 8O

[MarkieT]

[inspiredron]

TMC and the old TrafficMaster Freeway are completely different animals! It's not wierd to receive in th emiddle of nowhere but not on a main route with TMC. The transmissions are form local radio, not roadside beacons as with Freeway. Therefore, if you can receive the local station - which is highly questionable-, you will get nationwide traffic info downloaded to the Garmin over a period of a few minutes - the info seems to come in bursts every few seconds and seems, like teletext, to come in discrete "pages" which the Garmin then sorts by proximity to your location. Freeway, on the other hand, transmits from its local beacon only information affecting the next 15 miles or so (or two junctions if less) of traffic in the direction you are heading.

So, in summary, if you can see a local radio transmitter you will probably receive TMC nationwide traffic info loud and clear. If there is a building or a hill in the way then you may well receive none. That's a bit harsh but consistent with my experience in London and around Britain.

I would love Garmin to improve the sensitivity (and presumably also the selecetivity) of their TMC. When it works it's great but mine only worked about 20% of the time that it was in the "partial coverage" area!

[ysurya]

I have bought nuvi 610T (with GTM21) last week. I'm having problem with its traffic system. The status light is green and it shows Tm TMC and TMC_INFO in the Setting - Traffic - Auto menu, but the traffic icon on the main screen appears disabled. I've applied a new patch and the current GTM version is 3.90

Can anyone suggest if this is settings, or hardware fault.

[Heuer]

I have an Alpina B5 which has RDS-TMC equipped navigation built in. The TMC signals come via iTIS and Classic FM (40 transmitters around the country) according to the car.

The Garmin uses the Trafficmaster RDS-TMC feed (as against the iTIS) from 80 local commercial radio stations. There is a data feed channel alongside the programme channel.

I also have a Trafficmaster colour monitor fitted and that gets its data feed from the blue roadside camera transmitters. These provide traffic updates (every three minutes) and car location data.

To be honest the TMC reports via iTIS are all but useless even though they are correctly and reliably received. Trafficmaster is superb via the purpose designed monitor but reliability of the RDS-TMC reception, as others have found out, makes it less than helpful on the nuvi. If anyone really wants to get it to work properly in the UK then I suggest you need to connect the GTM21 antenna to your FM radio aerial. Should be a simple modification.

There is always the possibility the GTM21 locks onto the wrong network (iTIS) but cannot get any data as it is not subscribed. Might happen if the local commercial station is close to the Classic FM 101.3khz signal. Not sure if you can see the data source on the nuvi but it might be worth checking.

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