tomtom RDS-TMC Traffic

omaruk · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:10 pm Post subject:

How do I go about getting this new receiver, I have the old one which just hasn't worked.

mikealder · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:24 pm Post subject:

Contact TomTom Support on 0845 161 0009 and explain the issue to them, they will probably want proof of purchase to be returned with the old device - Mike

spikebmth · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 02, 2005 Posts: 19

OK, so someone has said the wire has four cores...

Any idea on which core does what?

Any photos of these gold plates?

mikealder · Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 8:27 am Post subject:

Red wire is +V supply
Black wire is 0V supply
Orange wire is serial data recieve
Green wire is serial data transmit

the aerial input is to the right of the picture near where it says RF IN, the screen is soldered to both sides of the main center core (thanks to forum user kattt for the photograph) - Mike

spikebmth · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 02, 2005 Posts: 19

Been searching about....

It seems the solution is to get the newer version, from which that picture is taken, rather than the old one with the blob on the end.

"From the egg to the small piece of cylindrical liquorice is inner and outer core (coaxail) then from the cylindrical liquorice to the end of the wire is just inner core.

The fix is as described by connecting the TMC antenna to your car aerial but beware if the car radio yours sends a 12V signal up its own aerial to power a signal booster. If that’s the case you need another external car aerial to connect the TMC to (we think).

Once you connect it to an external car aerial it works pretty much anywhere all the time. I connected mine at the egg, DWRC connected his at the last joint which is where the single core splits from the shielding. However, as soon as you do any modifications you waive the warranty of course and you are on your own. So far very few have fiddled with it and reported back so we are still a bit thin on the ground with info."

AndyVaughan · Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 2:44 pm Post subject:

I have connected mine directly to the car aerial by desoldering the original tomtom 'aerial' from the pcb, soldering on a length of coax with a car aerial plug on it, and soldering a length of coax with a car aerial socket on it to my car aerial.

This way I can remove the TMC from the car.

The reception is now close to 100% - unless the TT is charging then it interferes with the reception in borderline reception areas. This seems to be a problem with the TT itself and RFI - I have tried different chargers with the engine running and not running, experimented with ferrite cores etc.

It has also been noted that when the x20s are charging it wipes out MW reception in some cases, so they do seem to have a RFI problem when charging that is internal to the unit, not the charger.

Andy

TimothyN · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:27 pm Post subject:

I bought my 910 about 18 months ago, together with the then current TMC receiver and I had exactly the same experience as everyone else on this thread...I love the 910 to bits but the TMC was the worst piece of consumer electronics I have ever used, backed up by truly awful customer service - it's all been said above.

So I bought a subscription to GPRS which worked fine with my Nokia phone and everything was OK (except the £60 and huge amount of time I wasted on the TMC receiver.)

Now my Nokia has been replaced by a Palm, and it does not support the data channels required for TMC. (A bit odd as it works on Bluetooth hands-free and it is a 3G IP device, but Palm say that it won't work and that's it.)

So, now I back to investigating TMC again.

I have heard rumours, and it is sort of alluded to above, that a new TMC aerial, plus new TomTom software will make TMC work.

I am loathe to go and spend another £50 on TomTom TMC unless I really know that it is going to work this time.

I have also heard rumours that I should not update the software to the latest v7.0, because it is worse for TMC than the v6.525 I have.

So, never mind the waffle. Three questions:

1) Is it true that the Palm Treo will never give me Traffic?
2) If I buy a TMC receiver from Amazon today will it be a completely different beastie from the rubbish Halfords sold me 18 months ago.
3) Should I upgrade from 6.525?

Thank you in eager anticipation!
_________________
Timothy Nathan
Epsom UK
TomTom 910
Rover 75

spikebmth · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 02, 2005 Posts: 19

I upgraded my application last week to V7..... and its really good... Works fine.

the new TMC receiver is a lot better than the old one, but worth looking into connecting the egg to the car ariel!

mikealder · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:46 pm Post subject:

Timothy, I would try contacting TomTom support about this issue, you have been trying to get the supplied device working for far too long without any success by the sounds of it.
Around six months ago when the latest RDS-TMC device came out TomTom were offering a free replacement for users who had similar experiances to yourself, it might be a little late now but I would try contacting them, explain the issues you have had and see what they can offer - 0845 161 0009 (at the end of the day, if you don't ask you don't get).
As for the Treo I have no idea, the last Palm device I had was/ is the TX and I only use WM5/6 phones these days.
Upgrade to vs7 or stay with vs6 - I would stick with vs6 for the time being until the vs7 bugs are fixed, RDS-TMC does not work too well using the latest software on the x10 or x20 devices - Mike

TimothyN · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:47 am Post subject:

Thank you both.

I spoke to TomTom and their firm advice was to move to 7, but then the guy I spoke to (Jez Williams) did not know that there had ever been problems with TMC, so presumably he is either very new or on work experience. Either way it does not raise confidence!

Anyway, I now have the receiver and am off to Basildon (yeah, yeah, I know) so I will see how it goes.
_________________
Timothy Nathan
Epsom UK
TomTom 910
Rover 75

TimothyN · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:52 pm Post subject:

Oh what bliss! I plugged it in, set it up according to the very simple instructions and it just plugged and played. Maybe a minute of hunting, then a solid green blob. Unbelievably simple and hassle-free compared to the last appalling experience!

And imagine my joy when I saw that my route to Basildon was clear and that I would be there by 11.01.

So I just settled back, put Kit and the Widow singing Facade on the CD player, engaged the cruise control and was content with the world....

....until....

Notice the green blob, notice the clear brown road ahead, notice the complete lack of warning. Then notice the speed and the traffic conditions.

Eventually, maybe 30 minutes later (when I was still in the same queue) the warning appeared. I arrived in Basildon at 12.31, having sat in traffic for 90 minutes.

What is the point? Sad

_________________
Timothy Nathan
Epsom UK
TomTom 910
Rover 75

pcaouolte · Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:40 pm Post subject:

You now have it working perfectly Very Happy

A queue forms, ITIS find out about it (they must wait until some time after it happens to discover that it's there), ITIS send the data to the broadcaster, the broadcaster sends it to your TMC receiver. For all of that to take 30 minutes doesn't seem unlikely.

After the queue clears a similar thing happens again.

The system will therefore provide information that is incorrect at the start and at the end of the holdup. If the holdup is of a fairly short duration the information is likely to be out of date before it is even received by you.

The system seems doomed to failure.

Kremmen · Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:52 pm Post subject:

My Civic EX has TMC built in - and it works, to a point.

I can confirm that it is usually quite a bit out of date of the actual situation on the road.

Some time ago I bought a TrafficMaster Q-Busta which is the same as the old Trafficmaster Oracle and Freeway units except that it is subscription free and connects to the cars electrics.

The traffic warnings that come from the Q-Busta are certainly more accurate than the TMC data.

I frequent the M25 western section and this evening for example I can almost guarantee that the TMC will warn me that the traffic tailback is at junction 15 whereas the Q-Busta will tell me it's at junction 13.

And I'll bet the tailback is at junction 13.
_________________
DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3

TimothyN · Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 12:25 am Post subject:

I've just had a great idea! I'll always leave half an hour later, then the TMC information will be up to date! You see, it only requires a little thought to work out a solution.

On a more serious note, I drove to Gatwick at 5.00am this morning and got no signal at all. Is TMC not broadcast at night?
_________________
Timothy Nathan
Epsom UK
TomTom 910
Rover 75

Kremmen · Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 7:40 am Post subject:

You should get TMC 24x7, I suspect a signal problem.
_________________
DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3

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